[Romans 3:23]

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

[James 2:10-11]

“For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.”

Sin is sin. There isn’t a small sin or a large sin. There is just sin that separates us from God.

[1 John 1:5]

“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.”

The reason this matters is because IF there is a holy and perfect God, that asks us to love Him and love others… then there is a debt that we owe Him for all the times that we miss that mark.

[Romans 3:2-4]

“And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? Don’t you see how wonderfully kind,
tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

[Romans 3:22-26]

“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as
the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”

Tom Wright – “Without Easter, in fact, the movement that came into existence around Jesus would not have been about good news. At most, it would have been about good advice (“Here’s how Jesus taught us to love our lives”).

[Luke 24:1-12]

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.”

Tom Wright – “Take away the stories of Jesus’s birth, and you lose only two chapters of Matthew and two of Luke. Take
away the resurrection, and you lose the entire New Testament…”

Josh Howerton – “If someone argues you into faith, a better argument can get them out. What people need is an encounter with the living God.”

[Luke 8:8, 15]

“Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

[Luke 8:6, 13]

“Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.”

[Luke 8:7, 14]

“Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches
and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

[Luke 8:5, 12]

“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.