Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded. He loves you with an unfailing love.

Jesus humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary's finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier. Why? Because that's what love does. It puts the beloved before itself.

No acts are random or wasted.

Be kind to yourself. God thinks you're worth his kindness. And he's a good judge of character.

Don't worry about having the right words; worry more about having the right heart. It's not eloquence he seeks, just honesty.

I think I could do better in my approach to application. I think I could do better in preaching practical sermons.

It was a matter of going back through a lot of sermons and remembering the questions and conversations, where these ideas came from. So the book [Max on Life] is really kind of a second chance to answer these questions.