A recent addition to my daily time in prayer has been a sort of conversational prayer with God arising from my reflection on Scripture and my life. After slowing down with a portion of Scripture, I often write out some of my own thoughts as a form of prayer in my journal. Then, I slow …
Living to Please God?: singing our joy back to God
"As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:1) I was talking with someone the other day about this passage …
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Living Now in the Freedom and Victory of Christ
The Apostle John tells us that at His first appearing, Christ won a tremendous victory for God. This present victory has so many different aspects, but the two most important are these: "You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins" (1 John 3:5) "The reason the Son of God appeared …
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Finding Encouragement within Suffering: a reflection on Hebrews 12
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? (Hebrews 12:7) Be encouraged: God disciplines His children because He loves them. Do not lose heart amidst your suffering. Instead, endure it sustained by the truth that God is lovingly at work even here. We …
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3 Simple Practices to Help us Grow to Look Like Jesus
This past Sunday at Eastbrook I preached on the sufficiency of Christ from Hebrews 10:1-18 in a message entitled "Sufficient." You can view that message below or here. Near the end of the message, I reflected on what the sufficiency of Christ means for us. One of the most important aspects of Christ's sufficient work …
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Matthew Erickson 