Quotes from John Ortberg

Being deeply contented with God in my everyday life is a focused attitude. It is always available. It means practicing letting go of my obsession with how I'm doing. It means training myself to learn to actually be present with people, and seeking to love them.

When preaching is done right, it can change lives. When it's done badly, my failure goes beyond the merely human.

Congregations shaped by the Scriptures generally have preachers who are shaped by the Scriptures.

As a preacher who is fully human, and clearly not divine, I can't speak as Jesus did. But I do seek to speak truth that carries weight and authority. All of us who preach the gospel aspire to speak under the authority of Jesus.

When I teach the formal curriculum, I have the chance to think about it ahead of time. I can rehearse it. I can illustrate it with self-deprecating humor and humble-sounding personal disclosure. I can try to make it comes out just right.

When someone is in crisis, don't start by teaching, leveraging, or explaining. Just be with.

The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.

Imagine watching all that God might have done with your life if you had let him.

The greatest moment of your life is now. This moment is God's irreplaceable gift to you.

Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France.

As a preacher, my charge is to proclaim the message of the Scriptures. To help the people in my congregation become a people of the book. I love getting to do this.

Better to be a loving person without knowing how you got there, than an expert no one can stand to be around.