1. Are you on the receiving end of freedom? Or are you trying to make yourself free?
  2. The love of God in Christ Jesus never changes. That love is for you.
  3. We can interpret "be the Church" as either law or gospel.
  4. Regardless of background or beliefs, every American I talk to seems on edge, as if the sky were about to fall. But the sky is not falling.
  5. A truly Lenten mindset sees the season as preparatory for the resurrection life of Easter as opposed to the mortification of Good Friday.
  6. The number forty calls to remembrance narratives of God’s great acts of redemption, but also our conformity to and participation in those narratives.
  7. There is no AA for legalists. At least not officially. But there ought to be, and it should be called your local church.
  8. The driving impulse of Lent isn’t so much “giving up” things as it is “putting on” something.
  9. At the Transfiguration, we say farewell to alleluia and hello to the horrific reality of our lost condition.
  10. He was rooted in his own tradition but gracious with others when they wanted to learn about his faith or their own.
  11. Anyone could tell he enjoyed teaching theology and loved his students.
  12. One way or another, Rod always found a way to bring whatever story he was telling back to the gospel and God's grace in Christ.