The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.

The great basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.

Holiness gives us new desires and brings old desires into line with one another.

We have to be careful not to elevate our preferences to moral standards and judge others by them. We only do so to feel superior.

It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you.

Jesus came into this world not as a philosopher or a general but as a carpenter. All work matters to God.

A church must be more deeply and practically committed to deeds of compassion and social justice than traditional liberal churches and more deeply and practically committed to evangelism and conversion than traditional fundamentalist churches. This kind of church is profoundly counter-intuitive to American observers. It breaks their ability to categorize (and dismiss) it as liberal or conservative. Only this kind of church has any chance in the non-Christian west.