No one can pray and worry at the same time. When we worry, we aren't praying. When we pray, we aren't worrying.

What I may intend for a story to communicate and what a story ends up communicating could be two different things. And it could be an even more positive thing.

I've found great virtue in two-thirds of the way into the message; right before I'm really want to nail home a point, pausing to tell a joke or to tell a light-hearted story, because I know my audience has been working with me now for 20 or 25 minutes. And if I can get them to laugh, get oxygen into their system, it wakes up those who might be sleeping, so there's something about using a story to draw people back in right before you drive home your final point. In that case I think it's real legitimate just to use a story for story's sake.

The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: 'grace.'

Fear corrodes our confidence in God's goodness.

If we can understand that death is not the end but is really a transition into the next life, the great part of life, that frees us up into receiving God's courage and his help.

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.