"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." (John 15:9) The Father's love is greater than we understand. In a few short hours after this teaching from Jesus, the disciples would see with shocking clarity how far God would go to display divine love as Jesus went …
Getting the Scripture into Us: reading for transformation with lectio divina
Many times, when we read the Bible, we approach it in much the same way that a biology student approaches a frog on the dissecting table. While we gather much information about the various pieces, we’ve failed to get a thorough understanding of what is really in front of us in the end. While critical …
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Run with Discipline: insights on spiritual growth and suffering from Hebrews 12
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?" (Hebrews 12:7) With these striking words, the writer of Hebrews radically reframes the suffering believers endure. The writer is not making light of suffering but inviting believers to see suffering in a different light. What …
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The Flesh of Our Savior: the importance of the body in Jesus’ redemption
The entire life of faith begins with God reaching out to us first. In response to humanity’s fall from grace and sin’s impact upon this world, God sent Jesus—fully God and fully man—to live, die and be resurrected to bring us and all creation back to God through relational restoration. This is how the Apostle …
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Why Is Sexuality Such a Big Deal in the Bible?: a brief reflection
Photo by Rahul Pandit on Pexels.com The past few weekends at Eastbrook, our series from 1 Corinthians, "God's Grace for an Imperfect Church," has taken us into some very challenging words from this letter of the Apostle Paul. The first two verses of chapter quickly give us a sense of that challenge: It is actually …
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Matthew Erickson 