1. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  2. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  3. 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.
  4. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  5. In Memory of My Friend, James Arne Nestingen
  6. That great truth of creedal Christianity – that God is man in Christ – is not set forth for our speculative enjoyment.
  7. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  8. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
  9. Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.
  10. You are the friend in low places. It’s only from this place that you are free to look outside yourself for the remedy to the issues that plague you and humanity.
  11. Preachers and church workers must also hear the gospel preached to them.
  12. Through water, blood, and word, the Spirit never stops pointing us to Christ, and even more, giving us Christ.