1. Even if the numbers are bad, the news about Jesus crucified for sinners and raised to new life hasn’t become any less good.
  2. There is a revival, no less real and even more definitive, taking place in every church, every weekend, where God’s people gather around his gifts.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Fullness, truth, reality – all this God gives us as his gift in Christ.
  6. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  7. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  8. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
  9. All our sin and shame is answered for in the death and resurrection of our Lord.
  10. It all starts with God; and it all ends with God. He is the alpha and omega of giving and generosity.
  11. Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.
  12. 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.