1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  6. God gives us the power and authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to burdened sinners who entrust us with their pain, guilt, and defeat.
  7. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  8. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  9. Even though All Saints is a day for remembering the dead, it is not a day of mourning.
  10. The reason that God’s commandments are not burdensome is that Jesus has fulfilled them.
  11. Both now and forever, the bruised and crucified Lord nailed to a cross is our assurance of deliverance.