Life in this fallen world is to a great degree meaningless, our aspirations are constantly being frustrated, and sometimes the respectable people are oppressive and bigoted. And yet there is a Good that will triumph over Evil in the end. From a Christian perspective the problem with both kinds of stories is that they tend to blame problems on things besides sin and identify salvation in things besides God — and therefore are ultimately too simplistic.

The life of faith is not the perfect life; it is the life which clings on to what God has said he will do.

By praying with friends, you will be able to hear and see facets of Jesus that you have not yet perceived.

The gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully acceptable to God, ourselves and others. Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be our own saviour through our own performance and achievement. On the one hand, proud and disdainful personalities come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are succeeding. But on the other hand, discouraged and self loathing personalities also come from basing your identity on your performance and thinking you are failing.

Faith journeys are never simply intellectual exercises.

Job never saw why he suffered, but he saw God, and that was enough.

We can only grasp the gospel's sweetness if we first grapple with its offense- you can't save yourself.