In the midst of our pursuit of God, we can sometimes focus so much on the seriousness of discipleship that we miss out on the joy of our life with God. Of course, there are good reasons for that. First of all, Jesus called us to take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. …
Thankful
I was standing on the edge of a mountain in central Honduras, looking over the hazy, green slopes of the valley. There were just over a dozen of us who had given up our Spring Break at college to work alongside of local Hondurans to install a gravity-fed water system in this remote village. It …
God in Unexpected Joy (Ruth 4a)
This week at Eastbrook, I continued our series on Ruth called "Unexpected" with a message from Ruth 4:1-12 entitled "God in Unexpected Joy." The main point of my message is that God brings unexpected in the middle of our lives, even in empty places. You can listen to my message online at the Eastbrook web-site …
Saturday Prayer 26
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (2 Corinthians 8:2) Lord, I want to give myself over to You first and foremost. I know that only then will true joy begin in my life. I know that only then will true generosity …
His Voice Singing Love Over Us
There are portions of the Bible that the church has traditionally linked with the month-long time of preparation for the arrival of Christ's coming at Christmas called Advent. One of those is Zephaniah 3:14-20. While not many of us have likely spent much time in the Old Testament prophet Zephaniah, one of my favorite statements …
Matthew Erickson 