1. This is an excerpt from part two of “On Any Given Sunday: The Story of Christ in the Divine Service” by Mike Berg (1517 Publishing, 2023).
  2. What if sin was truly removed and what if the one who took it from us had the power to conquer it’s curse and spit in the face of death?
  3. It’s scary to share my struggle and to show that I have cracks because once I’ve shown my cards, I open myself up for judgment.
  4. We can’t predict the harvest. We can only sow.
  5. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  6. To believe God is love and thus loves you is a miracle wrought by the Holy Spirit.
  7. His love for you is so deep that in his mercy, while you were yet a sinner, God sent his only begotten Son to die for you.
  8. “So loved,” then isn’t about how much but instead simply how.
  9. Love is pointing to Jesus who said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
  10. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  11. The gospel's message is the scandalous announcement that Yahweh has stooped to our frame, to where we are.
  12. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.