November 8, 2022
by Eric Stillman
This past Sunday, I referenced the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery from John 8. In the story, the Pharisees try to set a trap for Jesus by bringing before him a woman caught in adultery. They tell Jesus that the Law of Moses commands them to stone her, and they want to know what he will do about that. As they see it, Jesus has two options: he can either uphold the law, stone the woman, and lose the favor of the crowd of outcasts and misfits that has been following him, or he can show compassion to the woman and disregard the law, and show himself to be no true prophet. As far as the Pharisees can tell, Jesus has no way out....Keep Reading
Posted in: Church life Tags: Church, Grace, Truth, John 8
July 20, 2021
by Eric Stillman
Many years ago, I remember someone telling a story that went something like this:
There once was a little girl who had a necklace made of plastic pearls that she loved to wear. One night, her father came and kindly asked her, “would you please give me your pearls?” The little girl refused, because she did not want to give them up. Night after night, her father would say good night, tuck her in, and then ask “would you please give me your pearls?” And night after night, the little girl would say no.
...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Discipleship, idols, Trust
May 11, 2021
by Eric Stillman
One of the podcasts I have listened to on occasion over the past few years is called The Happiness Lab. In this podcast, a Yale professor named Dr. Laurie Santos looks at the science of happiness, often exposing how our minds are lying to us about what will really make us happy. One of the memorable episodes, called “A Silver Lining,” examined why it is that Olympians who come in third place tend to happier about their finish than those who come in second place. The reason, according to Dr. Santos, is that our perspective on life is largely affected by what we are comparing our situation to. Those who win silver medals look at how close they came to winning gold, and come away disappointed. Those who win bronze medals, by and large, are just happy to have won a medal, as they compare themselves to everyone behind them who missed out....Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Discipleship, perspective
October 13, 2020
by Eric Stillman
This past Sunday I preached a sermon on Joshua 7, a passage that belongs in the Terrible Bible Story Hall of Fame. In the story, Achan’s decision to steal some items from the plunder of Jericho leads to the death of 36 Israelites and eventually to the death of both him and his family. This passage is a sobering reminder of the impact our sinful actions can have not only on us, but our families, community, and the people of God as well.
As I prepared this sermon, I thought of the many spiritual leaders through the years who have brought disrepute on themselves and the church through their own sinful actions....Keep Reading
Tags: accountability, Grace, Sin
September 22, 2020
by Eric Stillman
This morning, I was watching a video in which a couple of counselors were teaching a unique way of doing premarital counseling. Their approach was focused on helping a couple understand each other’s stories, so that they might treat each other with more understanding and compassion. As I observed the couple who was being counseled, I immediately noticed that the woman was wearing a lot of makeup and seemed to have given a lot of attention to her looks.
As I followed along with the session, the counselor asked each individual to share a scene from their story that stood out to them as particularly influential in their lives. ...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Story, listening
September 8, 2020
by Eric Stillman
This past Sunday, I preached on the greatest of all Jesus’ stories in my opinion, the parable of the prodigal son. This story, of a rebellious younger son, an offended older son, and a father who displays extravagant grace, reveals our God to be more loving and forgiving than we could have ever imagined.
The danger of displaying such lavish grace, of course, is that people may come to the conclusion that “I can live however I want and confess later, because God always forgives.” This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer labeled “cheap grace” ...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Sin, Repentance
March 5, 2019
by Eric Stillman
This past year, I finished my Master’s of Professional Counseling degree through Liberty University. One of the classes I took was on substance abuse counseling, and one of the assignments was to visit a couple of AA, NA, and Al-Anon meetings. I had always heard that these groups often succeed in creating the kind of atmosphere and community that the church is meant to display. My experience proved this to be correct, especially in one important way that I think is worthy of consideration....Keep Reading
Tags: Church, Grace
November 27, 2018
by Eric Stillman
In the spring of 2009, I enrolled in my first Masters of Professional Counseling course through Liberty University Online. At the time, I was three years into pastoring NewLife, and it had not been an easy road. I was only 30 years old when I was hired, immature and inexperienced in so many ways. By the spring of 2009, Michele and I were raising a 3 year-old, 2 year-old, and 8 month-old, and I was struggling to pastor the church in a way that was healthy for my family or was life-giving to those who were leading alongside of me. Michele and I decided that it would be wise for me to begin working towards another degree, one class at a time, something that would benefit my ministry if I continued as a pastor, or would serve as a backup plan in case things did not work out at NewLife....Keep Reading
Tags: Relationships, Grace
May 22, 2018
by Eric Stillman
I recently read Brennan Manning’s autobiography, All is Grace. Manning is a former Catholic priest and traveling speaker, best known for his book The Ragamuffin Gospel, which is still my favorite book outside of the Bible. I heard him speak in 1995, when I was a new believer and he “opened” for Rich Mullins at South United Methodist Church in Manchester, and have read most of his books. Manning has an ability to communicate the love and grace of God in a way that is profoundly beautiful and always reminds me that “Jesus loves me just as I am, not as I should be, since none of us are as we should be.”...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Love
November 14, 2017
by Eric Stillman
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a well-meaning pastor teaching on parenting. He was explaining how he and his wife teach their four pre-teen children to obey right away, all the way, and with enthusiasm. He then went on to declare, “Obedience is so important. After all, the gospel is all about obedience.”
Objection, your honor!
The gospel is NOT all about obedience....Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Parenting
April 26, 2016
by Eric Stillman
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a well-meaning pastor teaching on parenting. He was explaining how he and his wife teach their four pre-teen children to obey right away, all the way, and with enthusiasm. He then went on to declare, “Obedience is so important. After all, the gospel is all about obedience.”
Objection, your honor!...Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Parenting, Grace
May 12, 2015
by Eric Stillman
This morning, I was watching a video in which a couple of counselors were teaching a unique way of doing premarital counseling. Their approach was focused on helping a couple understand each other’s stories, so that they might love and support each other better. As I observed the couple who was being counseled, I immediately noticed that the woman was wearing a lot of makeup and seemed to have given a lot of attention to her looks. As I followed along with the session, the counselor asked each individual to share a scene from their story that stands out to them as particularly influential in their lives. The woman shared about a scene from health class in elementary school. The teacher had each of the girls get on the scale to be weighed, and the woman shared about how she was the heaviest girl in the class. Later that day, during recess, she asked to get on a merry-go-round with some of the boys. They refused to let her on, and when she said, “But I’m only a girl,” one of them replied, “Yeah, you’re the fattest girl in the class.” The woman proceeded to share how that scene had shaped her life from that point forward, from self-loathing, to eating disorders, to eventually finding some healing in Christ that has allowed her to minister to other women struggling with body image....Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Grace, compassion
July 15, 2014
by Eric Stillman
Brennan Manning‘s The Ragamuffin Gospel is one of those books that I try to read on a regular basis, at least once every year or two. Manning‘s story-telling, and the way he brings the grace of God to life, has always ministered deeply to me. One of my favorite stories he tells in his book is this one:
Four years ago in a large city in the far West, rumors spread that a certain Catholic woman was having visions of Jesus. The reports reached the archbishop. He decided to check her out. There is always a fine line between the authentic mystic and the lunatic fringe....Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Forgiveness, Grace
May 20, 2014
by Eric Stillman
As we‘™ve been working through Philippians on Sunday mornings, it has been clear that much of the emphasis of Paul‘™s letter to the church in Philippi is unity. He loves his church dearly, and sincerely wants them to love each other with a humble love, showing each other the same grace that they have received from Jesus.
In keeping with that theme, I wish to share an excerpt from a Charles Spurgeon sermon that I read today and found especially encouraging and challenging:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Grace, humility
July 16, 2013
by Eric Stillman
Lately I have found that when I am accused of wrongdoing, I have two potential responses competing in my mind. The first is to defend myself, to give all the reasons the accuser is wrong, and to point out all the way my accuser is just as guilty as I am. My second response is to not only agree with my accuser but to add to my accuser‘s list with all the other ways they neglected to mention in which I am guilty. The first response feels like the right way to go. After all, I am standing up for myself and declaring that I am not such a bad person after all, nor am I alone in being imperfect. The second response, however, is both humble and brutally honest about who I am. It is like the response given by the famous 18th century English evangelist George Whitefield upon receiving a vicious letter accusing him of wrongdoing:
‘œI thank you heartily for your letter. As for what you and my other enemies are saying against me, I know worse things about myself than you will ever say about me.
With love in Christ,
George Whitefield.‘...Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Grace, accusation
April 30, 2013
by Eric Stillman
As I‘ve been preaching through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) on Sundays at NewLife, one of the repeating themes has been how the Pharisees interpreted the law in such a way that they found themselves on the ‘œrighteous‘ side of the bar. ‘œDo not murder‘ meant don‘t kill anyone, ‘œDo not commit adultery‘ meant don‘t have sex with someone who is not your spouse, and their laws on divorce came to mean ‘œAs long as you give your wife a certificate of divorce, it‘s okay to divorce her.‘ In each case, the Pharisees looked at the law and felt righteous. But one of the things Jesus does in the Sermon on the Mount is to explain the spirit and truth behind each of those laws, and in the process raises the bar to such a height that no one - not even the Pharisees - can end up on the righteous side of the bar on their own merits....Keep Reading
Posted in: Discipleship Tags: Grace, Sin, Jesus
April 23, 2013
by Eric Stillman
Brennan Manning, one of my favorite authors and speakers, died on April 12th at the age of 78. His book The Ragamuffin Gospel, written in 1990, is still probably my favorite book outside of the Bible. His ability to communicate the grace and love of God for those of us who are completely undeserving and struggle daily to follow God and trust in His love for us was simply incredible, and his ability to quote books and plays and stories that gave life to his point of view was fascinating....Keep Reading
Posted in: Grace Tags: Grace, Brennan Manning
March 26, 2013
by Eric Stillman
‘œYou see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!‘ (Romans 5:6-10)...Keep Reading
Posted in: Gospel Tags: Gospel, Grace
December 4, 2012
by Eric Stillman
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace
November 27, 2012
by Eric Stillman
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ”s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)...Keep Reading
Tags: Grace, Discipleship
