pastor || writer || speaker
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we concluded our preaching series entitled "Jesus Said What?!" by turning to another important topic: wealth. I led us through an exploration of four passages on this topic: Matthew 17:24-27; 19:16-30; 20:1-16; 22:15-22. In the end, I called us to live open-handed before God through a series of prayers included …
Continue reading "Jesus on Taxes, Wealth, and God’s Generous Kingdom"
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our series "Becoming Real" on the Sermon on the Mount by looking at Matthew 6:19-24. This brief passage explores what it means to have our interior and exterior lives unified in terms of what we most value and how that plays out in our material wealth and treasure. …
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our series "Becoming Real" on the Sermon on the Mount by looking at Matthew 6:1-18. This passage builds on the earlier teaching by Jesus about surpassing righteousness (see "Real Righteousness") by exploring three vital practices for spiritual growth: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. You can find the message video …
Continue reading "Real Spirituality: three vital spiritual practices"
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Holy Family by Night, ca. 1642-1648, oil on panel When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (Matthew 1:24) The openness of Joseph to Mary and her unborn child reveals an admirable generosity and hospitality of life. When …
We read about the generosity of the early Jerusalem church in Acts 4: “And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. ” (Acts 4:33-34) The result of God’s grace at work within the church was a generosity that was unparalleled by those around them. …
Matthew Erickson 