“Resurrection Matters, part 1” – a message from 1 Corinthians 15

This past weekend at Eastbrook, I continued our preaching series entitled "God's Grace for an Imperfect Church: 1 Corinthians" by looking at the first 34 verses of chapter 15 with a message entitled "Resurrection Matters, part 1." We will continue the second half of this chapter next week. You can find the message outline and …

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 …

“Mistaken for a Gardener” – an Easter message from John 20

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus from death and I preached a stand-alone message entitled "Mistaken for a Gardener" from John 20:1-18. Specifically, I focused on one part of verse 15: "Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have …

Five Important Contemporary Books on Spiritual Formation and Discipleship

In my message this past weekend at Eastbrook, "The Fruitful Life," I explored what it means to lead a fruitful life with God based in what we encounter in Psalm 1 and John 15. Amidst that message, I shared a basic framework for spiritual formation, or discipleship, that came from Dallas Willard. Reflecting on that …