Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don't.

All my books come out of sermons, and I'm really a pastor who writes rather than a writer who pastors.

It's one thing to be discouraged. It's another thing to have despair. Despair is when you think there's just no end to this [suffering]. There's no solution for this. Despair is when you think that your suffering has no purpose, and your suffering has no end.

I don't feel like I have a lot to offer in terms of an authoritative voice on a lot of political issue. I don't know how to fix the economy, or how to increase the number of jobs. That is not where I spent my life and thought and meditation. I guess I would like to think that the topics that I am discussing - the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins and the defeat of death - goes up river to all problem.

It's my hope that as you dip your toe into the Bible's story and viewpoint, you'll find yourself feeling that the Good Book knows more about the world - and about you - than any normal book does.

We have the freedom to pray and the freedom to love the God of our heart. And we have been forgiven by the only one who could condemn us. We are truly free.

I co-pastor now, so I preach six months, then another guy preaches six months. So that's really why I'm preparing for January, because I'll finish in June; then I'll be writing and doing other projects for the rest of the year.