If I have the smile of God, all other frowns are inconsequential.

We must neither confuse evangelism with doing justice, nor separate them from one another.

The Cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. Throwing your life away needlessly is not admirable — it is wrong. Jesus’ death was only a good example if it was more than an example, if it was something absolutely necessary to rescue us. And it was. Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive us? There was a debt to be paid — God himself paid it. There was a penalty to be born — God himself bore it. Forgiveness is always a form of costly suffering.

Our character is mainly shaped by our primary social community - the people with whom we eat, play, converse, and study.

It is remarkable that in all of his writings Paul's prayers for his friends contain no appeals for changes in their circumstances.

You should not begin to pray for all you want until you realize that in God you have all you need.

While the difference between a bad sermon and a good sermon is mainly the responsibility of the preacher, the difference between good preaching and great preaching lies mainly in the work of the Holy Spirit. . . . We should do the work it takes to make our communication good and leave it up to God how and how often he makes it great for the listener.