Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the conclusion of our current series, "The King and His Kingdom," on the first book in the Gospel of Matthew. In the final teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew relays how Jesus leaves His followers with a choice and it's the same choice we face today: How will I respond to Jesus' call to follow Him in His Ki…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the next message in our series in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. Sometimes we have a goal or a purpose in mind and, while it takes great effort, we can work our way to achieving that goal. But then what? It's easy to let down our guard and slip back into old habits. When it comes to hearts that pursue the …

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg launches us back into our study of the book of Matthew. Information is important, but it doesn't do us much good unless we figure out what to do with it. In the second half of the sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us what it looks like to live as citizens of the Kingdom he described in Matthew 5. In Matthew 6 he tells us th…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg preaches on Easter morning. The faithful disciple of Jesus Christ knows that Easter is an important day for our faith. It is the reminder and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Why is Jesus' sinless life and sacrificial death not enough? Why is it so crucial for us that Jesus rose from the dead? In this Easter message…

Pastor Ron Eckberg brings a special Palm Sunday message to EEFC. We celebrate as Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was met by a multitude of adoring fans. A few days later he faced the cross—mostly alone, abandoned, and denied. Will we be those adoring, fickle fans that run when the story doesn’t go our way or will we be faithful followe…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our study of Matthew as we look at the next section of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount by reminding his disciples of their calling to and blessing in His alternate kingdom. But how, then, does this change His disciples lives? In the next section of His teaching, Jesus raises the bar on…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg preaches the second week of 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 …

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 t…

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, Chr…

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 tempte…

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 me…

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…

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 thro…

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…

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 …

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.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

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? Th…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the third message in our 2023 Christmas series, "Simple Christmas." As we approach Christmas day, the seasonal celebrations begin to pick up steam. As they do, the question remains: In the flurry of activity, how do we avoid falling into mindless participation and tradition? This week we discuss how we can walk throu…

Pastor Ron Eckberg teaches the second week of our 2023 Christmas series, "Simple Christmas". With Jesus as our central focus of our season we have peace in the busyness of the weeks ahead. But, how does this help us move from walking through mere tradition or mindless activities to a purposeful service to the Kingdom and to those around us? We disc…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg kicks off our 2023 Christmas series as we look to regain the majesty of Christmas story in a series titled, "Simple Christmas." In this first week we discuss slowing down to grasp the peace of Christ in the midst of the chaos of the season.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

Pastor Ron Eckberg preaches a special Thanksgiving message. Thanksgiving is a day we set apart to express our gratitude for all we have been blessed with. But why should we need to be reminded? Why must we set aside a day to encourage us to give thanks, especially when we have so much to be thankful for? This week we see how God calls us to a life …

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg concludes our series in the book of 2 Timothy, called "Keep the Fire Burning." As we come to the end of this letter, we find in Paul's farewell a last call to the task at hand. In building a hot, bright fire of faith we are not presented with a picture of how we put this fire to work in the context of the body of Christ.…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues to lead us through our study of the book of 2 Timothy. Building, working, and maintaining the fire of our faith if hard work. Over time it can become easier and easier to lose focus or become overwhelmed by fatigue and opposition. In 2 Timothy 4:1-8 Paul gives us instructions on how to constantly keep the fire burn…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the sermon in our current series, "Keep the Fire Burning." Few things are maintained without some hands-on effort. The fire of our faith is no different. After describing the approved worker and warning against the ways of the false teachers, Paul now comes back, in 2 Timothy 3:10-17, to show Timothy – and us – how t…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues to lead us through the book of 2 Timothy in our series, "Keep the Fire Burning". Last week we were confronted with three questions to help us keep our fire burning. But how do we know when we are dealing with a flame that is flickering out? This week we see the evidence of a dying flame and the warning signs to kee…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg leads us back into our study of the book of 2 Timothy. It's usually pretty easy to know where we need to go, but along the way we face distractions from outside and within. So how do we know we're on the right track? In 2 Timothy 2:20-26, Paul offers Timothy three questions to make sure his fire remains hot and bright as he …

In a break from our current series, Pastor Ron Eckberg teaches a special message on responding to the unknowns in our lives. Everywhere we turn we face the "what ifs" of life. Some will come to pass, most will not. So how should God's people respond to the continued negativity of our world and, sometimes, our own minds? The Apostle Paul gives us a …

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our study through the letter of 2 Timothy. We all know the power of words. With our tongues we can build others up or just as easily tear them down. In 2 Timothy 2:14-18, after affirming the power of the fire of faith (v8-13), Paul tells Timothy how a hot and bright fire purifies a believer, starting with the tongu…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues to lead us through our study of 2 Timothy. Through the first section of Paul's letter he has implored us to do the hard work of tending to the flame of their faith. But now, in 2 Timothy 2:8-13, we find a shift to remind us of the power of the flame we've been discussing and why it is so important for us to keep it…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the next lesson in our study through 2 Timothy. Over the past few weeks, we've seen the necessary elements for building and protecting the fire of our faith. But how do we GROW that fire? Paul instructs Timothy on the work needed to build an increasingly bright and hot faith in 2 Timothy 2:1-7.…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our study of 2 Timothy in our series, "Keeping the Fire Burning". The flames of a fire may look remarkably similar even though they burn from very different sources. The same is true of the passion of those who claim faith in Jesus. And yet, we have all seen false flames burn hot and bright before flaming out. This…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the second week in our study through the book of 2 Timothy. Last week we discussed the fuel God has given each of us to keep the fire of our faith burning hot. But even with that fuel, we have work to do to keep the fire burning. What does it take to keep the fanning that flame? The Apostle Paul tells us how in 1 Tim…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg begins a new series on the book of 2 Timothy called, "Keep the Fire Burning". It is an easy thing, over time, to lose a bit of our passion for even the most important things. Once that fire begins to "settle down" can it be rekindled to a blazing flame? Of course! Paul shows us how God gives us the proper fuel to do so in th…

A special message at Erie Evangelical Free Church from Jon Brands.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

A special message at Erie Evangelical Free Church from Josh Green.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

A special message at Erie Evangelical Free Church from Ron Huisman.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the second week of our Back-to-School series, "The Final Bell," in which we discuss the biblical significance of embracing death. Last week we discussed the need to embrace the reality of death in order to allow Jesus' victory to sharpen our focus, clarify our purpose, and deepen our joy even in the loss and pain of …

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg kicks off the first week of our Back-to-School series, "The Final Bell," in a discussion about death. We know death is important (we talk about Jesus' death). We know death is inevitable (we talk about how every person dies and faces judgment). But, still, we often keep it at an arms-length. We prefer not to deal with it in …

Pastor Jonathan concludes our series, "Behind the Shield," by looking at the end of the story of Esau's family, Edom, in the Old Testament book of Obadiah.Oleh Erie Evangelical Free Church

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our series, "Behind the Shield." Everyone wants to live a life worthy of being remembered. But what is our standard for what we deem worthy of remembrance? Genesis 36 offers us a comparison between two lives and two legacies. This comparison gives us two godly guidelines for how we can leave a faith-filled legacy.…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg leads us through the next message in our series on the life of Jacob. This week we find Jacob's part of God's plan to bless the world coming to a close. This conclusion is not full of the grand excitement one might expect. Jacob is faithful and God takes care of him, but we are reminded here that our job is not to fulfill OU…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg jumps back into our study of Genesis in our series, "Behind the Shield." Sometimes the responsibilities, concerns, or even joys of everyday life can steal our focus and leave us in a "rut". This isn't necessarily wrong, until it steals our attention from what God has called us to do. In these times we must reset our focus on…

Pastor Ron Eckberg delivers a special Memorial Day message at EEFC. Memorial Day should be a somber day of remembering those who paid the ultimate price defending freedoms we enjoy. For Christians, however, there is a greater “Memorial Day” called “Every Day” – for every day, hour, and minute should be a reminder of the price Christ paid for our fr…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our study of the life of Jacob in our series, "Behind the Shield." Genesis 34 is a dark chapter in our study of Jacob's life. It is full of lust, deception, and murder. Not exactly an uplifting example of godly living! However, through this darkness God shows us three important guides to help us live gracious lives…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches the next message in our series, "Behind the Shield." No one likes to be wrong. Most of us like admitting our errors even less. In Genesis 33, Jacob must come face to face with the mistakes of his past. But through this meeting and shocking reconciliation, we learn three important aspects of faithful forgiveness.…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg continues our series, "Behind the Shield," as we look at the life of Jacob. Ever work hard on a problem, only to come to the end of the day and think, "Duh! I should have known that!" It can be easy to miss truths that should be obvious. Sometimes God uses the dark of night to teach us lessons we should have learned in the l…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg begins our new series, "Behind the Shield," as we look at the closing scenes of Jacob's journey. Sometimes we feel like life moves us out of the frying pan and into the fire. This is how Jacob feels as he begins his journey back to his homeland. As he faces the ever increasing danger ahead, God shows him (and us!), through G…

Pastor Ron Eckberg brings a special message to our morning service called, "When We Gather". Every believer understands that gathering to worship with the body of Christ is important. But why? Whey can't we just engage in online Bible studies and virtual services? What happens when we gather that makes that time so vital to our spiritual growth and…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg follows our Easter message with a special sermon titled, "Re-Launch". It's easy to get off track and to let fear, doubt, or disappointment take our focus off who we are meant to be and what we are called to do. But Jesus' resurrection was the exclamation point on His restoration of our lives. So, even when we wander, how doe…

Pastor Jonathan Eckberg teaches our Easter message. "Jesus is alive!" It's our glorious, worshipful cry of Easter morning. But in the midst of our celebrations, do we stop to ask: What does that mean in the face of the busyness, trials, and triumphs of our daily lives? We celebrate and consider this foundational truth in Luke 24:1-12.…