Preachers and church workers must also hear the gospel preached to them.

Vrtues aren’t abstractions. We don’t learn them intellectually. We don’t practice them like the piano or layups. They’re done to us. 

Our God is a living God and he listens to our cries for help.

Weak faith in a strong Christ is still saving faith. 

From the beginning to the end of his letter, John really wants one thing: for us to be in Jesus.

If our relationship with God is primarily about instructions, commands, behavior, then we’ll be well-versed in the do’s and don’ts, the checklists, but not in what matters most, the center of all Christian teaching and the Christian life, Jesus Christ.

This is an excerpt from the Sinner/Saint Advent Devotional (1517 Publishing, 2022), written by Kathy Morales and Kyle G. Jones. 

If a key part of the Reformation was placing God’s Word back into the hands of the people in a clear, understandable way, then John of Ragusa can be called a “Prometheus” in his own right.

When the Reformers read the Bible (especially when studied in the original languages), they found a God who was gracious and merciful for the sake of Christ.

The good news is that with our God there is always more: more than we deserve, dare, ask, or expect, more than we can see, hear, feel, or think.