Many times people think if God has called you to something, he's promising you success. He might be calling you to fail to prepare you for something else through the failure.

Christians need the gospel as much as non-Christians do.

Those who believe they have pleased God by the quality of their devotion and moral goodness naturally feel that they and their group deserve deference and power over others. The God of Jesus and the prophets, however, saves completely by grace. He cannot be manipulated by religious and moral performance--he can only be reached through repentance, through the giving up of power. If we are saved by sheer grace we can only become grateful, willing servants of God and of everyone around us.

What you do today is shaped by what you believe about tomorrow.

Christmas is an invitation by God to say: Look what I've done to come near to you. Now draw near to me...I want to be a friend.

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.

It's important to remember the Gospel is a story; not a set of bullet points.