Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn’t mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness.

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.

What the heart most wants, the mind finds reasonable, the will finds doable, and the emotions find desirable.

To preach the gospel is to show people their need for salvation against a backdrop of God's nature and the character of sin, and then present Jesus as the only remedy for what ails them and the world. In my weekly preaching in the worship services I always call people to believe in Christ.

Gifts are abilities God gives us to meet the needs of others in Christ’s name.

If you aren't constantly astonished at God's grace in your solitude, there's no way it can happen in public.

We get angry when we feel like God owes us a better life than we have.