Jesus and His cross are effectively present to us all and all around us in the sufferings and trials of his people.

God pronounces judgment in Jesus. God bears his own judgment in Jesus on our behalf. He's the Lamb of God, sheep and goat, on our behalf.

This has to do with our third strategy to equip you for the work of the ministry. In service--the sacrifice of self--we taste the joy of our master. Fear makes us bad stewards. Jesus makes us good stewards.

This is our second strategy to equip you for the work of the ministry. In small groups we surrender our power to hide (our rings of power). We become visible and thus, real.

Things don't work and catastrophes happen for a reason; that we would call out The Reason, that God could show us The Reason. The Reason is Jesus, the Mercy of God.

Jesus is our vision and worship is our strategy. And as a church, corporate worship is our first strategy to equip you for the work of the ministry.

God desires a continual relationship with you.

We are the bride preparing to receive her groom. If we don't see Him and know Him now in "veiled glory," we won't receive Him in "unveiled glory."

We live in "Flatland" surrounded by God's eternity. The "end" is closer than you think. We don't prepare for the end by hanging on in fear but by giving ourselves away in love.

We must let go of our old security, identity, and sociology to receive the kingdom our Father is giving us.