Dr. Eric Gilchrest

What I Learned This Week

For the last seven days, our church has held a prayer meeting every night in which we worshiped together, prayed together, confessed together, and rejoiced together. God moved in mighty and life-changing ways for many of us. As we gather on this Sunday morning, I want to share from my heart some of what God has been teaching and showing me over this past week. I trust it will intersect with what you have experienced and learned as well. 

The Year of the Lord's Favor

As we begin this new year, let us consider our hopes and desires. What do we hope for in our relationships? Our spiritual lives? Our health and well-being? More importantly yet, what is it that we want God to do this year? In us and through us. As we begin this year, let us embrace a mission and a promise that Jesus sets forth in Luke 4:18-19 when he proclaims the pouring out of the spirit, good news for the poor, freedom for the captives, sight for the blind, and the year of the Lord’s favor. 

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us: Bigger Still

The season of advent is a season of possibility. Jesus’ birth means the impossible has become possible. God taking on human flesh means that though you thought life had to be one way, it turns out another way is possible. The Creator becoming part of the creation, means that though you knew God was supposed to do one thing, God knows some things you don’t know. To paraphrase Isaiah, Christmas means, God’s ways are not our ways because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And in the face of this kind of bigger-still God, the proper response is faith.

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us: Humble

There is no debating that Jesus’ humility is a striking aspect of the Christian faith. Jesus was born in a humble manner, he lived a humble life, and he died a humiliating death. Among the world religions, elevating human humility is not unique. What is unique, however, is that Jesus as God incarnate reveals to us a humble God. Could it possibly be true that we serve an almighty, all-powerful God who is also humble? What would that mean?

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us: Life-Giving

In this advent season, we will look at some traditional advent passages to see how they reveal the character of Jesus who reveals the character of the Father. Today we look at the opening lines of John’s gospel. In them we see that the Father and Son are co-authors of all creation. They breathe life into the world. As we prepare for the birth of Jesus, we ready ourselves to receive the author of life himself.

Amazing Grace

Last week we talked about giving thanks and this week we talk about grace. The easiest definition of grace is simply “a gift,” though more often than not it is a gift that is unearned. The relationship between gifts and gratitude is an intimate one. A proper gift should be followed by gratitude, and feelings of gratitude are almost always preceded by a gift of some kind. Gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and in today’s Scripture reading the gift given is that of forgiveness. The response, by the woman who receives it, is gratitude and love. You too have been offered forgiveness, what will your response be? 

Why, Thank You

Going back a few years now, I have made it a habit to speak about gratitude during the week of Thanksgiving. I find thankfulness to be one of the more important virtues one can develop, one that is often overlooked and undervalued. When matured, gratitude becomes a superpower. It shifts our focus onto others, onto life’s blessings, and onto God’s abundance. To live with unceasing gratitude, as Paul calls us to in 1 Thessalonians, is to live a transformed life.

Teach Us to Pray: Lead Us

We have made it to the end of the Lord’s Prayer. Today we talk about the final line: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” There are some assumptions held within this line that speak volumes about Jesus’ expectations of us. The most important assumption is that if we are praying for God’s leading, it means we must be ready to follow. Is that part of your prayer life? Are you ready to follow wherever God may lead?

Teach Us to Pray: Forgive

We are nearing the end of our series on prayer with one final week after this one. Today we tackle the phrase: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus connects the forgiveness we desire and receive from God to the forgiveness that flows out of us to those we encounter. We may not always think in these terms, and we may not like it, but there it is, sitting squarely within the Lord’s Prayer. If we’re going to talk about prayer, then we must talk about giving and receiving forgiveness. Let’s dive in.

Teach Us to Pray: Daily Bread

As we continue to look at the Lord’s Prayer, we once again ask that Jesus teach us to pray. Our focus today is the line, “Give us this day our daily bread.” What a beautiful image the Lord has given us. Daily bread. Not a feast or a banquet. Not a shopping cart filled with food that will last us weeks. Just today’s loaf. What Jesus is teaching us here is manifold and has a clear connection to what God was teaching Israel through daily manna in the wilderness. What this means for our 21st century modern life is not altogether different. Let us dive in.

Teach Us to Pray: Your Kingdom Come

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus, who teaches us to pray this way, knows a thing or two about submitting to God’s will. On the night before his crucifixion, he cries out to God to keep him from death. But Jesus' desire to avoid crucifixion was surpassed by his desire to do the will of God, praying, “Not my will but yours.” In the moment of trouble, this is a hard saying, nevertheless it sits at the heart of what it means to believe or trust in God.