“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.

Religion makes us proud of what we have done. The Gospel makes us proud of what Jesus has done.

Jesus Christ was treated as we deserved so that when we believe in Jesus, God treats us as Jesus deserves.

Only on the cross do you have a totally holy God and a totally loving God.

Forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness. To not retaliate is to absorb the cost.

So we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive, whether they are religious (Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing) or secular (Grab hold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now).

Prayer should be done regularly, persistently, resolutely, and tenaciously at least daily, whether we feel like it or not.

Money isn’t an idol. It just shows you where your idols are.

You dont fall into love. You commit to it. Love is saying I will be there no matter what.

Faith is living out and believing what truth is despite what you feel.

It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel superior to him or her.

Faith is not primarily a function of how you feel.

Love is the effort and desire to make someone else everything they were created to be.

When love of one’s people becomes an absolute, it turns into racism. When love of equality turns into a supreme thing, it can result in hatred and violence toward anyone who has led a privileged life. It is the settled tendency of human societies to turn good political causes into counterfeit gods.

Men, you’ll never be a good groom to your wife unless you’re first a good bride to Jesus.

The resurrection was God’s way of stamping PAID IN FULL right across history so that nobody could miss it.