Everything we think we own is stolen property. But if we use it to forgive people and win friends for the eternal habitations, we are blessed.

God finds lost people with his banquet of mercy. They come in two varieties: prostitutes and Pharisees.

You have a baby with some pain but a whole ton of hope. If you believe in Jesus, you're having a baby. That's what all your pain means.

God wants our trust in the midst of our mess. Don't be paralyzed in fear. He cleans us up. We can't do it ourselves. Romans 1:17

If we don't battle for the Lord, we'll be conscripted by someone else. Even so, God battles for us and turns us into His warriors. This sermon also deals with the wonder of Christ's Atonement.

"Greet one another with a holy kiss." Holy kisses made us vulnerable. They judge us and change us. Holy kisses guard us from unholy kisses. Jesus is God's holy kiss.

Jesus tells us,"All authority has been given to me. Go therefore…" We act as if He said, "Not all authority has been given to me. Go therefore." To believe Jesus's word is to go in faith without fear, enjoying the trip.

We objectify God to maintain control (keep Him in the tomb). God hit Himself in an object ("objectified" Himself in Christ) in order to romance us to Himself.

God has a problem. He is just, and He loves us. We are unjust and unloving. So should He kiss us or kill us? Jesus solves God's problem and makes Himself our Bride Groom. We must believe God's problem is solved in order to surrender to His intimate touch in Christ.

We can't raise the dead, but with faith, hope, and love, we bear witness to the one who does. When we panic and try, we bear witness against the One who does. We bear witness that we are our own savior.