Good things come to those who wait, I’ve been told, but, honestly, I have a really hard time with that. Let me give you three situations many of us face. Number one: music tries to calm me down as I anxiously wait behind unending lines of traffic, hoping I arrive reasonably on-time to my next …
Preaching the Psalms of Ascent: A Soundtrack for the Pilgrimage of Faith
An article I wrote for Preaching Today on preaching the Psalms of Ascent came out last week. This article came to life through my own journey of preaching the Psalms of Ascent at Eastbrook Church in late 2017 through a series entitled "Ascend: The Psalms of Ascent." Thanks to Andrew Finch and Matt Woodley at PT, who …
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Discipline is the Price of Freedom
I came across this excerpt from D. Elton Trueblood's 1970 book The New Man for Our Time on the topic of spiritual discipline. It caught my attention as I continue to give attention to the disciplines of grace necessary for us to grow in the spiritual life, drawing upon the influence of writers like Eugene Peterson, …
It Needs to Get Inside of You: Eugene Peterson on the Spiritual Disciplines
One of my favorite authors is Eugene Peterson. Peterson is best known as the author behind the paraphrase of the Bible, The Message. As a pastor, his works on pastoral ministry for our contemporary era, such as Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work and Under the Unpredictable Plant, are unparalleled. …
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What Is the Essential Virtue?: further insights about the easy yoke from Dallas Willard
Yesterday I shared an excerpt from Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart about what Willard sees as the essence of discipleship in the easy yoke of Jesus referenced in Matthew 11:28-30. I wanted to share one additional thought from Willard on this, which flows directly from living as a disciple of Jesus within His easy …
Matthew Erickson 