When your sin puts you in the depths of despair, and you have no way out on your own, there is a God above who rules and reigns and forgives and saves.

A little over a hundred years ago, God broke through in Korea. As the Spirit moved, public confession flowed. Here is one account of the impact.

I recently prepared a talk to my church’s men’s gathering on Psalm 85 and revival. During that time of preparation, I was reminded of a sermon from Ray Ortlund in September 2018. During that sermon, he answered five questions about revival from Psalm 85:6, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

I had a friend who used to answer a common question in an uncommon way. He has since moved to another city, but his response has never left me. For a long time, when I would ask how he was, he gave a three-fold response:

“God is on his throne, everything is going his way, and he loves me.”

I have only a small vantage point compared to the all-knowing eyes above, but what I saw that Sunday was breathtaking.

I recently read Randy Alcorn’s book Money, Possessions, and Eternity. The entire book is a ball of conviction. His argument is so impactful because it comes from the pages of Scripture. This part particularly got me.

When it first launched, www.ImmanuelNashville.com was a picture of a coffee cup, a space for an email address, and an offer to meet for coffee. So I entered my address. A few days later, my friend Jared and I were sitting in a Starbucks with Ray Ortlund.

That email changed our lives.

How “covenental” are our prayers? How centered are they on God’s revealed word? How much do they lean on his promises? How many are merely selfish desires robed in Christian language?

Every church has something at the center. Something driving the gatherings, the activities, the functions. Something serving as the engine powering everything that moves. What’s at the center is what’s all around.

Repentance is part of the good news of the gospel. It’s how we get free. We need that kind of freedom over and over again. Repentance is saying, “I was wrong” to the One who has never been wrong and cannot sin, and, therefore, can help us get out of the mess we’re in.