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. In that moment of greatest despair, we find the antidote for all our fears. We know we are beloved of God and there is salvation in Christ’s atoning death.
  3. Jesus weeps because his heart pulses with furious rage and fierce love.
  4. 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.
  5. While midnight might seem long, the mercy of God assures us that the morning will come.
  6. 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.
  7. I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.
  8. In the tumultuous sea of information, opinions, and ideologies that break over us each day, we hold fast to the anchor of our faith—Jesus, the true prophet.
  9. 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.
  10. Chains may have restricted Paul, but nothing can restrict the gospel.
  11. Grace comes for every foolish, self-absorbed sinner, for every “Nabal,” and announces that there is one who has already taken it upon himself to shoulder all of our wrongdoing, paying the price for it through the sacrifice of himself.