This past week at Eastbrook, I preached a message entitled "Making Room" as part of our Christmas Eve services. You can find read the preaching manuscript below. Merry Christmas! When I was a child, one of my favorite things at Christmas was going to my grandparents’ house in central Illinois. After celebrating our own family Christmas …
Christmas Joy
Merry Christmas! This is the reason we celebrate. Fra Angelico, The Annunciation; tempera on wood; between 1433 and 1434. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on …
Fourth Sunday in Advent: The One Who Restores
In the Sanctuary of Mercy church, in Borja, Spain, a fresco of Jesus entitled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) has been revered since the Spanish artist, Elías García Martínez, painted it in 1930. While not an artistic landmark or overly valuable, this fresco holds a treasured place within the village and area. Still, everyone could see that the …
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Third Sunday in Advent: The One Who Brings Justice
One of the deepest desires of human beings is for justice. We long for our lives and the world to be impartially guided by what is just, right, true, and fair. At our jobs or in our classrooms, in the courtroom or the sports field, we want all people treated well and measured equally against …
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Second Sunday in Advent: The One Who Comforts
When my children were young and they scraped a knee or faced some other injury, they would swiftly run to me or Kelly for immediate help to stop the bleeding or put ice on that bump on their head. After the immediate help, though, they would often look for something else: comfort. As we grow, …
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Matthew Erickson 