Sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge… There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord. One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good.

An idol is something that we look to for things that only God can give. Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to the position of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrine for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtly but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a 'scoffer'.

One of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do.

Jesus experienced homelessness at Christmas so that we could experience a love we could never lose.

Christ's resurrection not only gives you hope for the future; it gives you hope to handle your scars right now.

Faith journeys are never simply intellectual exercises.

The gospel has supernatural versatility to address the particular hopes, fears, and idols of every culture and every person.