1. 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.
  2. Is salvation by the law or not? Moses or Jesus? Indeed, we find a fundamental parting of the ways put forward here, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.
  6. The gospel tells me that the revelation of weakness in myself, my husband, and my son is the occasion for the revelation of God’s strength.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. The resurrection of Jesus encompasses the total and comprehensive glorification of a human being, not merely his restoration.
  10. Christ Jesus brings his word and presence to where you are and he is even willing to do so through the likes of your personally present pastor.
  11. The Parable of the Lost Sheep bursts through the confines of convention and demands that we embrace the messiness of life and the unpredictable ways in which God's grace and forgiveness operates.