Pastor Erik's Sometimes Dangerous Blog
Erik DiVietro
Teaching Pastor,
Bedford Road Baptist Church, 2004
Master of Divinity,
Liberty University, 2016
PhD in Bible Exposition,
Liberty University, 2022
Oddball Contrarian,
Since Birth (according to his parents)
Monday, March 18 Ephesians 3:7-21 It is reassuring to know that he has chosen you and those you journey with to demonstrate God’s “manifold witness.” (v 10) in the public square, people want to downplay religion as secondary to real life. Nothing could be further from the truth according to Jesus and according to the
Friday, March 15 Ephesians 3:1-6 God always wanted you to be saved, to be a part of his church. You are special, but all who are saved are special. You get to be a part of the thing that God has been doing for all of history. This is reassuring isn’t it? That God chose
Thursday, March 14 Ephesians 2:11-22 Churches focus too much on being “appealing” and “relevant.” We forget that our purpose is not to appeal to people but rather to live out the ministry of reconciliation completed in Christ. Whether people want Jesus to be the Savior is completely irrelevant. Remember. The people he served crucified Him.
Wednesday, March 13 Ephesians 2:1-10 Sinners don’t need work to make themselves better. They need gifts from God (v 9). Grace is a gift. Forgiveness is a gift. Faith is a gift. Rather than trying to make things work, we should accept God’s gifts. They are the manifestation of his love to us; and we
There are no scripted prayers for the next two weeks. As you meditate on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, identify passages in the readings that you could make into prayers. Literally pray the text – whether it is in request or celebration or thanksgiving or intercession. Put the words of Scripture into your mouth as
In 1098, the armies of the First Crusade were besieging the city of Antioch. One of the commanders, Etienne Henri Comte de Blois (Count Stephen Henry of Blois as English historians style his name), abandoned the army and fled back to France. On his way, he encountered the armies of the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos
I love the idea of cloud computing. Not having to constantly say, “Oh shoot! That’s on the other computer!” is worth every minute of finding the right cloud service. But which is the right cloud service? There are a ton of them out there: 5. Amazon Cloud Drive I cannot figure out what Amazon is
“Today salvation has come to this house” (v 9) Did you notice that Jesus did not say, “Salvation is come to YOU, Zacchaeus”? In touching Zacchaeus, Jesus was transforming his entire household. Zacchaeus would become the agent of transformation. Jesus made Zacchaeus into a blessing – an echo of what he had done for Abraham
“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.” (v 8) Jesus owns the stuff you consider “yours.” If you think of giving to the ministry of the church or to those in need as giving away “your” stuff, then you do not understand this simple reality. God gives you your stuff
“And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him.” (18:43) When Jesus went to eat at Zacchaeus’ house, he was accompanied by at least a small group of people. One member of that group had been a starving blind beggar at the gates of Jericho. He was invited into not just relationship with Jesus but
