I don’t know if you’ve ever had trouble with spam robocalls on your phone, like I have, but it is so annoying. I signed up for the National “do-not-call” registry, but I continue to receive these calls. I have a special spam filtering app on my phone, but I still get the calls. When I …
Real Life: an exploration of the Beatitudes
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we began a new series "Becoming Real" which will explore the Sermon on the Mount by looking at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. The Beatitudes are a very familiar portion of Scripture, so it can be difficult to hear them afresh, but I did my best to help us see …
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The Call of Discipleship
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we concluded our series "Power in Preparation" by tracing Jesus' call to discipleship to Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John in Matthew 4:18-25. This was also a child dedication weekend at Eastbrook, so my sermon was a little shorter than other times. You can view the message video and outline …
How Do We Hear from God today?
Through the past two blog posts , I have held up a vision of the God who speaks in various ways and we as His people hearing from Him. That is the vision I want to put in front of us. The prophets heard from God, and their hearing is unique from ours as authoritative …
Old Camel Knees: a brief reflection on the remarkable prayer life of James the Just
The fourth-century church historian, Eusebius, relates a story gathered from the lost works of Hegesippus during the second century about James "the Just," who likely wrote the epistle of James and was the earthly brother of Jesus. In the midst of outlining the persecution of the church in his Ecclesiastical History , Eusebius details the death of James …
Matthew Erickson 