Sermons from 2017
Transforming Faith: Scripture
Pastor Jim Caler brings the first part in a two-part miniseries on Transforming Faith, with a message on reading the Bible in a transformational way. SERMON OUTLINE The Need for Transformation Be a Traveler not a Tourist Romans 12:1-2 Ephesians 4:20-24 Myths about Transformation It happens instantly (Philippians 3:12-16) It happens naturally (Hebrews 5:11-14) It happens willfully (Philippians 2:12-14) The Bible and Transformation (James 1:22-25/1 Timothy 3:14-16) Read Have a plan Work it out Reflect From Root to Fruit (or…
Praise
The end of the journey with God is unmitigated goodness. We see this in Psalm 134, a celebration psalm, which invites us to focus our lives on blessing God, so that our lives are a blessing from God. SERMON OUTLINE “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 134:1) Bless the Lord (vs 1) “Come…” The invitation one to another Praise the Holy God with holy hands (vs…
Unity
Unity is good and pleasant and can only come from God. Psalm 133 is an exploration of why unity within the community is essential to the journey of faith. This unity described in Psalm 133 descends from God to us. Unity is not something that can be manufactured, rather it is God’s gift to His community. Let’s do it well! SERMON OUTLINE Pleasure of Unity (vs 1) Unity is not just good, but also is pleasant Pleasure of unity counters…
Mercy
Psalm 130 describes guilt, points to God’s forgiveness, and then shows the hope that comes as a result of living guilt-free. If we call ourselves children of God, we are able to walk through your guilt confidently and at the same time receive the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. This freedom marks our journey with God! SERMON OUTLINE “Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 130:2) The Mercy of Prayer (vss 1-2) The depths of life The…
Labor
Unless God is at the center of all that we are, whatever we are doing is in vain. This will include some exploration about work, effort, vocation, and worship. Psalm 127 shows us that our work is a gift from God. No matter what work we are doing, we should treat it as a joy because our work can be a reflection of worship unto God, if we give glory to God in our work then He will bless our…
Community
In Psalm 122, we see the need to be joyful in gathering with God’s people, because this is God’s calling to us in community. We shouldn’t look to the church to see what it can offer us, but rather we should rejoice in simply drawing near to the house of the Lord. We must resist individualism and cynicism; instead, our concern should be to worship the Lord in the place we belong. SERMON OUTLINE Joyful Arrival in Jerusalem (vss 1-2)…
Help
In Psalm 121, the psalmist is looking to the hills, and asking where his help comes from? His help comes not from the hills themselves, but from the hill that is God Himself. God helps those that say they need help, this psalm is a form of conversation convincing the reader that looking to God is possible. SERMON OUTLINE “I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,…
Peace
Oftentimes, lies that people tell us hang over our head for years. They cause distress and unrest in our souls, leaving us without any sense of God’s peace. We need to do the soul-work necessary to receive the truth that matters most is in our lives: God and His word. This message from Senior Pastor Matt Erickson kicks off a new sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent, Ascend, beginning with Psalm 120. SERMON OUTLINE I call on the Lord…
Faith and Grace
A sermon from Senior Pastor Matt Erickson as a part of Eastbrook Church’s commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with a weekend focused on two major Reformation themes: “Faith and Grace.” This message includes historical background and context of the Reformation, an exploration of three Scripture passages central to Reformation thinking on faith and grace (Romans 1:16-17; Romans 3:21-24; and Ephesians 2:8-10), and two cautions of the Reformation: division and hero worship. SERMON OUTLINE “For in the gospel…
God of the Displaced Ones, Part 2
Pastor Matt concludes our second week MissionsFest with a message on the displaced and vulnerable ones in Scripture and in our society and what the church’s response can be. SERMON OUTLINE “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34) What is Holiness, Really? Holiness, Cleanness, and…
God of the Displaced Ones, Part 1
We were honored to have Jenny Yang, Senior VP of World Relief, with us to kick off the first weekend of our 2017 Missions Fest. SERMON OUTLINE ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34) The Global Refugee Crisis Numbers, Facts and Figures Individual Stories Three…
Sexual & Gender Identity Q&A
This informative Q&A, moderated by Senior Pastor Matt Erickson, followed the “Sexual Identity, Gender Identity and the Christian Faith” seminar with Dr. Mark Yarhouse on Saturday, October 14, 2017 at Eastbrook Church. Dr. Yarhouse was joined by Drs. Lisa Sinclair and Dave Seemuth to answer questions from the audience on the topics of sexual identity, gender identity, and our Christian Faith.