1. Paul knew that, without the resurrection, the Christian life was a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video.
  2. We can interpret "be the Church" as either law or gospel.
  3. God gives his church a story that helps to make sense of this life.
  4. It would serve us well to embrace the beauty of our diversity within the unity of the body of Christ.
  5. A pastor shares his own experience of loneliness and hope
  6. Confession and absolution offer more than assurance, they gift real and genuine Divine promises.
  7. We must also address the stigma surrounding addiction within so many churches.
  8. The issue is not the existence of so-called inner rings, but our desire and willingness to spend our lives in order to gain from an inner ring what is freely promised in Christ: hope, security, and identity.
  9. It is of the utmost importance that pastors teach their congregation that through faith in Jesus Christ, they are fortified against the machinations of the adversary.
  10. Honest confession brings us into the fatherly care of God where we are always greeted with grace, mercy, peace, love, and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
  11. God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.