Rev. Don Erickson

Our gospel reading today for many is the most important passage in all of scripture. The scripture shows Jesus in the beginning of his ministry laying out from the get-go the reason he is here. Jesus in this passage gives us the heart of the matter, the gospel in a nutshell. The Nutshell's Tree That said, it's important to remember that the nutshell comes from a tree. John 3:16 comes from a passage of scripture. The whole of that passage of scripture gives us the tree from which the gospel in a nutshell came. As we will see, the full tree is really a wonderful one. Do you know how in the Bible we have a book name, the chapter of that book, and the verse or verses? For example, we have the book of John, chapter 3, verses one through sixteen. Well, this sectioning into chapter and verse makes it easier to reference things consistently. So, I can say go to John chapter 3 verse 16 and you’d know where to go. And I could have said this 200 years ago, and people would know the same...

The search for a minister position is rather interesting. Virtually all churches who are looking for a minister essentially say a couple things when describing what they want in a preacher and his or her preaching. They want someone to inspire the congregation. And they want someone who elucidates and preaches in ways that apply scripture to their daily lives. Inspiration and application, the two big characteristics looked for in preaching. Now, I would add that preaching also needs to challenge us sometimes. One cannot live on inspiration alone. Sometimes, a spiritual nudge, or as my dad might say, a swift metaphorical kick in the derriere is necessary in good preaching. Now, don’t worry, this sermon will not be doing any kind of swift kicking. But I just wanted to encourage you as you enter the busy season of looking for your next minister, that a church cannot live on inspiration alone. The talent of gentle nudging is important too. There is another busy season we are ente...

  I begin this morning with letting you in on the trade of sermon writing. It is an essential trade of the minister, and each minister does it a little differently. Some read and some work off notes. Some ministers look ahead and have their sermons planned out for the next few weeks. Some feel it better to be more flexible and responsive to present happenings, and don’t plan too far ahead. Some preachers begin writing the sermon or outlining the sermon on Monday. Some wait till later in the week though they are thinking about it throughout the week. Some even wait till Saturday to actually put the sermon down after pondering it the whole week. The minister of my childhood church didn’t write his sermons and hardly used notes, and he’d get up really early Sunday morning, take a prayerful walk, and he’d go through what he wanted to say. In other words, the trade of preaching is extremely diverse. Each preacher is different, and the tricks of their trade is very individual...