1. The story of salvation is the true story of God doing his unexpected work of salvation for us.
  2. If the season of Lent is a journey, Holy Week is the destination.
  3. What we discover in O’Connor’s stories and Martin Luther’s theology is that God’s grace is elusive because the human heart is resistant to it.
  4. Unprompted, without any warning, for no reason at all, without any instigation say, "I love you." And that will wash over your parents like a beautiful absolution.
  5. This is the message of Lent. We are not called to sacrifice for Jesus in order to earn our salvation. Rather, we are called to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
  6. The further up and further into the season of Epiphany we get, the bigger the grace of God in Christ is, the brighter the Light of Christ shines, and the more blessed we are in Jesus' epiphany for us.
  7. We assert, we herald, the truth about God becoming King of the world in and through Jesus of Nazareth alone. It is our public announcement.
  8. God the Father sent us – his wayward, sinful, and naughty children – his own series of Father Christmas Letters.
  9. Psalm 8 is a trailer for the entire biblical movie, and the entire biblical movie centers on Christ.
  10. Rejoice with Mary as she would rejoice with you. Be blessed, like her, with humility from God, so that you may serve joyfully and willingly wherever and in whatever role God has placed you.
  11. Even though All Saints is a day for remembering the dead, it is not a day of mourning.
  12. The good news is that with our God there is always more: more than we deserve, dare, ask, or expect, more than we can see, hear, feel, or think.