pastor || writer || speaker
Some of the most striking stories of the early church after the New Testament come from times of persecution by the Roman Empire. In North Africa, the church was strong, but suffered greatly. In the early 3rd century in present day Tunisia, a noblewoman, Perpetua, who was a Christian, refused to take the oath of …
Continue reading "What Happens When Christians Aren’t Afraid of Death?"
Holy Week is the pinnacle of our Lenten journey, drawing us into the Passion of Jesus. This year, our Holy Week journey finds us simultaneously facing into one of the worst crises of our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic. This past weekend I reflected on the significance of this intersection of Holy Week and COVID-19, …
Continue reading "10 Reasons Holy Week Can Become More Powerful during the Time of the Virus"
As we continued our celebration of Jesus' resurrection at Eastbrook Church, I continued the themes of our series "The Good News of Jesus." This second weekend, we explored four post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to Mary, the disciples as a group, Thomas, and Peter in John 20:11-21:25. Each of these stories gives us insight into the …
Continue reading "The Good News of New Beginnings [The Good News of Jesus]"
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Eastbrook Church, we begin a two-week exploration of "The Good News of Jesus." This first weekend, with our Easter celebration, we turn our attention to the account in John 20:1-10 about Jesus' empty tomb. While so much could be said about Jesus' resurrection, in my message this past …
Continue reading "The Good News of the Resurrected One [The Good News of Jesus]"
It was sadly ironic to read about the terrible church bombings yesterday morning even as I prepared as a pastor for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Recent times have seen not only church bombings but church buildings burning, whether in Louisiana or Paris. Every Christian knows that the word 'church' means people and not buildings. …
Matthew Erickson 