Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.

Unknown Source

"Princeton Seminary’s Institute for Advanced Pastoral Studies did a study around 1997 about the ineffectiveness of so much of today’s preaching. One of the reasons identified was: 'Too much bad news, not enough good news.'"

John Jeske - Preaching that Deserves the Name Lutheran
Preach the Word (vol. 1, No. 3, p.2)

Comment: The whole point of preaching the bad news is to get to the good news.

"I’m such a loser… You are too.

"We lost our sins when Jesus died on the cross and wiped them all away. We lost our loneliness, when our Savior stepped into our life and said, 'Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age' (Matthew 28:20). We lost the anxiety the world brings us when Jesus said, 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you' (John 14:27). We lost the fear of damnation when he proclaimed, 'It is finished' (John 19:30).

"Praise God, we are losers!… Through him [Christ] we’ve lost, and thus we’ve won!"

Koestler-Kuch, Deborah. I’m such a loser, p. 12
December 2004. Forward in Christ, Vol. 91, No. 12

Comment: Thank God I'm such a loser, too!

"The 'good news' of the gospel is that you don’t have to be a Zolp or wear duct tape.

"Excuse me? That’s right! An article by Paul Bannister entitled 'Seventeen Bizarre Scholarships . . . You May Qualify' says that if you are the right person or do the right thing, you can get scholarships ranging from $500 to a full ride at many colleges and universities. For example, the makers of Duck brand duct tape award a $2,500 scholarship to the best dressed couple at a high school prom—provided they’re wearing duct tape costumes or accessories. A full ride for four years at prestigious Loyola University in Chicago awaits anyone who is Catholic—and has the last name of Zolp. Other sizeable scholarships go to those who are left-handed, can speak fluent Klingon, or can produce the best duck call. All of these scholarships are for doing something or being someone. Granted, in most cases, it’s doing very little or being no one outstanding.

"The gift of God — a full ride to heaven — is just the opposite. A full ride to heaven is offered to you not for who you are or what you have done."

Engelbrecht, Doug. A full ride to heaven for being “nobody special”, pg. 8
March 2005. Forward in Christ – Editorial, Vol. 92, No. 3

Comment: Since I excluded the most important part of the article, I'll fill it in - The Gospel tells us that we obtain entrance to heaven through Christ. The Gospel is all about him and what he has done. The sinner simply grasps onto that gift and enjoys the free 'scholarship' to heaven.

God grades on the cross not the curve.