In Chapter 2 (“Living in the Great Story”) of Missing Jesus, authors Charles and Janet Morris note that Charles Dickens used to release his novels chapter by chapter. Each chapter functioned as a small magazine. When the last chapter was released, people would bind them together as a book. Charles and Janet add that Dickens […]
“He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again.”- 2 Corinthians 5:15 As authors Charles and Janet Morris continue Chapter 1 of Missing Jesus, they state that transforming our small, self-centered world into an “all about Jesus” universe requires […]
All In (Zondervan, 2013) Prior to the September, 2014 publication of The Grave Robber, All In was Pastor Mark Batterson’s most recent book. From the start, the author boldly asserts that “Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.” In other words, we cannot live as if the purpose of […]
“Grace is loving people for who they are, where they are. It’s loving people before they change, not just after they change. And that grace is the difference between holier and holier than thou. Holiness, in its purest form, is irresistible.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 16 of All In by presenting an alternative […]
“The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.”-Ezekiel 8:3 “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which […]
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”- Galatians 5:22 “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”- C. T. Studd In Chapter 15 (“Thirty Pieces of Silver”) of All In, author Mark Batterson cites a 1972 Stanford University study, popularly known […]
Mark Batterson begins Chapter 13 (“Throw Down Your Staff”) of All In with the observation that sometimes going all in feels like it’s all for nothing. But nothing is over until God declares that it’s over. And in the kingdom of God, failure is never final. Yes, when we go all in and all out […]
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”- Philippians 4:13 “A failed attempt is not failing. Failing is not trying. If you are trying, you are succeeding.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson continues Chapter 11 of All In by emphasizing that there comes a point in our lives when enough is enough. We know […]
“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”- Genesis 6:8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”- 2 Timothy 4:7 As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 10 of All In, he states that during a time when great wickedness prevailed on the earth, Noah stood out […]
“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”- Genesis 6:22 As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 10 of All In, he theorizes that Noah must have thought that God was kidding or crazy when He called Noah to build the ark. Because this calling was totally unprecedented, Noah didn’t even have a cognitive category for processing […]
“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God.”- Mark Batterson As […]
“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.”- Luke 6:37 In Chapter 7 (“Crash the Party”) of All In, author Mark Batterson quips that, if ever there was an oxymoron, it had to be Pharisee […]