“Jesus didn’t die for you to do things for Him, He died for you to be with Him.”  -David Sliker

You can’t pursue God more intensely than He’s pursuing you. But it’s a noble thing to try. -Bob Sorge

As a type of Messiah, David conquered Jerusalem, thereby inheriting the mantle of its ancient priestly "King of Righteousness." David's sons are referred to as "kohanim" (2 Samuel 8:18). Therefore, the order of Melchi-tsedek is not figurative, but a very real, authoritative office. -Gabe Caliguiri

“God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede” - Oswald Chambers 

The power of the cross does not consist of principals that we can appropriate into our lives so as to live victoriously. The power of the cross is that after we have suffered for righteousness and died, we will inherit eternal life. The cross is not the means whereby we can become our “best selves.” The cross is to be embraced as we die to self, in order that we might inherit life. -Joel Richardson

2018 Fall

Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once. -Spurgeon

If we refer to the attenders of our church as the audience, perhaps we should refer to the one who is preaching as the performer??? That’s never what Church was intended to be. -Scott Volk

The whole impression from our religious meetings will be gone in 3 months, if we don’t bring people into closer contact with the Word of God.  -DL Moody

Something to know about God: One event with Him can be so significant that it’s worth decades of silence while you wait for it. Just ask Anna. And John. And Jacob. And Abraham. And Moses. And Caleb. And Elizabeth. -Bob Sorge

“Half of our trials are owing to the fact that we don’t think we should experience trials.” - John Newton  

It's a shame when people come to church looking for God and only find us. - Carey Nieuwhof

Is there a greater tragedy than when a world who mocked, maligned, ignored, and raged against King Jesus finally comes face to face with the excellence of His glorious beauty and tender heart of holy love?

The regret of the those who reject Him is unimaginable to me. -David Sliker

We need a new generation of preachers to go through old gates of prayer, fasting and consecration to be useful in these last days. -Corey Russell

Jesus is the Sea Walker, who did not need the water parted into dry land in order to deliver his people safely across. The greater miracle for the One Greater than Moses.

"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." 

-Gabe Caligiuri

“The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.” Hudson Taylor

Sin is a worse enemy than Satan. What damns us is unforgiven sin. So Satan’s main work is to get us to sin and keep us from repenting. -John Piper

Today Left/Right politics is the official opiate of the American masses. Like meth, brothels or man-made religion, it’ll rob, ruin and ravage your soul and dement your mind. Save your deepest commitments and passions for something better. Save it for Someone worthy. -Dalton Thomas

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:9. “Confess” (ὁμολογῶμεν): admit to, and agree with God about the moral ugliness and blamewothiness of our attitude or act. -John Piper

Some churches may be happy if your body’s in the building and your tithe in the treasury. But those who really love you will never relent until you look, walk, talk, live like Jesus. -Bob Sorge

Pride thinks too much of us and too little of God. The solution, then, is to fill our thoughts with his glory until thoughts of ourselves grow dull. -John Piper

Song of Solomon 1 amazes me time and time again.

The Bride in her compromise and failure finds her Bridegroom and expects correction and chastisement, yet is met by His overwhelming love and encouragement regarding her love and worth. Jesus’ love is not like our love.  

-David Sliker

An unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart, and if you can't forgive, you haven't sensed His forgiveness. -Timothy Keller

“True compassion takes into account far more than what a person feels today; it takes into account what he or she will feel on judgment day.” -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church

Throughout Scripture, it was never the proud or arrogant that attracted the Lord but rather the humble and the lowly. Better to be attractive to the Lord than to be revered in the eyes of man! -Scott Volk

You may have a genuine gift from God, a prophetic gift, or a healing gift, or a preaching gift, but that doesn't mean your interpretation of scripture is correct just because you are gifted. -Dr. Micheal Brown

“Are you in a hurry, flurried, distressed? Look up! See the Man in the Glory! Let the face of Jesus shine upon you. Is He worried, troubled, distressed? There is no wrinkle on His brow, no least shade of anxiety. Yet the affairs are His as much as yours.” - Hudson Taylor

True faith is our weakness leaning on God's strength.  -DL Moody

"The only safe place for sheep is by the side of the shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the shepherd." AW Tozer

"It is always just possible that Jesus Christ meant what He said when He told us to seek the secret place and to close the door." C. S. Lewis, Decision.

“We have tried to attract people through so many different strategies. What if they saw an army of people with inexpressible joy, peace that surpasses comprehension, and immeasurable greatness of power? How could they not be intrigued?” -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church 

Revelation 21 If the New Covenant opens the gate of the coming New Jerusalem, then the names of the sons of Israel on those gates testify to the fact that the covenant from the blood of Abraham's Seed did ratify rather than subsume the inheritance of his ancestor and his offspring. -Gage Caligiuri

When Jesus referred to "the feast" with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he was referring back to Isaiah 25. It will be on the earth in the millennial Jerusalem. We cannot rightly understand Revelation 19, the location and timing of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb apart from this background.  -Joel Richardson

"The exclusion of the weak and insignificant- the seemingly useless people- from a Christian community, may actually mean the exclusion of Christ." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The heart and power of the early Church's witness was that 'those who believed were TOGETHER', 'and great Grace was upon them all." - Art Katz

Shepherds and teachers must not think only of what end-time doctrines they teach, but how to encourage their listeners to apply those doctrines rightly in the lives. If we are not encouraging an thoroughly engaged, fearless, prepared urgency, then we are failing our listeners. -Joel Richardson

Like Jesus, I want an inner reality in God that exceeds my reputation. Revelation 3:1 -Bob Sorge

“There is nothing terribly difficult in the Bible—at least, in a technical way. The Bible is written in street language, common language. Most of it was oral and spoken to illiterate people...So when we make everything academic, we lose something.” -Eugene Peterson  

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” — Charles Spurgeon 

Contentious and divisive teachers tend to produce students who are contentious and divisive. Humble and gracious teachers tend to produce students who are humble and grace-filled. The spirit in which one teaches is just as important as what one teaches. -Joel Richardson

“If there is one area theologically that we should be humble, it is eschatology.” -  Joel Richardson

“Rather than creating our own pep rallies, our calling is to simply put Him on display and watch as He draws people to Himself." -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church 

 Every time we speak God’s word back to Him, we are declaring the supremacy of God’s word over our lives, circumstances, and emotions. -Corey Russell

“I have but one passion: It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world, and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” ― Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf 

The Gospel is a fact; therefore tell it simply... The Gospel is a fact of infinite love; therefore tell it feelingly... The Gospel is a fact about a Person; therefore preach Christ. - Archibald Brown 

"Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having."-CS Lewis

Jesus isn’t a “step ladder” into your destiny.. He wants to call you to Himself, kill your destiny and resurrect His calling in and through your life. -Corey Russell

If we're honest, we would prefer Jesus as a consultant rather than king. -Timothy Keller

“My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself.” -CS Lewis

“Prayer is the mark of a lover. Those who deeply love Jesus can’t help but pray often.” -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church 

Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when you wake in the morning look to Him; when thou lie down at night look to Him. -Spurgeon

"The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the Perfect One." AW Tozer 

What does a person choose to do when given unthinkable and unstoppable power?

That Jesus chooses meekness, love, servant-heartedness, and intercession shouts so many things about His beauty, worth, leadership and love. 

-David Sliker

No one living today needs to be convinced that the world is fundamentally unjust, corrupt, and broken. They need to be convinced that the One who made all things will indeed "make all things new." Christians, proclaim the good news and let your light shine, in this dark hour.  -Joel Richardson

When Jesus returns it will be said: "The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness." (Psalm 68:17) -Joel Richardson

"If missions languish, it is because the whole life of Godliness is feeble. The command to go everywhere and preach to everybody is not obeyed until the will is lost by self-surrender in the will of God. Living, praying, giving and going will always be found together."-A. T. Pierson

The gift of prophecy is not primarily about your future—it is primary about Jesus' future. "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10 ESV) -Samuel Whitefield

“No one is called to be constantly fed without leading and feeding others. Turn around and look. If there is no one following you, something is wrong with your life.” -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church

An idol is anything that you turn to and say, "Save me." -Timothy Keller

In biblical cosmic geography, Israel was at the center of the nations. It's center was Jerusalem. It's center was the Temple. It's center was the Holy of Holies. At it's heart was the Ark. It held the two tablets containing the ten commandments: Israel's marriage certificate. -Joel Richardson

“The vine now I see, is not the root merely, but all—root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit: and Jesus is not only that: He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we ever dreamed, wished for, or needed.” -Hudson Taylor

Men strive to emerge from trials and seasons of difficulty with their dignity. God desires that we emerge more humble, prayerful, leaning fully on Him. Pretty big difference.

-Joel Richardson

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). With eyes wide open, Jesus steadfastly pushed forward toward the day of His betrayal, arrest, torture, mutilation, and execution. That's how much He loves us.

-Joel Richardson

Islam's "prophet" followed the self-seeking pattern of the world. Muhammad had a veneer of religious piety but his goals were those of any self-seeking, self-glorifying individual. In other words, Islam preaches what the world already understands.

We, however, preach the cross.

-Joel Richardson

"By catering our worship to the worshippers and not to the Object of our worship, I fear we have created human-centered churches." -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church

Our Lord said go. He said nothing about coming back. . . . There are no closed doors to the gospel, provided that, once you go through the door, you don’t care whether or not you come back out. -Brother Andrew

Thinking how wonderful it’ll be to finally hear Jesus read his own words from Scripture. To hear his inflections. See where he smiles as he turns a phrase. To watch his expression when he says Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. -Beth Moore

“While we can’t force people to be devoted, it may be that we have made it too easy for them not to be. By trying to keep everyone interested and excited, we’ve created a cheap substitute for devotion.” -Francis Chan, Letters to the Church

The Gospel is not an old, old story, freshly told. It is a fire in the Spirit, fed by the flame of Immortal Love; and woe unto us, if, through our negligence to stir up the Gift of God which is within us, that fire burns low. - Dr. R. Moffat Gautrey

What an astonishing thing is sin, which maketh the God of love and Father of mercies an enemy to his creatures, and which could only be purged by the blood of the Son of God - Spurgeon

Modern philosophers will accept anything except the bleeding Substitute for guilty man - Spurgeon

"The command has been to ʻgo,ʼ but we have stayed—in body, gifts, prayer and influence. He has asked us to be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth. But 99% of Christians have kept puttering around in the homeland." - Robert Savage

"We talk of the second coming, half the world has never heard of the first." - Oswald J. Smith

If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself. -Tim Keller

"…If God were proud He would hardly have us on such terms: but He is not proud, He stoops to conquer, He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him, and come to Him because there is 'nothing better' now to be had.” -CS Lewis

It’s the poor in spirit that desire to pray.  

“The persistent widow and the friend at midnight get access, not because they are strong but because they are desperate. Learned desperation is at the heart of a praying life.” -Paul Miller 

The 5 most important words in the book of Acts. And when they had prayed (Acts 4:31) 

-Dick Eastman

“We were made not primarily that we may love God…but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest “well pleased.” To ask that God’s love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God.” -CS Lewis

If our interior lives aren’t built and cultivated, our exterior circumstances will crush us. -Corey Russell

“I am ready to burn out for God. I am ready to endure any hardship, if by any means I might save some. The longing of my heart is to make known my glorious Redeemer to those who have never heard.” -William Burns

"If I look at the world, I will conform to ways of the world. If I look at the Word, I will conform to the will of God" AW Tozer

To be a fellow-soldier with Paul often meant to be a fellow-prisoner with him. There's a lesson here for all of us who want to stand for what is right. There is a cost. -Dr. Michael Brown

He said "Love...as I have loved you." We cannot love too much.” ⠀ ― Amy Carmichael⠀ 

"I am profoundly grateful to God that He did not grant me certain things for which I asked." —Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Christ is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3. Among your family, your friends, your colleagues, this world, you cannot make too much of Christ.  -John Piper

I'm all for praying that God will shake everything that can be shaken, revealing corruption and sin and hypocrisy. But I do so with fear and trembling. Are you sure your house will stand? Let us judge ourselves carefully before Him so we are not judged with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32) -Dr. Micheal Brown

"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed." —Hudson Taylor

"Resurrection not only raised up Christ, it also vindicated God as a good Father." —Bob Sorge

This is astonishing! And incredibly important—that in the last day when we are completely changed and conformed to Christ it will be by a *sight* of him. “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2. Think of the implications for preaching and counseling!  -John Piper

You never arrive at mercy by bending on righteousness and truth. -Bob Sorge

John Piper: “Every millisecond of your misery in the path of obedience is producing a peculiar glory you will get because of that suffering.” 

Want to be prophetic? Soak yourself in the Scriptures. The prophets did not bring a "new" message: https://buff.ly/2AXnKk5  -Samuel Whitefield 

"If you've read the Bible and have not encountered the Living Christ, you have not really read the Bible" AW Tozer 

"God is a God of missions. He wills missions. He commands missions. He demands missions. He made missions possible through His Son. He made missions actual in sending the Holy Spirit." – George W. Peters⠀

“While bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8. Words you will not here at the Judgment Day: Nice tan. Nice abs.  -John Piper

God is a Builder by nature. He’s been building for all eternity and will continue to do so forever. The cross invites us to be players in His ever expanding kingdom. I’m all in. -Bob Sorge

"To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it." —Charles Spurgeon

“Hell can’t be made attractive, so the Devil makes attractive the road that leads there.”— St. Basil the Great

Paul went to Damascus to arrest Christians and instead got arrested by Jesus. -Dr. David Ireland

When we worship, we gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and grow in the knowledge of who He is. -Rick Pino

“The covenantal promises made to the Jewish patriarchs and prophets, mediated by the Jewish Messiah, and proclaimed by the Jewish apostles is the foundation that the New Testament Church is built on.”  -Jordan Scott

If you truly care about the truth, you will want people to believe it. Say it, then, in a way that makes it as hearable as possible. Words take craftsmanship. You need truthful words. You need kind and gentle words. And you need apt, appropriate, beautiful words. -Tim Keller

Israel's story follows a simple pattern:

(1) Zealous commitment to the Lord.

(2) Failure to keep the aforesaid zealous commitment.

(3) The Lord's loving chastisement.

(4) The Lord's forgiveness and restoration.

Basically, Israel's story is the same as all of our stories. -Joel Richardson

It is common for modern Christians to live as if the return of Jesus does not pertain to them; it is also common, therefore, to ignore everything Jesus, Paul, and Peter said about the great falling away from the faith. We really can not afford to think this way any longer.  -David Sliker

2018 Summer

“One of the greatest ironies of the history of Christianity is that its leaders constantly gave in to the temptation of power even though they continued to speak in the name of Jesus, who did not cling to His divine power but emptied himself and became as we are.”  -Henri Nouwen

The applause of man is like an inflated currency. It looks significant but it has very little eternal value. -Lee Cummings 

How diligently have you labored to make your call and election sure? “Be even more diligent” 2 Peter 1:10.  -Bob Sorge

The American definition of love is “liberated acceptance” (unto independence). Heaven’s definition of love is “fiery jealousy” (unto holiness).  -David Sliker

Your Beloved Is Ready

She has saved her whole heart for you Lord,
She has kept her eyes pure for you Lord.
She has waited and waited, while her hungers were raging,
To taste only the love of her Lord.

She has set her delight in you Lord,
She has stayed all her thoughts on you Lord.
She has stilled her desires, all her tossing and straying,
She has put all her hope in you Lord.

You have washed her for the day of her wedding,
Promised yourself, by your Spirit abiding.
In the earthquakes and war, Lord, can you hear her singing,
Her arms are raised high, she is radiant, she is holy,
Your beloved is ready.

She has shut out the greed of her soul,
Scoffs at scarcity, rotting and mold.
She has given so freely, to the mean and unworthy,
She’s so loved that she cannot withhold.

She surrendered her fight for control,
She has waived every right that she holds.
She wiped out all the debts that she’d demanded from others,
Cause she knew that she’d owed so much more.

You have washed her for the day of her wedding,
Promised yourself, by your Spirit abiding.
In the earthquakes and war, Lord, can you hear her singing,
Her arms are raised high, she is radiant, she is holy,
Your beloved is ready.

She has torn up her murderous laws,
Her comparing and searching for flaws.
But you’ve made her so humble, holding others so highly,
That her joy has been filled to the full.

She took off her pretense for you Lord,
She confessed all her shame to you Lord.
She came out of her hiding, to be know so profoundly,
She’s so free she can dance for you Lord.

You have washed her for the day of her wedding,
Promised yourself, by your Spirit abiding.
In the earthquakes and war, Lord, can you hear her singing,
Her arms are raised high, she is holy, she is radiant,
Your beloved is ready.

While the people were on the ground, carousing and worshiping the Golden Calf, the awe-inspiring theophany, the Lord’s glorious presence, manifested as fire, continued to cover the mountain (Deuteronomy 9:15). Golly Gee.    For all those who wrestle with the pain of rejection or betrayal, just think about this: Yahweh's bride actually cheated on Him, right in front of Him, during the flipping wedding, with a deaf, dumb, and blind Egyptian calf-god. -Joel Richardson

“As Christians, we should be the most disciplined, eager, focused, loving people around. The mission is worth the training, the sacrifice, the pain.” -Francis Chan 

The psalmist envied the sparrow and swallow who were able to nurture their young inside the very tabernacle of God, Psalm 84:3. O to raise our kids in His presence! -Bob Sorge

"We have all eternity to celebrate the victories but only a few hours before sunset to win them." - Amy Carmichael 

When you realize the things that are truly valuable can only be received from heaven (John 3:27), you become a person of prayer.  -Bob Sorge

Five lies of identity:
1) I am what I have.
2) I am what I do.
3) I am what other people say or think of me.
4) I am nothing more than my worst moment.
5) I am nothing less than my best moment. 
 -Henri Nouwen

Jesus Christ is the repository of all faith and love. To get more, go directly to Him.  - Bob Sorge

Premillennial futurists eagerly await the return of Jesus Christ and the restoration of all things. Preterism holds that everything is already fulfilled, thus the only thing left to look forward to is death. Preterism is literally the anti-Gospel.  -Joel Richardson

There is no gospel without repentance. If you don't include someone in the call to repentance, you end up excluding them from the gospel. Ironically, calls for greater inclusivism in the church are often not inclusive enough.  -Sam Allberry

As a young Christian I believed going to Heaven instead of Hell was all that mattered. But as I read the Bible, I saw that to be called to God’s purpose is to be conformed to the character of Christ. God’s purpose for our suffering is Christlikeness. That’s our highest calling.  -Randy Alcorn

A sermon born in the head reaches the head, but a sermon born in the heart reaches the heart. - Leonard Ravenhill

How we handle loss is perhaps the greatest revealer of what we truly treasure. May we live in such a way that shows we value Jesus and His promise of eternal life above all.  -Joshua Hawkins

The call to have "faith" is not a call to blind belief or baseless trust. It's reckoning God as trustworthy and reliable based on His past track record. How can we be confident He'll do everything He's promised? Because of what He's already accomplished and fulfilled in the past.   The primary way we grow in faith is not through wishful thinking or teeth-gritting. It's as simple as opening the Scriptures and reminding ourselves of how He promised things and perfectly fulfilled them. We grow in confidence as we anticipate promises yet to come to pass.  -Joshua Hawkins

Paul said that our present bodies are to our future immortal bodies, like a seed to the plant that sprouts from it. So also is the current Jerusalem like a dried up seed compared to what it will be when the Lord dwells there.  -Joel Richardson

When Satan sifts, 1) he has to ask, 2) God sets the limits, 3) Jesus is praying for you, 4) Your faith will not fail, and 5) Afterwards, you’ll strengthen others. Luke 22:31-32  - Bob Sorge

We have in our history stories of those that came before preaching the gospel with words “like a hammer that broke the rock of human resistance” and “a fire that burned men’s hearts like grass”, yet we settle for strategies, numbers and applause. 

The Bible and Church History testify of human possibility under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to bring dramatic, lasting change and we instead lock in to the imitation of perceived success by cultural measures. 

I believe the Lord is going to stir provocative young leaders that aren’t moved by crowds, applause, fleeting honors and well-managed systems but will yearn for everything that the Bible promises in this age to the human heart.    - David Sliker 

When the Church lives and functions as a cohesive family that shares life, meals, and possessions together (like it did in the book of Acts), there will be a great sense of awe accompanying it wherever it goes (like it did in the book of Acts)!  -Scott Volk

Tolerance isn't about not having beliefs. It's about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.  - Tim Keller

There are things we’ve received from the Holy Spirit that we must actively keep or they’re lost. 2 Timothy 1:14 -Bob Sorge

“Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure. ― C.T. Studd 

The Lord's Supper and the New Covenant

Seeking First the Kingdom

Apocalyptic Ethics (2 Pet 3:11)

"Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God. He whose Word cannot be broken formed thee for His own abode. On the Rock of Ages founded, what can shake thy sure repose? With salvation's walls surrounded, thou may'st smile at all thy foes." // John Newton 

“Encouragement is like verbal sunshine. It costs nothing and warms other people’s hearts.” - Nicky Gumble 

When the older generation that you follow and admire doesn’t have the skills to walk with you into your next season, don’t get an attitude. Become the spiritual parent you wished you had.  -Bob Sorge

“The God who created will also re-create, and the miraculous potentials he activated at the beginning will again be seen at the end, when he restores the flesh-and-blood people Israel to their land and station, renders justice to Jew and Gentile alike reverses the very real tragedy of death, and ushers in a better world without it.” - Jon D. Levenson, "Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel"

"The great thing about being introduced to new truths is that there is no such thing as too late in the kingdom of God." —David Sliker 

Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either. - Bonhoeffer 

If there is no hell, the Lord’s chastening of His people is cruel and unusual punishment. But if there is a hell, it’s utter compassion that removes every prop so we turn to Him with all our hearts.  -Bob Sorge

True enjoyment of God must naturally lead to mission--to helping others see the beauty you see.--Tim Keller 

“Our marriage problems are not really marriage problems. They are heart problems. They are God problems. Our lack of intimacy with God causes a void that we try to fill with the frailest of substitutes." -Francis Chan 

"The fear of the Lord means being more impressed with God’s reactions to our actions than with other people’s reactions." —Joy Dawson 

Marriage is the Mack truck driving through your life, revealing your flaws and humbling your reactions.  -Tim Keller

"Yahweh is a warrior; Yahweh is His name." (Exodus 15:4)

After the Red Sea was torn in half, near the very foundation of the Lord's self-revelation of Himself, Moses made two simple statements. Ironically, both are quite foreign to most Christians today. 

-Joel Richardson

Muslims often demand to see where Jesus declares Himself to be God Almighty. We can point to where He says, "I'm the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end” (Rev 22:13), but we can also just point to where Jesus calls Himself "the bridegroom" (Luke 5:3).  -Joel Richardson

“If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.” -John Piper