September 19, 2023
by Eric Stillman
How do you know that you are saved, right with God, going to heaven, born again, or whatever other phrase you want to use to describe this most crucial question of life? Paul writes to the Corinthians to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Okay, Paul – if we need to test ourselves, what questions should we be asking? Let me share what I believe are the three most important questions we should ask in order to investigate the genuineness of our faith:...Keep Reading
Posted in: Salvation Tags: Salvation, Heaven, eternal life, Gospel
March 28, 2023
by Eric Stillman
The Bible is full of hard sayings, and perhaps none is harder than John 3:36. The assertion made here, and echoed throughout the New Testament, is that a person’s eternal destiny depends upon whether or not they believe in Jesus. It is not hard to comprehend the logic of the argument; rather, what is hard is allowing the full weight of this statement to impact our hearts. If these words are true, then every day we are interacting with people who, unless they repent of their sin and trust in Jesus, are headed for an eternity separate from the God who created them, experiencing forever the just wrath of a holy God. It is not a pleasant thought, but it demands our attention, careful consideration, and compassionate action....Keep Reading
Posted in: Evangelism Tags: Evangelism, Heaven, Hell, C.S. Lewis
February 7, 2023
by Eric Stillman
In 2004, I bought my first cell phone. It was a Samsung flip phone, and it was amazing. For the first time, I could call people from my car or the store. I could even send text messages. That is, as long as I had enough patience to press the numbers multiple times in order to eventually get to the letters I wanted. And if the Wi-Fi was right, I could even slowly surf the internet. I had truly arrived....Keep Reading
Posted in: Heaven Tags: Heaven, Technology, Longing
January 18, 2022
by Eric Stillman
There are few videos that bring the tears quite like reunion videos. A daughter is surprised at school by her military father, home from serving overseas. A son who was given up for adoption meets his birth mother. Even watching a pet who has been separated from his owner find him and jump all over him can bring the waterworks.
In Revelation 21 and 22, we are given a glimpse of what eternity will be like....Keep Reading
Posted in: Heaven Tags: God, Heaven
September 7, 2021
by Eric Stillman
In a couple of days, I will be driving to New Jersey for my uncle’s funeral. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that “It is better to go to a house of mourning that to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). One of the reasons it is good to be in a house of mourning, according to this verse, is that it reminds us that our earthly life will one day come to an end, and that we would be wise to live with that reality in mind....Keep Reading
Posted in: Death Tags: Death, Heaven
November 10, 2020
by Eric Stillman
Raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember Bruce Springsteen’s song “Glory Days.”
Glory days, well they’ll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye
Glory days, glory days
Now that I have two boys playing high school soccer, I find myself more nostalgic than ever before about my own high school days. ...Keep Reading
Tags: Heaven, C.S. Lewis, nostalgia, glory days
September 4, 2018
by Eric Stillman
In a book I read recently, an American Christian interacted with a seminary student from Africa. The man from Africa expressed his amazement at how little Americans speak of heaven in church. In his country, he said, they talk about heaven all the time. But, he realized, Americans don’t talk about it as much here because we have everything we think we want in this life. We are so comfortable that we don’t need to look ahead to heaven.
Perhaps there is some truth to this....Keep Reading
Tags: Death, Heaven
April 24, 2018
by Eric Stillman
Have you ever listened to a convicting sermon and found yourself saying to yourself, “Boy I hope SHE is listening” or “How I wish HE was here to hear this.” Because, after all, THAT PERSON has sins that need to be confronted, not us. In our pride, we are so often blind to just how desperately we need the amazing grace and refining fire of God.
In keeping with the theme of pride, I want to share an excerpt from a Charles Spurgeon sermon that I read recently and found especially encouraging and challenging: ...Keep Reading
Tags: Discipleship, Heaven
September 5, 2017
by Eric Stillman
It is a continual struggle around our house to keep things clean and in order. As you can imagine, four children (along with the occasional foster child) and a few pets cause their fair share of chaos on a daily basis, and do precious little to help repair the damage. Every night, once the kids finally fall asleep, we find ourselves amazed again at the amount of work that goes into simply maintaining some semblance of order.
Having dealt with this experience on a continuous loop for the past twelve years, I have come to realize that there exists, more so in my wife but still to some extent in me, a desire that everything would be in its right place....Keep Reading
Tags: Heaven, Order
June 27, 2017
by Eric Stillman
In a book I read recently, an American Christian interacted with a seminary student from Africa. The man from Africa expressed his amazement at how little Americans speak of heaven in church. In his country, he said, they talk about heaven all the time. But, he realized, Americans don’t talk about it as much here because we have everything we think we want in this life. We are so comfortable that we don’t need to look ahead to heaven.
Perhaps there is some truth to this...Keep Reading
Posted in: Heaven Tags: God, Heaven
January 5, 2016
by Eric Stillman
As a preacher, I have benefited greatly from other preachers who find a way to bring every sermon back to the gospel of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us. These preachers are able to take the story of Joseph in Genesis, a Psalm, a Proverb, or any other Biblical passage, and skillfully show us our need for a Savior, and how Jesus provides what we truly need. Instead of preaching “should” sermons, where we are given an ever-growing list of work we need to do in order to please God, these preachers talk about the work Jesus has done for us, and how we stand righteous before God because of that work, free to follow God without fear of condemnation. These messages reinforce how deep God’s love is for us, how valuable we are in His sight, and how we are free from having to perform for anyone in order to earn that love and value....Keep Reading
Posted in: Heaven Tags: Heaven, eternal life
September 23, 2014
by Eric Stillman
It is a continual struggle around our house to keep things clean and in order. As you can imagine, four young children and a few pets wreak their fair share of chaos on a daily basis, and do precious little to repair the damage. Every night, once the kids finally fall asleep, we find ourselves amazed again at the amount of work that goes into simply maintaining some semblance of order. There exists, more so in my wife but still to some extent in me, a desire that everything would be in its right place. Every room would be neat, every chore finished, every crumb off the floor, and every piece of clothing folded neatly in its drawer. Every item on the to-do list would be crossed off, and there would be true rest from the constant work.
But such a state of order is always and forever just out of reach....Keep Reading
Posted in: Discipleship Tags: Discipleship, Heaven
