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. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  4. 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."
  5. The nefarious thing about idolatry is that just about anything can become your idol: career, family, fame, wealth, status, spouse, you name it, any good thing can become a ‘god-thing” with ease. 
  6. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  7. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  8. Who would ever want all these screamers and haters? It turns out that Christ does.
  9. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
  10. For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of him who works.
  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. Preachers and church workers must also hear the gospel preached to them.