Posts with the tag “pastor-brian-erickson”

Loving your neighbor as yourself has to include encouraging and building up your neighbor. Encouraging others is important because most of the people you meet are hurting in some way, even if they don...  Read More

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘fool’ as “a person lacking in judgment or prudence.”Did you know the Bible has a lot to say about a fool? No one wants to be called a fool, yet many of our behaviors are ...  Read More

What makes you angry? For me it’s being disrespected and seeing weak people bullied. I never got in a fight in school (I was big), but I came closest when I was sticking up for a little guy getting pi...  Read More

Do you pray before you eat, thanking God for the food and asking Him to nourish your body? When I was growing up, my parents taught us a prayer they wanted us all to say together before our evening me...  Read More

When it came time for Jenn and I to start having babies, I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot about them…and frankly, I didn’t like them very much. All they do is eat and poop…then they start crying a...  Read More

When my youngest son, Alan, was a toddler, he loved to ask 'Why' questions. We’re riding in the car, “Dad, why does the wind blow? Dad, why do I have to be the youngest? Dad, why does Javier Baez ...  Read More

Did you know we have a ministry in our church called Re:generation? Most people don’t. And those who have heard about it don’t really know what it is. Some say “Isn't that ministry for recovering alco...  Read More

As a kid, I remember summer break as being a great time to play with friends, go on family vacations and attend VBS at church. But then when August hit, the back-to-school sales started at the local W...  Read More

I was sitting in my office at church one morning when the phone rang. I picked it up and heard the voice of a very distraught woman. Through tears she said to me, “Pastor, I lost my job a few weeks ag...  Read More

When I was growing up, I remember a famous runner and author named Jim Fixx. Every day he effortlessly ran many miles, had very low body fat and had no indication of any health problems whatsoever. He...  Read More

Most people think of the Fourth of July as a day off work, and a chance to get together for a cookout with family and friends. Then after dark, light things on fire and watch fireworks.One of my most ...  Read More

My wife, Jenn, is a 2nd grade teacher at Red Bank Elementary School in Clovis Unified. During her summer break she has been taking a few continuing ed classes. She took a class the other day called “T...  Read More

“If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed”—Unknown Since moving from Chicago to California in 2020 I’ve realized that summer seems to have a different meaning to Californians than it does to me...  Read More

As the new College Pastor at Campus Bible Church, one of my responsibilities is to reach the next generation (18–30-year-olds). Churches love talking about reaching the next generation. But what does ...  Read More

A question pastors often get asked is “When did you receive your call to ministry?” Even though all Christians are called to ministry, I knew what the person was asking.I sensed God calling me to voca...  Read More

My son was in the Buchanan High School Band. Every summer, the week leading up to the Fourth of July, the Buchanan Band parents would sell fireworks out of a booth at the Walmart parking lot on Herndo...  Read More

My friend Katie was excited about her new job working with a Christian Home Care for Seniors ministry in the Chicago area. As she started to settle into her new position, she found out that her co-wor...  Read More

Growing up in church, I have had many experiences in and around Holy Week. When I was in grade school, on Palm Sunday our church would have all the kids’ Sunday School classes march into the worship s...  Read More

David Will of the Imperials sings one of my favorite songs called “You’re the Only Jesus”.Here are the lyrics to the chorus:“You’re the only Jesus some will ever see.You’re the only words of hope some...  Read More

February 2024 will not have the normal 28 days, it will have 29. Most of us know that Leap Year happens every four years. But what you may not know is, that approximately every 100 years, a leap year ...  Read More

A few days before Groundhog Day my son, Alan, said “I don’t remember a Groundhog Day where the groundhog didn’t see his shadow.” He said, “There’s always six more weeks of winter.”Then on February 2, ...  Read More

Even as I typed the title for this devotional, “How Should Christians Act During an Election Year?” I thought, “The answer is obvious…Christians should act like they do every other year.”I do understa...  Read More

When I was growing up, my parents got together every-other weekend with two couples to play a game called Aggravation. I think they liked it because they played guys against the girls, and someone alw...  Read More

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