Erie Evangelical Free Church (Erie, IL)

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg kicks off our brand new series, "The King and His Kingdom". Last week, Matthew introduced the call to the Kingdom of Heaven through Jesus' ministry. But what does it look like for us to live in and for such a kingdom? We see Jesus begin to clearly define the life of a Kingdom disciple in the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Lay preacher Aaron Thede brings us a special message on the challenges and value of worship. The Christian life is very simple, but it's not easy. The challenges of walking faithfully with Jesus through our day-to-day lives requires that we live in constant recognition of our opposition so that we might overcome them by the power of God's Word, Christ's sacrifice, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Ron Eckberg concludes our current series in the opening chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. Have you ever been tempted? Of course you have. Have you ever given in to temptation? A double “of course you have”. Fighting the battle with the myriad of temptations that come our way is the most common of our human experiences. Even Jesus was tempted. Really. Join us Sunday as we examine the story of the temptation of Christ and some powerful lessons we can learn from it.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg leads us through the next passage in our study of the Gospel of Matthew. After John the Baptist has called God's people to repent, Jesus immediately shows up to begin His ministry. The interaction between John and Jesus is one of common practice conducted with unique purpose. As we read the scene we see the unique joy and meaning of the work of our lives when we surrender to God's call.

NOTE: We apologize for the lower quality of this week's audio. Due to a technical issue we only had access to the audio directly from the video camera. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will do our best to have the issue worked out next week.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our series in the opening chapters of Matthew. Before Matthew begins the story of Jesus' life and ministry, we meet John the Baptist. John is a man on a mission. He is announcing the serious need to prepare for the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. And what do we learn from this bold proclamation from an unusual man? Matthew 3:1-12 gives us the answer.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our study in the Gospel of Matthew. After Jesus is born, God continues to move through obedient, curious, and even wicked men. The events that follow the Messiah's arrival give us some amazing reminders of how faithful and powerful God is as we rejoice in the blessing of being called to serve Him and His glory through our faithfulness.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the second week of our introduction to the book of Matthew. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promised Messiah. But how did he come to be a part of OUR story? And what do we learn about faithful surrender from that moment when he burst into His creation? Our answers come as we celebrate Christmas in January and study Matthew 1:18-25!

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg begins our new series, "Hello!" This series is the first part of our study through the Gospel of Matthew. Sometimes introductions are not necessary. At least not in order to identity a person. But even when we know a person's identity, to really know them we need an introduction. In the opening verses of the book of Matthew we get a proper introduction of the Messiah which lays the groundwork for the rest of Matthew's account of Jesus' life.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg delivers the final message in our 2023 Christmas series, "Simple Christmas." This Christmas Eve morning message sets our sights on why the simplicity of our perspective of this season is so crucial to enjoying the fullness of the celebration of the birth of the Messiah.

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg leads us through the 4th message in our 2023 Christmas series, "Simple Christmas". In the past three weeks we have discussed simplifying our minds, hands, and hearts around Christmas. But even so, how do we reject these as just another course of action and, instead, allow the truth and beauty of Christmas to transform us? The answer lies in our understanding of and response to God's deliverance through the child in the manger.