Tag: Living the Creed

Eastbrook at Home – September 18, 2022

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Eastbrook-At-Home-Series-GFX_16x9-Title

Join us for worship with Eastbrook Church through Eastbrook at Home at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM. This weekend we continue our series “Reset” by exploring what it means to have a reset on service.

Here is a prayer for this Sunday from The Book of Common Prayer:

O Lord, you have taught us that without love, all our deeds are worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you; grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

If you are able to do so, let me encourage you to join us for in-person services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 AM this weekend at the Eastbrook Campus.

If you are new to Eastbrook, we want to welcome you to worship and would ask you to text EBCnew to 94000 as a first step into community here at Eastbrook.

Each Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM, you can participate with our weekly worship service at home with your small group, family, or friends. This service will then be available during the week until the next Sunday’s service starts. You can also access the service directly via Vimeo, the Eastbrook app, or Facebook.

If you are not signed up for our church emailing list, please sign up here. Also, please remember that during this time financial support for the church is critical as we continue minister within our congregation and reach out to our neighborhood, city, and the world at this challenging time. Please give online or send in your tithes and offerings to support the ministry of Eastbrook Church.

Bibliography for “Living the Creed”

Matt Erickson1 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, “Living the Creed: Connecting Life and Faith in the Apostles’ Creed.”

Bibliography for “Living the Creed”

Augustine of Hippo. “On the Creed: A Sermon to the Catechumens.” Translated by C. L. Cornish. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 3, ed. Philip Schaff.

Hans Urs von Balthasar. Credo: Meditations on the Apostles’ Creed. Translated by David Kipp. New York: Crossroad, 1990.

Karl Barth. Dogmatics in Outline. New York: Harper & Row, 1959.

Matthew W. Bates. Salvation by Allegiance Alone. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017. 

Donald Fairbairn. The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019.

Austin Farrer. Lord I Believe: Suggestions for Turning the Creed into Prayer, 2nd ed. London: SPCK, 1962.

Justo L. González. The Apostles’ Creed for Today. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.

Luke Timothy Johnson. The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters. New York: Doubleday, 2004.

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. 

J.N.D. Kelly. Early Christian Creeds, 3rd ed.  London: Routledge, 2014.

C. S. Lewis. Mere Christianity. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1952.

Martin Luther. The Large Catechism.

Alister McGrath. I Believe: Exploring the Apostles’ Creed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Ben Myers. The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.

J. I. Packer. Knowing God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 

________. Growing in Christ. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007.

Wolfhart Pannenberg. The Apostles’ Creed: In Light of Today’s Questions. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1972.

Jaroslav Pelikan. Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015. 

Rufinus. A Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed. ACW 20. Translated and annotated by J.N.D. Kelly. Ramsey, NJ: Paulist Press, 1978.

Helmut Thielicke. I Believe: The Christian’s Creed. Translated by John W. Doberstein and H. George Anderson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968.

Thomas Aquinas. The Sermon-Conferences of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Apostles’ Creed. Translated by Nicholas Ayo. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998.

Liuwe H. Westra. The Apostles’ Creed: Origin, History, and Some Early Commentaries. Instrumenta patristica et medievalia 43. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002. 

Amen to the Apostles’ Creed

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we concluded our preaching series entitled “Living the Creed: Connecting Life and Faith in the Apostles’ Creed.” Throughout this series, we have walked through the Apostles’ Creed as a basic summary of our faith but also as a way to live our faith out with God in the world. Each weekend we have explored the biblical and theological roots of the Apostles’ Creed, while also providing specific spiritual practices and approaches to living out what we know as we ‘proclaim and embody’ the Apostles’ Creed in our daily lives.

This weekend I concluded the series by preaching on “Amen,” what it means and why we would say “Amen” at the end of the Creed.

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

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said ‘Amen’ and ‘Praise the Lord.’” (1 Chronicles 16:36)

What is “Amen”? 

The meaning of the word

The use of the word in the Old Testament

The use of the word by Jesus

The use of the word in the rest of the New Testament

Speaking “Amen” with our mouths 

A return to the three aspects of the Creed:

We trust this God: The creed is a cry of dependent trust in the Triune God.

We believe in God’s truth: The creed is a doctrinal summary of our shared faith.

We live in God’s way: The creed is a family story that we prayerfully live within.

Living “Amen” with our lives

The “Amen” of our faith decision and baptism

The “Amen” of daily personal living with God

The “Amen” of community life around the Lord’s table together

The “Amen” of missional living in the world God loves

The “Amen” at the end of our days

Dig Deeper

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

Eastbrook at Home – September 4, 2022

Matt EricksonLeave a comment
Eastbrook-At-Home-Series-GFX_16x9-Title

Join us for worship with Eastbrook Church through Eastbrook at Home at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM. This weekend we conclude our series “Living the Creed: Connecting Life and Faith in the Apostles’ Creed” by talking about the final word in the Creed: “Amen.”

This is also the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Here is a prayer for this Sunday from The Book of Common Prayer:

O Lord God, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

If you are able to do so, let me encourage you to join us for in-person services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 AM this weekend at the Eastbrook Campus.

If you are new to Eastbrook, we want to welcome you to worship and would ask you to text EBCnew to 94000 as a first step into community here at Eastbrook.

Each Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM, you can participate with our weekly worship service at home with your small group, family, or friends. This service will then be available during the week until the next Sunday’s service starts. You can also access the service directly via Vimeo, the Eastbrook app, or Facebook.

If you are not signed up for our church emailing list, please sign up here. Also, please remember that during this time financial support for the church is critical as we continue minister within our congregation and reach out to our neighborhood, city, and the world at this challenging time. Please give online or send in your tithes and offerings to support the ministry of Eastbrook Church.

I believe in the life everlasting

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our preaching series entitled “Living the Creed: Connecting Life and Faith in the Apostles’ Creed.” This series walks through the Apostles Creed as a basic summary of our faith but also as a way to live our faith out with God in the world. Each weekend of this series will explore the biblical and theological roots of the Apostles Creed, while also providing specific spiritual practices and approaches to living out what we know as we ‘proclaim and embody’ the Apostles’ Creed in our daily lives.

This weekend Pastor Nic Fridenmaker concluded the third article of the creed with a message entitled: “I believe in the life everlasting.”

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

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Eternal Life Then (Genesis 2,3)

            What We Had

How We Forgot 

Eternal Life in the Future (1 Corinthians 15, Revelations 22)

            What Is Ahead

            How We Can Endure

Eternal Life Now (John 17:2-3, Ephesians 1:17-23)

            What We Can Remember

            How We Can Flourish

Dig Deeper

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

  1. Memorize John 17:2-3
  2. For further study on the eternal life, read John 17. Underline or write down what you notice about how Jesus was praying that eternal life be imbued into His followers. Discuss or share your thoughts/questions with a friend.
  3. Watch the Bible Project video, “Eternal Life”
  4. Consider reading: