1. 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.
  2. The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it.
  3. Fullness, truth, reality – all this God gives us as his gift in Christ.
  4. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  5. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  6. All our sin and shame is answered for in the death and resurrection of our Lord.
  7. It all starts with God; and it all ends with God. He is the alpha and omega of giving and generosity.
  8. You are a child of God. You’re blameless, holy, perfect, and righteous. Don’t feel that way? Too bad. God is greater than your heart.
  9. You’re not new because of what you do. You’re new and so you do new things, even in spite of yourself, because of your sinful nature.
  10. From the beginning to the end of his letter, John really wants one thing: for us to be in Jesus.
  11. The reason that God’s commandments are not burdensome is that Jesus has fulfilled them.