1. 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.
  2. We don't make Church "happen." Only Christ can do so. It's his happening.
  3. Even if the numbers are bad, the news about Jesus crucified for sinners and raised to new life hasn’t become any less good.
  4. 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.
  5. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  6. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  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. 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.
  9. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  10. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  11. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
  12. Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.