Tag: transformation

Matters of the Heart

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, I continued our preaching series, “Who Do You Say I Am?”, after our two week hiatus for our annual MissionFest. This week I worked through Jesus’ teaching on the heart and what truly defiles in Matthew 15:1-20. What continually strikes me about Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Matthew is the drive toward the heart of humanity. Jesus is not interested merely in the outward obedience or form of holiness, but wants to bring a heart transformation. In a way, Jesus is a spiritual cardiologist.

This message is part of the sixth part of our longer series on Matthew, which includes “Family Tree,” “Power in Preparation,” “Becoming Real,” “The Messiah’s Mission,” and “Stories of the Kingdom.”

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

“The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” (Matthew 15:18)

Conflict Between God’s Commands and Human Tradition (Matthew 15:1-9)

The visit from Jerusalem

“The tradition of the elders”

Corban (qorban)

Jesus the True Teacher (Matthew 15:10-20)

Understanding the purpose of God’s commands

Identifying what really defiles human life

Discerning between false and true guides

Listening and understanding

Making It Real

Seeking to listen and understand

Recalibrating God’s truth in relation to human traditions

Choosing Jesus the True TeacherLetting Jesus the Heart Doctor give attention to our hearts

Dig Deeper:

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

  • Memorize Matthew 15:10-11 and/or 15:16-17
  • Journal, draw, paint, or ink this story or some aspect of it as a way of reflecting on who Jesus is and how you most need to meet with Him.
  • Take some time to reflect on the nature of your own heart with God. Perhaps you could use the guide developed by Nancy Lee DeMoss Wolgemuth, “A Heart God Revives,” found here
  • Consider digging deeper into this concept by reading A. W. Tozer’s book The Pursuit of God or Henri Nouwen’s book The Way of the Heart

Dan Ryan: Seeking Transformation through Jesus [MissionsFest, week 2]

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook we continued our pause on our preaching series, “Who Do You Say I Am?”, in order to continue our annual MissionsFest. Last week Dr. Ed Stetzer was with us for a message entitled, “The Commissions of Jesus for a Post-COVID Church.” This week my colleague, Pastor Dan Ryan, spoke about where Eastbrook is headed with local and international mission through a message entitled “Seeking Transformation through Jesus.”

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

  1. Revisiting Dr. Stetzer’s sermon:
    a. We are Sent
    b. To All Kinds of People
    c. With a Message
    d. Empowered by the Holy Spirit
  2. Busyness vs Transformation
    a. Losing sight of the end goal
    b. What is the end goal?
  3. Transformation in Jesus
    a. Luke 4:16-21
  4. Integrated Transformation
    a. Our mission is to Proclaim & Embody
    b. It is a mission focused on the Spiritual and the Physical
    c. Mission lives in the tension of these two
    d. Jesus was fully man and fully God, a whole human and a whole spirit
    e. As Jesus is, so is our mission integrated
  5. Seeking Transformation
    a. What does it take to see transformation?
    b. Example: Milwaukee Rescue Mission
    c. Moving forward in Local Outreach
    i. Seek the Holy Spirit
    ii. Serve Together
    iii. Build Relationships
    iv. Seek Transformation
  6. Afghan Arrivals
    a. Opportunity to support
    b. Building teams around each arrival
    c. Your chance to join us
  7. Focusing on Transformation
    a. Stories from overseas
    b. How to join in – Perspectives & Short-term
    c. Prayer

Digging Deeper:

  1. Read Jesus’ Commissions again, particularly Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:16-20 and spend time unpacking the different parts of each commission.
  2. Read Luke 4:16-21 and also Isaiah 61 and envision a city and a world where this takes hold.
  3. Spend time away with God this week reflecting on the connection between His Commissions and His Transformation, and what part He is calling you to play.
  4. To unpack the theological understanding of this transformation, read Surprised by Hope by NT Wright
  5. Reach out to a fellow brother or sister in Christ who is serving in the city or world and invite them to a shared meal or over coffee to hear how they have witnessed God’s work of transformation.

Reading Scripture for Transformation (pt 2)

Matt Erickson2 Comments

I’ve found that one of the most helpful ways to approach Scripture for transformation is to utilize an ancient Christian discipline called lectio divina, which roughly means ‘spiritual reading’ in Latin.

I’d like to encourage you to utilize this way of reading the Scripture as you spend time regularly with the Bible. Whether on your own or in a small group, this approach to reading Scripture can be a very meaningful path toward transformation. It might sound strange, but I believe if you intentionally approach reading Scripture in a new way like this that is at first uncomfortable, you will learn much more than otherwise.

Here is a brief overview of the form of lectio divina. There are four Latin words that outline the movements of lectio divina: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditation), oratio (prayer), and contemplatio (contemplation).

Eugene Peterson talks about this in the following short video that parses the difference between studying the Bible and truly reading the Bible.

Reading Scripture for Transformation (pt 1)

Matt Erickson2 Comments

Many times, when we read the Bible, we approach it in much the same way that a biology student approaches a frog on the dissecting table. While we gather much information about the various pieces, we’ve failed to get a thorough understanding of what is really in front of us in the end.

While critical study of the Bible – with all of the best tools at hand – is important, such study too often ends with a pile of information in our brains. More than mere information from the Bible, what we want to gain in the midst of our reading of the Bible is transformation. Transformational reading of the Scripture is different than the critical cutting apart of the Bible into so many small pieces while standing above it with goggles on.

Transformational reading of Scripture brings us into a living exchange with God through the Scripture where our lives are opened up to His loving Word. We slow ourselves down, stand in God’s presence, and let Him read His Word into our lives. Sometimes we are comforted. Sometimes we are unsettled. Yet, in it all, we encounter God and are transformed bit by bit into the likeness of Jesus.

Over the next few posts, I want to provide some further thoughts on how we can read Scripture for transformation.