To know everything but Christ is to know nothing of any value.

Think about the grace of the gospel to you, and you’ll have access to a lasting reservoir of joy.

cf 2:22-23 Christ will fill all things with himself, and he will do so through the church by feeding her with his word through empowered ministers.

Spirituality is not in league with greatness.

If Satan cannot stop you believing the Gospel, his next resort is to stop it impacting the way you live. The Gospel unlived is the Gospel unheard.

The glory and the shame of Old Covenant piety: The glory – that God honours those who are the same inside as out. The shame – that one’s own flawed character is all there is to trust.

The devil’s job description is upfront at the start: to make disobedience attractive.

You do not know the end from the beginning, but you do know you are safe.

Being a prophet is costly not only because of rejection by the hearers, but more deeply also. The prophet pays the price in the depths of his spirit because of the gulf between the holiness of the word he bears and the filth of the world to which he must speak.

A princely call, or a poisoned chalice? The servant of the Gospel can expect a measure of both.