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The New Year’s Do-Over |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on January 3rd, 2012 under Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).
When I was a senior in high school, I was the starting shooting guard on the basketball team. Although I was a pretty good player, I had one major flaw, at least in my mind – I looked really bad in a tank top. Sure I could stroke the three-point jump shot with ease, but my skinny arms left me embarrassed every game, sure that the whole crowd was snickering under their breath at my boniness. You can imagine, then, how I was feeling when I found out that my girlfriend and most of my friends would be attending our big game at East Hartford. Knowing that there would be such a large crowd at the game, I resolved to not look like a weak little boy, and worked out my arms with lots of big weights before heading to the game. The result? Every shot I took with my weak – and now tired – arms landed short of the hoop, producing an embarrassing 1-13 performance for me and a four point loss for our team.
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The battle on the front lines |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on December 20th, 2011 under Missions, NewLife. [ Comments: none ]
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“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15)
One of the most common images of the Christian life in the Bible is that of a battle. As believers, we are encouraged to put on the armor of God daily (Ephesians 6:10-17) as we remind ourselves that we have an enemy, Satan, who is determined to do whatever he can to destroy God’s work. Satan is a master liar, slanderer, deceiver, and accuser who will daily try to bring us to a point where we get out of the battle and go nurse our wounds in a place of safety. All the while, of course, our great God encourages us to be strong and courageous and to stand in the power of the Lord against our enemy: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:7-8).
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Guest blogger: Anthony Varesio |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on December 13th, 2011 under Church, Guest Bloggers. [ Comments: none ]
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Today’s guest writer is Anthony Varesio, with another installment of his “Imperfekt Chronicles.”
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16).
I have been enjoying looking at life as a symphony, a musical collaboration, an ensemble. It is a soothing vision to me, as all the terms afford such a wonderful myriad of analogies for God, Christ, and Life.
God is our Composer. He has carefully selected each participant to submit their particular instrumental talent: percussion, vocals, horns, strings, etc. He even selected his conductor: Christ Jesus. Collectively, the compilation will produce a whole new entity unto itself made with a perfect mingle of balance, harmony, rhythm, fluidness, tone, and lyrics to add literal interpretation of the musical essence.
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If I don’t look at it, is it really there? |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on December 6th, 2011 under Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)
The other day, I went to pick up my son Nate from someone else’s place, and he tried to hide from me by crouching under a table. I could see most of his body, including his big grin, but his eyes were hidden from my sight. I knew what he was thinking: “If I can’t see him, then he can’t see me.” Nate’s behavior reminded me of when my younger brother was that age, and how he used to think that if his eyes were closed, he was invisible. Of course, Nate was mistaken, and after playing along with him for a minute, I grabbed him out from under the table.
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Funerals > Parties |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on November 29th, 2011 under Death, Uncategorized. [ Comments: none ]
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“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
Ecclesiastes 7:2 is a verse I have often used when I conduct funerals and memorial services, for it speaks to how contemplating the death of someone has the powerful ability to put our lives in perspective and remind us of what really matters. The writer of Ecclesiastes goes as far as to say that it’s better to go to a funeral than to go to a party. A party may give us a momentary period of fun, but a funeral truly helps us take account of our lives and, hopefully, adjust the way we are living accordingly. At a funeral, we are reminded that death is the destiny of every man, and therefore it is critical to know whether or not we are right with God.
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The first thing on the to-do list |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on November 15th, 2011 under Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-33)
Today, let Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount be a simple reminder to you. No matter what is bringing you anxiety or stress today, no matter what challenges lie ahead or regrets trail behind, be encouraged to seek God first, trusting Him to order the rest. Perhaps the answer is not finding a new strategy, or working harder in your own strength, or making the right connection, but truly dedicating yourself to taking Jesus at His word and seeking Him first. Not only a relationship with Him, but His kingdom, His righteousness, His plan for this world, that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Believe His promise, that when you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all the things you worry about will be taken care of by your heavenly Father.
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The Penn State scandal and the idols of the heart |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on November 8th, 2011 under American culture, Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10)
It’s been a rough year for college football, as scandal after scandal has rocked many of the elite programs around the country. In 2011 alone, Ohio State’s football coach, Jim Tressel, resigned after he was found to have hidden violations from the NCAA, the University of Miami football team was found to have committed numerous violations so heinous that it could lead to the program being shut down, and this past week, Penn State has been under the microscope after it was discovered that one of its assistant coaches had been sexually molesting boys for years, often at the team practice facility, and that school officials, including the head coach Joe Paterno, had done very little to bring the abuse into the light. Now, the Miami scandals were not much of a surprise, given the tawdry history of the program, but the Ohio State and Penn State scandals were shocking precisely because the head coaches of both schools had been held up as models of integrity. Now, sadly, they find their reputations crumbling around them as it became clear that neither man was as he was portrayed to be.
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Depression |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on October 18th, 2011 under Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.” (1 Kings 19:3-5)
This past Sunday, I preached on 1 Kings 19, a passage which includes the above verses. After three years of incredible faithfulness and trust in the face of life-threatening danger, Elijah finally breaks down in chapter 19, and in his despair asks God to take away his life. From the passage, it seems as if Elijah plans to sleep until he is dead, but God tenderly ministers to him, sending an angel to make him food, reminding him that he is not alone, speaking to him in the “still, small voice,” and giving him a reason to continue living.
Why is it that this passage speaks to me so much more powerfully than the showdown with the prophets of Baal, or the time Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead, or the time he boldly confronted the king and declared that there would be no rain? Read more »
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You’re my hero, Eric Stillman |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on October 11th, 2011 under Discipleship. [ Comments: none ]
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In December of 1997, I sat down with a small group of teenagers from NewLife at Mike and Melissa Smith’s house in Glastonbury. A 21 year-old senior at UConn, I had just recently been hired as the youth pastor at NewLife, and this sit-down was my first “meet-and-greet” with the teens of the church. I remember telling them about some of the people I regularly ate meals with in the UConn cafeteria, and the daydreams I had about challenging the smart atheists to consider the reality of Jesus Christ. In my daydream, I would clearly and cleverly outline the truth of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and skillfully answer every argument thrown my way. Soon, it became clear that the whole cafeteria was listening intently to our conversation. And so, in my daydream, I would stand up and tell all who were listening about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as the crowd responded in affirmation, I would leave the cafeteria, leading the hungry-for-God crowd up the hill to where our Christian fellowship met. And as person after person committed their life to Jesus, the prettiest girl in the Christian fellowship would come up to me and say admiringly, “you’re my hero, Eric Stillman.”
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My house shall be called a house of prayer |
| Posted by Eric Stillman on October 4th, 2011 under Prayer. [ Comments: none ]
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“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:15-17)
If I could only listen to one sermon for the rest of my life it would be a message Jim Cymbala gave at a Christian music gathering in 1994 called “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (you can watch it on YouTube here). Cymbala references the episode where Jesus clears the money changers out of the temple in order to drive home the point that God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer above all other things – not primarily a house of preaching or a house of music, but a house of prayer. Having worshiped at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, where Cymbala pastors, a couple of times, I can definitely say that no church that I have visited embodies that verse and that desire of God’s heart the way his church does.
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