Sermons by Pastor Matt Erickson (Page 30)
Lost in the Dark
When Jesus entered into human experience, He was entering into our world and lives where the power of darkness, sin, and evil reign. As He went to the Cross this became only more clear, as Jesus submitted to the pathway that led through death’s darkness. He said at His arrest, “this is your hour – when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53). He became lost in the darkness of death and burial so that we, who are truly lost in the dark,…
Redemption in the Darkness: Job’s Return to Joy through Suffering
When Job walks with God, even obeys God, in the midst of his suffering, redeeming grace breaks in ( Job 42:7-17). How can we also experience greater blessing in our lives through and beyond the seasons of suffering we face? (Job 42:7-17) Sermon Outline “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former.” (Job 42:12) God’s Grace in Loss (Job 42:7-17) God’s grace in restored friendships (42:7-9) God’s grace in relationships (42:10-11) God’s grace with possessions (42:12)…
Hearing God in the Darkness: Job’s Encounter with the Living God
Many times in the midst of suffering we ask God to reveal Himself or His truth into our lives. When God does speak to Job in Job 38:1-42:6, He reminds Job of how small he is in comparison to the greatness of God. How do we learn from Job about appropriate listening to God in the times of suffering? (Job 38-42:6) Sermon Outline “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5) Job’s longing to…
Wisdom in the Darkness: Clinging to God in the Face of Confusion and Adversity
In the midst of the dialogue of Job and his friends, an interlude in Job 28 on the way of wisdom catches the reader by surprise at the center of the book. Wisdom is not easily found, but is readily available. God is the beginning of wisdom and the advocate of wisdom. (Job 28) Sermon Outline “But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?…God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells” (Job 28:12,…
Reverence in the Darkness: Job’s Response to God in Suffering
What does it look like to turn to God in the midst of suffering? How do we recognize the reality of suffering, understand the nature of suffering, evaluate the cause of suffering, and grow through suffering? (Job 1:1-2:13) Sermon Outline “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21) Setting the Stage for Job Overview of the Book of Job Prelude (Job 1:1-5) Acts 1 (Job 1:6-22) Cosmic face-off, part…
Still God
Life is noisy—metaphorically, in our busyness, if not literally. It can be hard to stop; it can feel impossible to stop, tough to deal with silence. Like Elijah, we keep running, motivated by fear and anxiety. But God says to stop and listen; God will show up not in the noise, but in the quiet. His quiet leads us into a response of faithful mission and apprenticing others. We will look at God’s questions, hearing God, having appropriate community, moving…
Wide: Changed with People
Key Passages: Matthew 22:39, 1 John 4:7-9, Matthew 4:1-11, John 3,4,5,9 Sermon Outline “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Learning Wide Love with Jesus (Matthew 22:39; 1 John 4:7-9) The call to wide love Jesus as the way of love Learning from Jesus How Not to Love (Matthew 4:1-11) Love does not ________________________________ Love does not ________________________________ Love is not ________________________________ Four Characteristics of Jesus’ Wide Love Focused on ________________________________ (John 3:1-21) Open to ________________________________ (John 4:1-38) Filled with ________________________________(John 5:1-15)…
Deep: Changed with God
Key Passage: Philippians 2:12-13 Sermon Outline “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.” (Philippians 2:12-13) Jesus the Savior: Saved from Death’s Depths Jesus the Reconciler: Opened to God’s Depths Jesus the Life Changer: Growing to Christ’s Depths DISCUSSION QUESTIONS When have you experienced the need for a total change in your life? What lead you to that place and what happened next? We continue our series, “Jesus Changes Everything,” by looking…
Exile Community
(1 Peter 5:1-14) Sermon Outline “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5) Exile Leaders (1 Peter 5:1-5) Exile Humility (1 Peter 5:5-7) Exile Conflict (1 Peter 5:8-11) Exile Stance (1 Peter 5:12-14) DISCUSSION QUESTIONS We conclude our series, “Exiles,” on 1 Peter by looking at chapter 5. Begin your study in prayer, asking God to speak into your life, and then read that…
Occupied with Suffering
(1 Peter 4:12-19) Sermon Outline “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” (1 Peter 4:19) The Christ-centered Perspective on our Suffering (1 Peter 4:12-13) Unsurprised by suffering The joy of participation in Christ’s sufferings The glory to be revealed The Christ-centered Reason for our Suffering (1 Peter 4:14-16) The Holy Spirit in our suffering The wrong reasons for suffering The right reasons for suffering The Final…
Hidden Victory Within Suffering
(1 Peter 3:13-22) Sermon Outline “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:17) Hidden victory within our suffering (1 Peter 3:13-17) Suffering and doing good Suffering and sharing hope Suffering and character Hidden victory within Jesus’ suffering (1 Peter 3:18-22) Suffering that brings us to God Suffering that proclaims the truth Suffering that upholds God’s authority DISCUSSION QUESTIONS When have you seen God use difficult circumstances in…
Righteous Relationships
(1 Peter 3:1-12) Sermon Outline “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8) Exile Wives (1 Peter 3:1-6) Reverence that Submits Reverence that Wins Reverence that Beautifies Reverence that’s Rooted Exile Husbands (1 Peter 3:7) Reverence that’s Considerate Reverence that Respects Reverence that’s Unhindered Relational Character (1 Peter 3:8-12) A different community (vs 8) Like-minded Sympathetic Loving one another Compassionate Humble A different response: blessing…even in the face of evil…