It’s really easy to hang out on the fringe of the crowd around Jesus. You could settle for being a spectator merely watching Jesus work in and through others. Or you can experience an exciting life of significance as you follow Jesus and see him work in and through you!

Many people settle for the cloak of respectable religion. They claim to believe what everyone else believes – no more and no less. But Jesus came to call us into a growing relationship with him.

Telling people God loves you seems tired and pointless. Most of our friends and neighbors act as though that's his job. I have to respect the doubters who say it's arrogant to believe a Supreme Being would care about us. They get it. The idea that God would voluntarily bind himself to us in a covenant is truly awesome.

Most Americans tend to believe a relationship with God is primarily about going to heaven when you die. Plus, they think that all good people will go to heaven. But the truth is that your relationship with God in this life will determine your destination in the next. Plus, moral living will not and cannot make anyone’s relationship right with God.

Human beings have a strong tendency to live life in their own individual ways. We bristle at the idea of anyone – even God telling us how to live. But when we see Jesus' obedience on the cross it can motivate us to obey God.

Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of Man that we, the sons and daughters of man might become the children of God.

So many people are under the impression that there are simply no negative consequences for their sins. But our sins deserve judgment and punishment. Jesus took that punishment for us on the cross when he suffered and died. We need to trust God when he declares we are pardoned because of Jesus.

We often feel trapped and out of control when we try to live according to Jesus' teaching. But Jesus died on the cross to defeat Satan and to set us free to live for God.

Most of us hate the idea of being called a slave to anything especially sin and Satan. However, Jesus died to set us free and we cannot receive it until we admit our need.

In a culture that sees sex as a recreational activity like tennis or as a benefit of being good friends, God calls his people to a life of purity. In a society where sex has become both a form of entertainment and a multi-billion dollar business, God calls us to maintain a pure lifestyle.