The Gospel is not a picture of adoption, adoption is a picture of the Gospel.

In Colossians 2:12 and 1 Peter 3:21 baptism is an expression of the faith of the person being baptized. I [do] not see how an infant could properly receive this ordinance as an expression of his or her faith.

God wills to be displayed and known and loved and cherished and worshiped.

God seldom calls us for an easier life, but always calls us to know more of him and drink more deeply of His sustaining grace.

This assumes that the glory of Christ is our highest treasure, not health, wealth, family or even life. So preaching must continually show not that Jesus is the means to prosperity but that he is better than prosperity.

What is the essence of evil? It is forsaking a living fountain for broken cisterns. God gets derision and we get death. They are one: choosing sugarcoated misery we mock the lifegiving God. It was meant to be another way: God's glory exalted in our everlasting joy.

He shook my dozing soul and threw the cold water of reality in my face, so that life and God and heaven and hell broke into my world with glory and horror. (on CS Lewis)