Put Bluntly, The American Church Today Accepts

Our Culture Says That Ruthless Competition Is The Key To Success. Jesus Says That Ruthless Compassion Is The Purpose Of Our Journey.

To Ignore, Repress, Or Dismiss Our Feelings Is To Fail To Listen To The Stirrings Of The Spirit Within Our Emotional Life. Jesus Listened. In John's Gospel We Are Told That Jesus Was Moved With The Deepest Emotions (11:33)... The Gospel Portrait Of The Beloved Child Of Abba Is That Of A Man Exquisitely Attuned To His Emotions And Uninhibited In Expressing Them. The Son Of Man Did Not Scorn Of Reject Feelings As Fickle And Unreliable. They Were Sensitive Antennae To Which He Listened Carefully And Through Which He Perceived The Will Of His Father For Congruent Speech And Action.

Suffering, Failure, Loneliness, Sorrow, Discouragement, And Death Will Be Part Of Your Journey, But The Kingdom Of God Will Conquer All These Horrors. No Evil Can Resist Grace Forever.

Though It Is True That The Church Must Always Dissociate Itself From Sin, It Can Never Have Any Excuse For Keeping Any Sinner At A Distance.

Nevertheless, The Central Affirmation Of The Reformation Stands: Through No Merit Of Ours, But By His Mercy, We Have Been Restored To A Right Relationship With God Through The Life, Death, And Resurrection Of His Beloved Son. This Is The Good News, The Gospel Of Grace