Category: Communication

“I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus” – a new series at Eastbrook Church

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and begin a new preaching series entitled “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus.” Exploring the seven “I am” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John, this Easter season we want to encounter Jesus again for the first time. Drawing upon the Gospel context and Old Testament history, we want to step more deeply into what Jesus was saying then and what it means for our life with God today.

Here are the weekly topics for this series, which begins on Easter Sunday and leads up to Pentecost:

April 9 [Easter] – “I am the Resurrection and the Life”- text: John 11:25

April 16 – “I am the Bread of Life” – text: John 6:35

April 23 – “I am the light of the world” – text: John 8:12

April 30 – “I am the gate/door” – text: John 10:7

May 7 – “I am the good shepherd” – text: John 10:11

May 14 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life” – text: John 14:6

May 21 – “I am the true vine” – text: John 15:1

“Fractured” (Genesis, part 2) – a new series at Eastbrook Church

Matt Erickson1 Comment

This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we begin a new preaching series entitled “Fractured.” This will be the second of a two-part series on Genesis, chapters 1-11. This series explores Genesis 4-11, picking up where our earlier series, “In the Beginning,” left off. Genesis is a book of beginnings, setting the stage for all that comes afterwards not only in that book but in the entire Bible. Each of these messages will explore the reality of a humanity’s fracturing from God and how we see that in each descent of the Fall through these stories. Each of these early stories speak of our need for God and leads us through a season of lament and repentance consonant with the season of Lent. This series is also accompanied by our annual devotional written by members of Eastbrook Church.

Here are the weekly topics for this series, which begins with Ash Wednesday and carries through Palm Sunday:

February 22 [Ash Wednesday] – “Dust to Dust” – text: Genesis 3:19

February 26 – “The Power of Anger: Cain and Abel” – text: Genesis 4:1-17

March 5 – “The Expansion of Evil: Before the Flood” – text: Genesis 4:17-6:8

March 12 – “The Need for Cleansing: The Flood, part 1” – text: Genesis 6:9-7:24

March 19 – “Healing for the Earth: The Flood, part 2” – text: Genesis 8:1-9:17

March 26 – “Faltering at the Finish line: After the Flood” – text: Genesis 9:18-10:32

April 2 [Palm Sunday] – “Confusion Among the Nations” – text: Genesis 11:1-32

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I Have a Dream” and Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Matt Erickson2 Comments
dr-martin-luther-king-i-have-a-dream-speech

Every year on this day set aside for celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., I make time to listen to or read his famous “I Have a Dream Speech.” I encourage you today to read the speech or watch (below) the roughly seventeen-minute speech that King gave over fifty years ago. He articulates a vision that transcends his individual life and puts into eloquent words the deepest longings of many people not only then but also now. This speech still rings with power, reminding us that, as he said, “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.” We have come so far but we still have so far to go.

I encourage you to go further in understanding Dr. King’s legacy by reading his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail” or to read some of his prayers (two examples can be found here and here). You may also be challenged and encouraged by Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” Here is a collect from The Book of Common Prayer related to King’s life and legacy:

Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may strive to secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

“In the Beginning” (Genesis, part 1) – a new series at Eastbrook Church

Matt Erickson3 Comments

This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we begin a new preaching series entitled “In the Beginning,” which will be the first of a two-part series on Genesis, chapters 1-11. This series explores Genesis 1-3. Genesis is a book of beginnings, setting the stage for all that comes afterwards not only in that book but in the entire Bible. This series will explore some key ideas found in the first three chapters of the book of Genesis, including the creation of the world and humanity, as well as the Fall of humanity into sin.

Here are the weekly topics for this seven-part series, which leads up to the beginning of Lent:

January 8 – “Before Anything, There is God the Creator” – text: Genesis 1:1-2

January 15 – “The Genesis 1 Account of Creation” – text: Genesis 1:1-2:3

January 22 – “The Genesis 2 Account of Creation” – text: Genesis 2:4-25

January 29 – “The Creation of Humanity” – text: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-24

February 5 – “Humanity, God’s Stewards of Creation” – text: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15, 19-20

February 12 – “The Fall, part 1” – text: Genesis 3:1-13

February 19 – “The Fall, part 2” – text: Genesis 3:14-24

Canticles of Christmas – a new series at Eastbrook Church

Matt Erickson1 Comment

This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we begin our journey of Advent as well as a new preaching series entitled “Canticles of Christmas.” This series explores the prayers found in the Gospel of Luke, chapters 1-2, as doorways into the celebration of Advent and key theological revelations of God’s plan in Christ.

Here are the weekly topics for this five-part series, which surrounds our celebration of Christ’s nativity on December 24 and December 25:

November 27 – “May It Be Unto Me As You Have Said” (Fiat Mihi) – text: Luke 1:26-38

December 4 – “My Soul Glorifies the Lord” (Magnificat) – text: Luke 1:46-55

December 11 – “Praise Be to the Lord” (Benedictus) – text: Luke 1:67-79

December 18 – “Glory to God in the Highest” (Gloria)- text: Luke 2:8-20

December 24 – “And His Name Shall Be Called…Mighty God”

December 25 – “He Will Be Called Immanuel”

January 1, 2023 – “Now dismiss your servant in peace” (Nunc dimittis) – Luke 2:22-38

Along with the weekend preaching series, we will also have a devotional that will run from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany. You can access the devotional here.