Baptism is a Reminder

“Baptism is a clear reminder of our new identity in Christ, and a reminder to those who have participated in this ordinance that we have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection. The church of God must tell the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and if people respond in repentance and faith, we must baptize them!” -- Todd Engstrom

Photo by Amancay Maahs

Works vs. Rest

“Jesus didn’t die so we could amass a spiritual resumé of good works but so that we could rest in his righteousness as we obey out of love and humility.” -- Caleb Flores

Photo by Flazingo Photos

How to Get the Attention of the World

“And if we are surrounded by a world which no longer believes in the concept of truth, certainly we cannot expect people to have any interest in whether a man's doctrine is correct or not. But Jesus did give the mark that will arrest the attention of the world, even the attention of the modern man... Because every man is made in the image of God and has therefore aspirations for love. There is something that can be in every geographical climate, in every point of time, which cannot fail to arrest his attention. What is it? The love that true Christians show for each other, and not just their own party.” -- Francis Schaeffer

You Can't Make Disciples

“Let me ask you a question: How are you making disciples? You may be tempted to think, “I don’t know if I can really make disciples.” If that’s you, then I want to let you in on a secret: you can’t. But that’s the whole point. God has put His Holy Spirit in you, and He has equipped you and empowered you to do that which you could never do on your own. That’s the whole point of Christianity. God has not saved you to sit on the sidelines and to do what you’re capable of doing. He has saved you to live on the front lines and experience what He alone is capable of doing.” -- David Platt

Genuine Love

“Genuine love is not primarily a feeling but a costly decision to sacrifice yourself for the good of another person.” -- Mark Altrogge

Perfect Wisdom

“Wisdom is not smarts or morality. It’s not knowledge to win trivial pursuit. If we want to know what perfect wisdom looks like, there is one place to look. The Son of God. The Son of Man. Jesus. The Hebrew word for wisdom basically means skill. It’s used to describe skill in war, art, and craftsmanship. Wisdom is Christ-empowered skill to live for the glory of God.” -- Jeff Medders

The Christian Life

“The liberating truth of the Christian gospel is that God’s love for us and approval of us has nothing to do with us. The Christian life commences with grace, continues with grace, and concludes with grace. Jesus met all of God’s holy conditions so that your relationship to God could be wholly unconditional.” -- Tullian Tchividjian

Union with Christ

“As far as we are concerned, union with Christ begins to be a reality when we trust in Christ for salvation….Union with Christ is, in fact, the foundation of all the blessings of salvation. Justification, sanctification, adoption and glorification are all received through our being united to Christ.” -- Robert Letham 

Surrender and Submit

“The church . . . calls men and women to repent of their false loyalty to other powers, to become believers in the one true sovereignty, and so to become corporately a sign, instrument, and foretaste of that sovereignty of the one true and living God over all nature, all nations, and all human lives.” --  Lesslie Newbigin

Photo by David Carter

The Truly Full Life

“The truly full life is the one surrendered to God in every square inch of it. It’s the life packed in every nook and cranny with Christ as Lord, the gospel our hope, and the Kingdom as mission.” -- Yancey Arrington

Photo by Joe Philipson 

Very, Very Good News

“The gospel, or 'good news,' about Christ is very, very good news because the truth about human beings without Him is so horribly bad.” -- Royce Ogle

Made for Community

“If we are made in God’s image, and He is three persons – then at our fundamental core we are made for community.” -- Tim Keller

Photo by Gian Franco Costa Albertin

The Gospel is Startling News

“The Gospel is the startling news that what God demands from us, He provides for us. How? In His own Son. The Gospel is the message that Jesus Christ delights to switch places with guilty rebels. The one Person who walked this earth who deserved heaven endured the wrath of hell so that those who deserve the wrath of hell can have heaven for free.” -- Dane Ortlund

A New Humanity

“Contrary to some perceptions, Jesus didn't die and rise from the dead so we could attend religious services. Instead, Jesus was raised to be the first of a new humanity, a new creative work of God. As part of this work, we enjoy relationship with God and join him in his mission.” -- Jonathan Dodson

Knowing Jesus Personally

“Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of *knowing* Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited.” -- Brennan Manning

Photo by James Saunders

What the World Needs

“I’ve learned over the years that all-together people don’t exist. And I’ve also learned that even if they did, I don’t want to be one of them. In my weakness, I’ve seen more of Christ, and He is more beautiful than before. I’ve watched Him weave this grace-laced story – messy and twisted underneath - into a magnificent, intentional and clearer presentation for the world to see more of Jesus in me. I’ve learned that the world doesn’t need one more fake all-together Jesus-follower. The world just needs Jesus.” -- Whitney Daughtery

Photo by mahmoud99725

New Graphic - Riches in Christ

Here is the newest graphic I made in English and Romanian. They are 3872 × 2592. You can download them here: English Romanian. If you click directly on the photo Blogger will open it and you can right click and download it that way as well but they will be smaller at 1600 × 1071. Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics.

Photo by Ro9.flickr 

The Most Incredible Promise of All

“Abraham was a former idol-worshiper from Ur who was well past the age for fathering children when God promised him numerous descendants and worldwide blessing. All the patriarch did was believe this incredible promise, and God counted him righteous. But Paul says this truth is about more than Abraham; it applies to us as well. We too can be declared righteous by God if we will only trust in that most incredible promise of all, namely, that the death and resurrection of Christ is the basis of our right standing with God. Justification by faith is not a new doctrine.” -- David Burnette

Photo by Dark Dwarf

A Christian's Highest Vocation

“As Christians today, our highest vocation is to live our lives under the aegis of Jesus’ lordship and to make it clear to all that “this Jesus,” whom men and women reject, is Lord of all. What is more, the Lord Jesus will bring justice to our sin cursed earth and then flood the world with the shalom of heaven.” -- Michael Bird

The Message of Reconciliation

“God has entrusted to you the message of reconciliation, the good news that Jesus reconciles rebels to God.” -- Greg Gilbert and Sebastian Traeger

Understanding the Gospel and It's Implications

Why did Jesus come? He said that one of the reasons He came was to proclaim the gospel or good news? What is the gospel that He proclaimed?  What are the implications for us in light of the gospel message? What makes someone a "real" Christian? Check out this excellent teaching by Skye Jethani to find out the answers to these questions.

Here is the link to my most popular post ever which answers the question Why Should Seekers Consider the Gospel?

The Greatest Love

"The greatest love the human soul can have is to know and love his Creator. To love God. For this love to be the defining love of his whole life and for all of life to revolve around it. All the heart. All the soul. All the mind (Matthew 22:37)." -- Steve DeWitt

Rule-Based Religion is Useless

"When it comes to resisting sin, rule-based religion is as useless as a fire hose full of gasoline." -- Unknown 

Photo by Mike Gabelmann

Nothing More Important

“Make no mistake. Nothing is more important or practical or relevant to your daily struggles and problems and purpose in life than your joy in Jesus, your deep and passionate satisfaction in all that God is for you in him. So pursue that joy for yourself and in those to whom you minister and in so doing join with God in his purpose for having created the universe!” -- Sam Storms

Photo by Axel Bührmann

Building Your Life Around Your Identity

"We build our lives around our identity, around how we see ourselves. If you see yourself first and foremost as a businessman or a housewife or a professional, then you will build your life around this with church as part of an orbiting fringe of activities. But if you see yourself first and foremost as a member of God's missional people, then you will build your life around this identify. Jobs, houses, and incomes all still matter, but they are made to fit around your core identity." -- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

Photo by Tim Morgan

Perfection Not Required

“Dad, you have an opportunity to cultivate the soul of the next generation. You can point them to the ‘one true and good Lord of that field which is their heart.’ You don’t have to be enough for them because God already is enough. Cultivate your soul and act like your heavenly Father toward your kids. Teach them the gospel, repent quickly, and be present—no perfection required—Jesus has that covered.” -- Jonathan Dodson

What is the Kingdom of God?

“So what is the kingdom of God? Sinclair Ferguson defines the kingdom as ‘the rule and reign of God, the expression of his gracious sovereign will. To belong to the kingdom of God is to belong to the people among whom the reign of God has already begun.’ George Eldon Ladd defines the kingdom as ‘the realm in which God’s reign may be experienced.’ Simply put, the kingdom of God is a kingdom where God’s appointed King—Jesus—is presently reigning in and through the lives of His people, accomplishing His will ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ (Mt 6:10).” -- Tullian Tchividjian

A Meaningful Life

“A meaningful life is finding and valuing the beauty of God. Once found, we will inevitably respond and give back to Him.” -- Tim Keller

Photo by Ricardo Camacho

Not Saved to Live in a Bubble

"God has not saved you to dwell in a Christian bubble; God has saved you to spread the Christian gospel, both in the city where you live and to the ends of the earth. This is what we were created for, what we’ve been commissioned to do as a church. This is what we’re compelled to do as Christians, to be disciples who make disciples so that the grace and love of God are spread all over the world through us!" -- David Platt

Photo by Paul Henderson

A Reason Why Jesus Died

"Jesus didn’t die so we could keep on sinning but so that we would have the desire to stop sinning and glorify him in all we do." -- Caleb Flores

Grace Produces Fruit

"God will have a kingdom full of prostitutes not because he overlooks sin but because he forgives and transforms sinners. Yes, God’s love meets us where we are, but it refuses to let us stay there. This is because when the grace of God takes root in your heart then it produces fruit in your life. God’s grace is not a matter of lowering his standards, it’s a matter of transforming his people." -- Jeremy Treat

Photo by lordiablo

New Graphic - Grace is the Gospel's Nectar - English and Romanian

Here is the newest graphic I made in English  and Romanian. They are 1332 x 806 You can download them here: English Romanian. If you click directly on the photo Blogger will open it and you can right click and download it that way as well. Here is a link to all the graphics I have made so far: William's graphics.

Photo by Thomas Hawk