We preachers, people entrust us with their time week after week. I'm still stunned that people will let me talk to them for thirty minutes about anything I want to. It's a wonderful treasure that we are to steward.

All preaching should be as creative as we can make it. We've been entrusted with such a treasure. To have anywhere from 50 to 5000 people who give us 30 minutes of their time to hear whatever we want to say - I think they deserve all the creativity that we can give.

God is able to place stars in their sockets & suspend sky like a curtain; surely He is mighty enough to light your path.

Fear creates a form of spiritual amnesia

I think that the Holy Spirit works through the pastors of the church. It helps me avoid the trap of writing to the reading market. It helps me stay a pastor first, because they have no agenda; they are not thinking: "This would this be a good book someday." They're thinking: "How this will help Bob and Suzy who are going through a tough marriage? What series can encourage them?" And so I really bow to their preference.

Don't equate the presence of God with a good mood or a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not.

I certainly don't mean to leave the impression that anxiety can be waved away with a simple pep talk. In fact, for some, God's healing will include the help of therapy and/or medication. If that's the case, do not for a moment think that you're a second-class citizen of heaven. Ask God to lead you to a qualified counselor or physician who'll provide the treatment you need. This much is sure: It's not God's will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. It's not his will that you face every day with dread and trepidation.