Posts with the tag “pastor-brian-erickson”

I grew up in a legalistic church. When I was in the high school youth group they said we couldn’t dance, because dancing is sin. When I asked why, they said, “Because dancing leads to sex before marri...  Read More

When I was a junior at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL, a mentor was assigned to me. His name was Ed and he was a seminary student attending Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, whic...  Read More

Without trust it is impossible to be in a healthy relationship. So when trust is broken, how do you rebuild it?When a Christian couple named John and Mary came to see me, John had just found out that ...  Read More

I am going through Men In Action for the first time. It’s a curriculum written by Dr. Jim Cecy and Michael Wilhelm designed to equip men to lead in the home, the church, and the community. Pastor Jim ...  Read More

Love must be shown through our actions and not just our words. How many times in your life has someone said to you, “I love you”, but then treated you like dirt? Or said, “I love you”, then talked neg...  Read More

Being born and raised in Chicago, I’ve always been a Chicago Bears fan. Because Chicago is right on the border between Illinois and Wisconsin, we had a few Packer fans at our church in Chicago. Everyo...  Read More

Paul and Barnabas were preparing to leave Jerusalem and return to Antioch. It seems that Paul heard that false teaching had spread to the churches they had planted in Galatia. So he wrote the letter t...  Read More

The Old Farmer’s Almanac considers the Dog Days to be the 40 days beginning July 3rd and ending August 11th each year. This is soon after the Summer Solstice in late June, which also tends to be the b...  Read More

When we lived in Minnesota, I would regularly make the 2-hour drive down I-94 from Brainerd to Minneapolis. And there it was, right along the highway, a billboard with the words, “Be still and know th...  Read More

As the valley temperatures creep into the triple digits, it is going to be harder to do stuff with your kids outside. So there are going to be days where you are going to be stuck inside at home most ...  Read More

Maybe you’re in a dating relationship right now and you’re not sure if this is the right person for you. Maybe you’ve met someone and you’re wondering if you should ask them out. Or maybe you’re singl...  Read More

Now let me be clear, if you’re attending Campus Bible Church, you’ve already chosen the right church, so quit looking. *grin!* But what I’m thinking about is college students who are going to out-of-t...  Read More

Growing up in Chicago, Wisconsin was considered our ‘backyard’. If you drive 20 minutes north, you hit the Wisconsin state line. There are countless lakes for water skiing and fishing, water parks for...  Read More

I started a small group ministry at my church in Wisconsin. They met in homes every week. The goal for these groups was to give people an opportunity to connect with others from our church on a deeper...  Read More

A few years ago I was going through some struggles in ministry. I sought out help from two friends of mine who are older pastors. We decided to set-up a one-hour monthly meeting for them to counsel an...  Read More

Here are a few things that help me grow spiritually, and I hope they can help you, too.1. Connect with other Christians Hebrews 10:25 “...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of ...  Read More

During passion week each year I love to think through each day of Jesus’ journey to the cross.Palm Sunday - Jesus officially presented to Israel (Lk.19:29-44; Mt.21:11-17)Monday - Cleansing the temple...  Read More

In Matthew 28:19 our Lord gave us the Great Commission saying “Go and make disciples.” At this point the disciples had been following Jesus for three years, listening to Him teach the multitudes about...  Read More

When people find out that Jenn and I are from Chicago they love to ask us, “What are some words or phrases people use in California that you don’t hear in Chicago?” A number of phrases come to mind li...  Read More

One of my favorite TV shows is “The Carbonaro Effect”. It’s a hidden camera, magic, TV show. The setting is usually a store, and the host, Michael Cabanaro, is behind a counter selling something. He t...  Read More

In 3 John 4 the Apostle John says, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”I have read that verse many times, but I never really understood it till I led someone...  Read More

The context here is the ‘brotherly love’ we are to show to fellow believers in Christ. Showing‘brotherly love’ means loving fellow believers as we would biological family members. Thinkabout it, what ...  Read More

In this verse God tells us to ‘give thanks’. But there are two words that precede this commandthat have always bothered me, and they are ‘in everything’. Is it really possible to give thanks ineveryth...  Read More

The God of Israel allowed His people to be taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon because of their sin. God was punishing His people. He was getting their attention. He wanted their focus on Him, ...  Read More

When I’m feeling miserable, I choose joy. When I’m in despair, I choose joy. When my life is filled with trials and tribulations, I choose joy.We all have stuff. Whether it’s something as major as los...  Read More

As I reflect on my life, there are a lot of first days. I think the earliest and most significant was my first day of kindergarten. I remember all the anticipation. My mom going over the list of schoo...  Read More