1. The needs of the people remain the same, but now the people are you and me. We still sin, and that sin causes so many challenges in our lives.
  2. It’s scary to share my struggle and to show that I have cracks because once I’ve shown my cards, I open myself up for judgment.
  3. 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.
  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. Christ our Word, as with a two-edged sword, burst the devil's belly.
  7. 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.
  8. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  9. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  10. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  11. The mind-blowing part of this entire story, though, isn’t that only one leper came back to “give thanks,” but that the Lord Jesus healed all ten knowing full well that only one would come back.
  12. From the beginning to the end of his letter, John really wants one thing: for us to be in Jesus.