It's no secret that one of my favorite theologians is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His book Life Together is, in my opinion, the best book written on the nature of true community in the church. It is a must-read for many reasons, but one of the most important is the way that Bonhoeffer directly deals with something all of us face with the …
“God’s Grace for an Imperfect Church: 1 Corinthians” – a new series at Eastbrook Church
This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we begin a new preaching series entitled “God’s Grace for an Imperfect Church: 1 Corinthians.” This series is an exploration of the Apostle Paul’s letter that we know as 1 Corinthians. Ranging through a wild ride of various challenges, this epistle brings the gospel into connection with topics which …
The Triune God Sends with Self-Giving Love
The Triune God, who is eternally in reciprocal, self-giving relationship, is a sending God. The Father sends the Son at the incarnation because "God so loved the world" (John 3:16). After the Son's ascension, the Father sends the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as Peter reminds us, quoting Joel the prophet: "In the last days, God …
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Why I’m Not Giving Up on the Church
In 2013, nearly ten years ago, I wrote this article for Relevant about the church. In light of our "Reset" series and Ruth Carver's recent message, I think this article is still as pertinent as ever. It begins this way, but you can read the entire article here. In 2011 the largest denomination in the United …
Loved by God, We Love One Another
On Wednesday, I wrote here at the blog about how important it is to know we are deeply loved by God as His children. What flows directly from that love of God for us as his people is that we are called to love one another as brothers and sisters. Throughout Scripture, the church is consistently …
Matthew Erickson 