Jesus took the tree of death so you could have the tree of life.

The basic premise of religion– that if you live a good life, things will go well for you– is wrong. Jesus was the most morally upright person who ever lived, yet He had a life filled with the experience of poverty, rejection, injustice, and even torture.

The essence of Christian obedience is not do’s and don’ts but personal allegiance to Jesus.

Religion makes us proud of what we have done. The Gospel makes us proud of what Jesus has done.

Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace. Grief was not to be eliminated but seasoned and buoyed up with love and hope.

The story of Jesus changes our lives because it is true.

Christ did not suffer so you wouldn’t suffer. He suffered so when you suffer you will become like Him.