A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will grow a great church.
Fear is a self imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.
Living by faith isn’t living with certainty. It’s trusting God in spite of unanswered questions and unresolved doubts.
A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right and evil doesn’t become good, just because it’s accepted by a majority.
We take ourselves way too seriously, and we don’t take God seriously enough. It is not by accident that humor and humility come from the same root word. If you can laugh at yourself, you’ll always have plenty of good material.
In pain, I’d rather walk with Jesus with all of my questions, than walk by myself with all the answers.
The Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped.
So when you say who does Christ die for? He died for the church, okay. I don’t think God’s death on the cross through Christ was a failure, if you are saying that. I do not believe that anybody he intended to die for is failing in that area.
I think we live in a pluralistic society where we have to get along with each other and show common grace to each other.
When pressure builds up, don’t panic. Pray! Prayer is a tremendous stress reliever. It can be your safety valve.
If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and neither can you. Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist.
Use ‘breath prayers’ throughout the day, as many Christians have done for centuries. You choose a brief sentence or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath.
Jesus modeled a purpose-driven life, and he taught others how to live it, too. That was the ‘work’ that brought glory to God.
I’m not going to get into a debate over the non-essentials. I won’t try to change other denominations. Why be divisive?
God accepts us unconditionally, and in his view we are all precious and priceless. Focus on this and you will not waste any time and effort trying to be someone you’re not.
Explanations don’t comfort. You won’t feel better if you know why. It won’t hurt any less.
We had one rule which was ‘whatever you are feeling, that’s okay’
Ministry is received, not achieved.
Prayer is the greatest use of my words.
I believe that the purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence. And fame is not for our own benefit, or notoriety is not for our own benefit, it’s for leverage to do good.