1. 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.
  2. “So loved,” then isn’t about how much but instead simply how.
  3. Love is pointing to Jesus who said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
  7. As the writer to the Hebrews affirms, what makes the Christian gospel so much better is that we are no longer dealing with “types and shadows."
  8. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  9. Who would ever want all these screamers and haters? It turns out that Christ does.
  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. By his first Advent in the flesh, through his second Advent with bread and wine and water and Word, we await his third Advent at the end.
  12. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?