1. Confession and absolution offer more than assurance, they gift real and genuine Divine promises.
  2. Even at Lewis’ graveside, Havard was a faithful friend, and a friend full of faith in Christ, confessing his hope in the resurrection.
  3. Faith sees your neighbor not as a means to an end, not as a way to score points, but as an object of love: Christ's love and yours.
  4. We must also address the stigma surrounding addiction within so many churches.
  5. What if Jesus had said on the cross, “Earn it”?
  6. It is of the utmost importance that pastors teach their congregation that through faith in Jesus Christ, they are fortified against the machinations of the adversary.
  7. Honest confession brings us into the fatherly care of God where we are always greeted with grace, mercy, peace, love, and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
  8. God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
  9. I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.
  10. A pastor is sent to proclaim the unconditional grace of God, reminding us again and again that it is our Heavenly Father who reaches out to us in love through his Christ-won forgiveness, and not the other way around.
  11. While we wait in tribulation for our white robes (or pants) to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, we confess to one another our seen and unseen stains.