When you come before God today in the moments after committing some sin, you do not need to stumble through the forests of guilt and self-reproach.

'How do people who have experienced the miracle of new birth deal with their own sinfulness as they try to enjoy the full assurance of their salvation?'

I When the Church functions as the Church – and a primary function is to incarnate blessing over the cities in which we live – the servants of satan can offer nothing but idols to impotency. Christians serve the Crown of Creation – when we will to serve.

Gift giving is biblical. But yes, there is probably a better way to do it since nothing we do is perfect. There’s always a better way to do it.

'Alex Rodriguez didn’t raise half a billion dollars and try to save a bunch of people’s lives. That’s kind of the irony of this.'

Most of us admire discipline and want to have more of it. But we also find discipline difficult to develop, and even harder to sustain. We often want to be disciplined, but without the day-in, day-out costs.

Even if the journey ahead looks bleak, God invites us to find deep joy in him.

Several items of special significance were featured in the pictures.

At eight months of pregnancy, he beat her so bad she almost miscarried you. Bleeding, left her at my doorstep saying, 'here is your daughter, that baby isn’t mine.'

He hopes that his baptism encourages others to reconsider their negative views of the church.