In the last week of June I had the opportunity to speak at Family Camp 2 for Fort Wilderness in McNaughton, Wisconsin. If you're not familiar with Fort, you should definitely consider their amazing range of ministry opportunities throughout the year. Every Winter our Student Ministries takes a group for Winter Retreat up in this …
Joy is a Decision
There are two imperative verbs which frame Philippians 4:4-9. The first is found in verse 4 and the second is found in verse 8. Look at that first imperative verb with me: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Paul is telling us something important: joy is a decision. Joy is not …
Multiplied Joy
This past weekend at Eastbrook Church I concluded our series "Unshackled: Joy Beyond Circumstances" on the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians. I took us through the last section of the letter, Philippians 4:4-23, where Paul draws together some final exhortations and personal reflections. This section has some of the most well-known verses in the entire letter, which makes it …
Joy That Grows
This last weekend at Eastbrook Church I continued our series "Unshackled: Joy Beyond Circumstances" from the letter to the Philippians. This weekend we looked at Paul's description of spiritual growth, including things that help and thing that hinder growth, from Philippians 3:10-4:3. I touched on having the right examples for growth, learning that crucifixion comes before resurrection, …
30-Days of No Complaining Challenge
Nicole Pajer, a freelance columnist for Rolling Stone and The New York Times, discovered something interesting about complaining. After deciding to participate in what she called a “30-days of No Complaining Challenge,” her entire perspective on her circumstances changed. She realized much of what she complained about were “what-if” situations that had not happened yet. …
Matthew Erickson 