We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.

God beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks to the mountains, 'You go there,' and He says to the seas, 'You stop here, and they do it. Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator...until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, 'No.

The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflection; the gospel requires a response. In the process of hearing Jesus, you are compelled to take an honest look at your life, your family, and your church and not just ask, 'What is he saying?' but also ask, 'What shall I do?'

To be a Christian is to realize that in your sin, you were separated from God's presence, and you deserved nothing but God's wrath.

Privatized faith in a resurrected Christ is practically inconceivable.

The primary reward of the gospel - God himself

Surely the gospel evokes unconditional surrender of all that we are and all that we have to all that He is.