Sermons by Pastor Matt Erickson (Page 30)
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…
Righteous Suffering
(1 Peter 2:11-25) Sermon Outline “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12) The noticeable life of the exile (1 Peter 2:11-12) Exile abstinence Exile indulgence The social responsibility of the exile (1 Peter 2:13-17) Free submission Free for God’s will Free for doing good The upturned household of the exile (1 Peter 2:18-21) Upturned…
New Hope
(1 Peter 1:13-2:3) Sermon Outline “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13) Hope and grace (1 Peter 1:13) Grace now Grace to come Hope and holiness (1 Peter 1:14-21) Holiness that reflects God’s character Holiness that reflects God’s gift Hope and love (1 Peter 1:22-25) Love overflowing from holiness Love going deep with others Hope and…
New Life
(1 Peter 1:1-12) Sermon Outline “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) ______________________ …a reality check (1 Peter 1:1-2) “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1:1b) Exile______________________ …the giving God (1 Peter 1:3) “Praise be to the God and Father…