Tag: hope

Bibliography for “In the Beginning: A Sermon Series on Genesis 1-3”

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When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “In the Beginning.”

Bibliography for “In the Beginning (Genesis, part 1)”

T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, editors. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

T. Desmond Alexander. “Authorship of the Pentateuch.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, edited T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 61-72. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

Craig D. Allert. Early Christian Readings of Genesis One: Patristic Exegesis and Literal Interpretation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2018.

Robert Alter. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Volume 1: The Five Books of Moses. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.

B. T. Arnold. “Pentateuchal Criticism, History of.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, edited T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 622-631. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

Augustine of Hippo. City of God Against the Pagans. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. Edited by R. W. Dyson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 

Matthew Barrett and Ardel B. Caneday, ed. Four Views on the Historical Adam. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1-3. Edited by John W. de Gruchy. Translated by Douglas Stephen Bax. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 3. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997.

William P. Brown. The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Francis S. Collins. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York: Free Press, 2006.

Ellen F. Davis. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Michael Fishbane. Text and Texture: Close Readings of Selected Biblical Texts. New York: Schocken Books, 1979.

Terence E. Fretheim. God and the World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2005.

Sidney Greidanus. Preaching Christ from Genesis: Foundations for Expository Sermons. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

Victor P. Hamilton. The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17. NICOT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.

Timothy Keller. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Riverhead Books, 2008.

________. Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. New York: Viking Books, 2016. 

John C. Lennox. Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science, 10thanniversary edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021.

Tremper Longmann, III. How to Read Genesis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.

Andrew Louth, ed. Genesis 1-11. ACCS. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. 

Iain Provan. Discovering Genesis: Content, Interpretation, Reception. DBT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.

Nahum Sarna. Understanding Genesis. The Heritage of Biblical Israel. New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1966.

George Steiner. Grammars of Creation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002.

S. Joshua Swamidass. The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021.

Gerhard von Rad. Genesis, rev. ed. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1973. 

Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.

John H. Walton. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.

________. The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015.

Norman Wirzba. The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

________. This Sacred Life: Humanity’s place in a Wounded World. Boston: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Resources from the Bible Project:

Waiting on the Lord: Living with Hope in the Land Between

Matt Erickson1 Comment
waiting.jpg

One of the most pervasive themes in the psalms is waiting.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:20)

Lord, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God. (Psalm 38:15)

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)

The waiting described in the psalms is not some abstract waiting, but waiting that is focused on a person: the Living God. Unlike generalized “waiting for the world to turn” or “waiting for a miracle,” waiting on the Lord is based upon what we know of who God is – His character – and what God does – His activity.

Waiting on the Lord says, “I know who God is. I know what I’ve seen God do in biblical history, in other human lives, and in my own life. Because of that, I wait for God to meet me and act in my life.”

This sort of waiting is hopeful waiting. Hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Hope is fixed on the future but affects the way we live now. Hope is both an anticipation and an arrival at the same time. Waiting on the Lord is hopeful because we can both rest in God in the present and trust in God for the future.

But what does it look like to wait on the Lord? Does it mean we simply stop everything and sit around until God does something? No. Waiting on God is active. We continue with our lives, doing our best to walk in God’s ways, witness to God’s character, and fulfill our responsibilities as best as we can. In the midst of that, waiting on God gives us hope that transcends our circumstances as we look for God to work in our lives.

Here are three specific ways we can wait on the Lord with hope:

  1. First, we wait on God by reading His word. The psalmist says, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5). Waiting with our hope in God means we both hope in His Word and live by His Word. As it says in Psalm 119:166, “I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands.” The word of God gives us perspective and understanding so that we can move forward with God as we wait. Reading it regularly and transformationally helps us meet God and live with character in our waiting.
  2. Second, we wait on God in prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God—calling out to God—in the midst of our lives. Prayer is particularly important in times of waiting because we both need to express what is happening in our lives and wait upon God to speak to us. The regularity of calling out to God in prayer while waiting helps us give voice and give ear to God: “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice” (Psalm 5:3). As the psalms show us, prayer is a lifeline in the midst of waiting.
  3. Third, we wait on God by watching for Him. Transformational reading of Scripture changes us internally and prayer makes us attentive, but what then? From this new vantage point, we want to be watchful for God. We attentively consider these questions: “what is God doing?” and “where is God at work?” It is of minimal value if we read the Bible and pray each morning but then zone out from God for the rest of our day. “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 130:6). To wait on the Lord in hope means we watch with expectation for the appearing and involvement of the Lord.

Lord, I wait for You.
There is so much happening in my life and the world today.
Give me eyes to see You and ears to hear You as I wait upon You in my life.
I trust You and I rest in You today.

Canticles of Christmas – a new series at Eastbrook Church

Matt Erickson1 Comment

This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we begin our journey of Advent as well as a new preaching series entitled “Canticles of Christmas.” This series explores the prayers found in the Gospel of Luke, chapters 1-2, as doorways into the celebration of Advent and key theological revelations of God’s plan in Christ.

Here are the weekly topics for this five-part series, which surrounds our celebration of Christ’s nativity on December 24 and December 25:

November 27 – “May It Be Unto Me As You Have Said” (Fiat Mihi) – text: Luke 1:26-38

December 4 – “My Soul Glorifies the Lord” (Magnificat) – text: Luke 1:46-55

December 11 – “Praise Be to the Lord” (Benedictus) – text: Luke 1:67-79

December 18 – “Glory to God in the Highest” (Gloria)- text: Luke 2:8-20

December 24 – “And His Name Shall Be Called…Mighty God”

December 25 – “He Will Be Called Immanuel”

January 1, 2023 – “Now dismiss your servant in peace” (Nunc dimittis) – Luke 2:22-38

Along with the weekend preaching series, we will also have a devotional that will run from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany. You can access the devotional here.

Bibliography for “Hope Rising: 1 Thessalonians for Today”

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “Hope Rising: 1 Thessalonians for Today.”

Bibliography for “Hope Rising”

John Calvin. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians. Trans. Ross Mackenzie. Ed. David W. and Thomas F. Torrance. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1961.

J. M. Everts. “Hope.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 415-417. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Cain Hope Felder. “1 Thessalonians.” In True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary, edited by Brian K. Blount, 389-400. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007.

Peter J. Gorday, editor. Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon.ACCS. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000.

L. J. Kreitzer. “Eschatology.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Marting, and Daniel G. Reid, 253-269. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Jürgen Moltmann. Theology of hope: on the ground and the implications of a Christian eschatology. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993.

Josef Pieper. Faith, Hope, Love. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius, 1986.

J. W. Simpson, Jr. “Thessalonians, Letters to the.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 932-939. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Jeffrey A. D. Weima. 1-2 Thessalonians. ECNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014.

N. T. Wright. Surprised by Hope. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

Living Hope

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, I concluded our series on 1 Thessalonians entitled “Hope Rising: 1 Thessalonians for Today.” This fifth and final week of the series I preached from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 on joining the melody of God’s hope in Jesus Christ with the variations of living response.

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Living as the Good Community of God (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15)

Acknowledge those who serve

Warn those who are idle

Encourage those who are worn down

Turn from grudges

Strive to do good to one another and everyone

Living in Joy, Prayer, and Thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Learning the Imperatives of hope

Learning the will of God

Living in the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

Not quenching the Spirit

Living with discernment

Living into the Blessing of God (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Yielding to the sanctifying work of God

Relying upon the faithfulness of God

Continuing as the Community of God (1 Thessalonians 5:25-28)

Mutual prayer

Mutual affection

Mutual edification

Mutual grace

Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:

  • Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 or 5:23-24
  • Make a joy or thankfulness inventory this week. Take time to write down at least 25 things you are thankful for or joyful about. Share this with friends or family sometime this week.
  • Choose a portion of this passage to draw, ink, or paint out in a way that expresses worship and prayer.
  • Consider reading: