“This is Hebrews two, Hebrews five. God himself in human flesh did that. He was tempted in every way that we are. And while we were still weak, while we were ungodly and his enemies, he died for us. He was made to be sin even though he knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. He did that.”

“What do I do now that I don’t have to do anything for righteousness? It’s like, we’ll consider some of the things that we’ve just outlined: love, humility, patience, bear with one another, weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice. You know, these things. Do these things for the brothers and sisters around you.”

“What does someone do when they find themselves too weak to believe in the goodness and lovingkindness of the father; when their faith feels almost gone? Paul describes it as those who are spiritually weak and sick. What does that person do? James tells him, call for your elders. You do not depend upon yourself.”

“After he’s pronounced salvation for Zacchaeus, for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. So just consider this, this section of Luke’s gospel- not much more than a chapter, you have this: you have a tax collector crying out, God be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus saying, I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other.”

“You don’t have an adequate answer in terms of- to explain all of the nuances of suffering and pain. But one thing that Christianity has to offer is the fact that God the Son took on flesh and dwelt in this world and he suffers these things with us. Like he’s, He’s not just some distant deity sitting off in the heavens who cannot identify with what we’re going through.”

“No matter how hard we work, how hard we discipline ourselves, we manipulate ourselves, we will never reach true satisfaction in this life if it’s based upon us and our performance. But if we humbly embrace the word of Christ, we can have full joy.”

“One’s entrance into the kingdom hinges upon whether one receives God’s son. And one’s admittance into the wedding feast at the end of history hinges on whether one receives God’s son and thereby receives his righteousness to wear.”

“But dear Christian, what kind of fear do you have if you stand based on the ground of Christ’s perfect work? What kind of fear is it?”

“According to James, the reason you should be here is that you need to be reminded to be patiently waiting for what? The return of Christ. And while you wait, what are we doing? We’re loving and caring for one another.”

“For consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise, according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world.”

“So we don’t want to live in fear of loving one another because that, again, misses out on what the joy of what love is. And I think this is why the constant preaching of the gospel – I believe that the love of God has diminished in churches, because we have preached a fear-based, guilt-driven relationship with God.”

“What are your good works for? They’re to help you be effective in loving your brothers and sisters and creating unity within the body of Christ. When we just shove off that responsibility of like, yeah, whatever. I mean, it’s, I know it’s important but… No, it’s more than just important. It’s more than just important.”