1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Zephaniah has given us something more visceral to help us understand the love of God: the sound of salvation.
  4. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  5. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  6. Christ our Word, as with a two-edged sword, burst the devil's belly.
  7. I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.
  8. 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.
  9. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  10. The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
  11. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  12. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give