If we are to build and maintain gospel-centered churches, we must allow the gospel to make us honest people.

Yes, we fail, but God is good and worthy to be worshiped. He accepts us by the blood of Christ. We can draw near to him right now.

Miracles point us not only to what God can do but to who God is.

When Jesus entered our world, he came all the way down. He lived no middle-class life. He was invited into the places of power only to be condemned. His withstood the full weight of temptation but never gave in. His sufferings before the cross were intense and profound.

In calling his first disciples, Jesus made certain they understood the cost of following. He said that God’s kingdom, for God’s people, must be the first priority.

Here’s Christ’s kingdom offer: all our striving and trying for all his finished and accomplished.

Here’s the question: will we hold onto the status quo or will we make room for Jesus and join the wedding celebration?

We are all—everyone us—diagnosed with a sickness unto death. And the sinners and tax collectors he sat among saw it. They saw their sickness. So they welcomed the Physician. But the Pharisees didn’t.

In this world, abuse of power comes as no surprise. That’s why when Jesus comes, his use of power is so surprising. With all the power in the universe, he uses it to lay down his life as a ransom for many.

Genesis 12:1 shows us what happens when God speaks to a man. Before God speaks, deadness and darkness; after God speaks, life abundant. Abram’s redemption—like every believer’s—began with God speaking. No one comes to saving faith apart from God’s effective call.