Ministry to the poor is a crucial sign that we believe the gospel.

Tolerance is not the absence of belief. Tolerance is how your beliefs teach you to treat other people

A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antobodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.

I am going to judge my circumstances by Jesus’ love, not Jesus’ love by my circumstances.

A god of less wrath than the God of the Bible is necessarily a god of less love. His anger is a product of his love.

The rich brother needs to let the gospel humble him while the poor brother needs to let the gospel affirm him.

To stand in the presence of God, that is what the Gospel is. The Gospel is not primarily about forgiveness. It’s not primarily about good feelings. It’s not primarily about power. All those things are byproducts, sparks. It’s primarily about the presence of God.