All Articles For Eriks, Garry

What are you doing to serve others? How are you serving your family? You receive so much from your parents. They supply the basic necessities of life, send you to Christian schools, and drive you to music lessons, sporting events, and other appointments. Your mothers and fathers serve you in so many ways. What are you doing to serve them? How do you serve your brothers and sisters, who maybe are not always very kind to you? What are you doing to serve the other members of the church individually and collectively, as young people’s societies? As I am writing...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. There is nothing better for the Christian young person than to be known for godliness. He may be an “A” student, an obedient son at home, a good brother who does not fight with his siblings, and a conscientious catechism student, but none of this matters if he is not godly. Godliness is not simply obedience, but it is a life focused on serving God. In the Scriptures many of God’s people were famous for their godliness already as teenagers. David was known as “a man after his...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. Our society accepts lying as a normal part of life. People lie when they fill out their tax forms. Employees lie on their job applications. Salesmen “stretch the truth” (i.e., “lie”) about the products they sell. Companies falsely advertise by promising a great deal in bold print while printing disclaimers in such small print they can be read only with a magnifying glass. Politicians make campaign promises they never intend to keep. Criminals lie in the courtroom to keep themselves from punishment. Speeders lie to police officers in...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. The first sin committed by Satan in heaven and the first sin committed on earth by Eve were motivated by pride. In this sinful world, we continue to find pride at the root of sinful activity. If we are honest with ourselves, we confess that we find this sinful pride also in ourselves, which makes our consideration of pride so important. We must identify pride for what it is. Pride is not the character flaw of being overconfident, which simply cannot be helped. Pride is sin. And God...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado.

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. Previous article in this series: November 1, 2004, p. 68. In the first article on this subject, we distinguished between the two aspects of God’s one will: the will of God’s decree and the will of God’s precept. God sovereignly determines all things that happen in our lives. In all the events of this world and in our lives God sovereignly accomplishes His will. This is the will of God’s decree, which is a great comfort for us in life and in death. Yet, we have important decisions...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. Luther Becomes a Monk   Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483, in Eisleben in Prussian Saxony. His parents were very poor, but they were hard-working and pious members of the Roman Catholic Church. In home and in school, Luther was taught to be a good Roman Catholic. His parents taught Luther to pray to God and the saints, to revere the church, and to fear devils and witches. In school, Luther learned the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and several Latin and German hymns. In 1501, at...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. During the course of our lives each one of us must make many important, agonizing decisions. We have important decisions to make every day. Parents must decide how to rear their covenant children. They decide where to send their children to school. Parents form rules for their home, decide how to enforce those rules, and determine the consequences for disobedience. A husband and wife make daily decisions about how they will treat each other. The man on the job makes daily decisions about how he will do his...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Contentment is the gift of God’s grace whereby we submit to and delight in God’s will for us. It is to accept joyfully God’s way with us. In His Word, God commands us to be content with what we have. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The apostle Paul reminds us of our calling to be content in I Timothy 6:6: “But godliness with contentment is great...

Rev. Eriks is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Satan has targeted you to lead you away from a life of purity. Through the wicked world, Satan entices you to write your own rules for how you will live your life. His lie to you is, “Follow the lusts of your heart. Eat the forbidden fruit. Do what you want to do whenever, wherever, however, and with whomever you want. If you do this, you will find happiness. God is not interested in your happiness. Do what makes you happy.” Satan deceitfully leaves out the devastation and...