1. Like the serpent on the pole, God still puts real-life things up for us to look to for salvation.
  2. Don’t get in the habit (or, if you already do it, get out of the habit) of saying, “I could never talk about these things the way my pastor does.”
  3. Regardless of background or beliefs, every American I talk to seems on edge, as if the sky were about to fall. But the sky is not falling.
  4. He shows up when we are at our worst to usher us back to his side, lead us to repentance, rescue us, and reclaim us as his own.
  5. Sometimes, we get prayer dementia. We can’t remember what we were going to pray for, we can’t put the words together, and, frustrated, there is nothing we can do but sigh and groan.
  6. Regularly reading and hearing God’s Word helps us to keep a song in our hearts.
  7. What if the dissonance in this calendrical coincidence can be harmonized into a deeper melody?
  8. God never delights in seeing his children struggle or suffer. But God does desire that we trust him no matter what the circumstances might look like.
  9. A “good death” and “good life” are not accomplished through personal striving but are grasped by faith in the promises of God.
  10. It would serve us well to embrace the beauty of our diversity within the unity of the body of Christ.
  11. When the waters of anxiety and depression rise, there is One who understands.