A Broken Church

“A church without the broken is a broken church.” -- Ed Stetzer

Photo by Fruitnet.com

Not Our Cosmic Butler

“Probably the most important thing to understand about evil and suffering is that God is not our cosmic butler. It’s not his job to provide happiness for his human pets. You would never get the idea from the Bible that God is interested in making people feel happy, especially if they ignore him and his moral laws. Everything God does with people is meant to make them know him better and serve him better, and many things that happen to us that don’t make us happy, but they do give us the opportunity to either grow towards God or away from him.”

Photo by www.audio-luci-store.it

Focus on What Jesus has Done

“When you sin it’s perfectly natural to feel bad and it takes no faith to reach for the fig leaves of dead religion. But if your sorrow is to be godly sorrow, then your focus must be on what Christ has done and not what you have done. As Andrew Wommack says: ‘If you feel like you’re so sorry, then praise him for the fact that he loves such a sorry person as you! Instead of focusing on your unworthiness, thank him for his goodness.’” -- Paul Ellis

Photo by Racineur

Becoming Like Jesus

“We need to spend less time forming Jesus into an appealing hero of our own design, and more time being transformed by Jesus into a holy people. The more we paint a true picture of Jesus, the more like that Jesus we will become, and the less of a disconnect between the Jesus we say we follow and what they see in our lives.” -- Ed Stetzer

The Prize of the Gospel

“The gospel is the good news that God in Christ paid the price of suffering, so that we could have the prize of enjoying him forever. God paid the price of his Son to give us the prize of himself.” -- John Piper

Skepticism and Desires

“We are easily skeptical of authority, of church, of anything institutional although it is God who created these institutions. Whereas doubt is a natural effect of a pursuit of truth—of a sincere faith—skepticism is the youthful passion of someone who just doesn’t want to commit to anything or submit to anything other than their own desires.” -- Jim Essian

Biblical Understanding of Humility

“Entrusting ourselves to God is the essence of the biblical understanding of humility.” -- Dan Notti

Test of Maturity

“The true test of our maturity is not measured in how much we leave behind, but how much we love.” -- Ed Stetzer

Photo by fauxto_digit

Joy and Fulfillment

“We don’t pursue God’s glory at the expense of our joy and fulfillment, but rather we pursue, proclaim, and replicate God’s glory as the means by which our joy and fulfillment can reach their highest heights.” -- Dustin Crowe

Photo by Marina del Castell

Godly Sorrow

“Godly sorrow is not something you have to manufacture to impress the Lord. Nor is it a work that has to accompany your faith. Godly sorrow is when God works through the aches and hurts of our mistakes to draw us to himself. If your sorrow leads you to God, then it’s good and godly sorrow. But if it leads you away from him, perhaps because you have been told to focus on your unworthiness, then it’s not.” -- Paul Ellis

Finding Happiness

“Happiness for the Christian is not found in fulfilling one’s own pleasure, but in living a life based on God’s design as expressed in Scripture.” -- Hugh Whelchel

Understanding Leads to Worship

“A growing grasp of the gospel proves itself through a growing desire to worship Jesus Christ.” -- John Henderson

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

Genuine Love

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

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