Whatever we teach and preach about God must be rooted in God’s character and nature. Before we have spoken, God has disclosed to humanity who he is. The truthfulness, power, and beauty of whatever we say directly correlate to God’s truthfulness, power, and beauty ... as he has revealed himself through his spoken, written, and incarnate Word.

The various letters, songs, biographies, and accounts that comprise the Christian Scriptures have an author, audience, and occasion. And each has a place within a larger genre, section, book, and story. Therefore, we must begin by understanding the original context of a particular Word.

A heart like Jesus seeks to not simply prepare words, but to cultivate an affection for the Father and his people the way that Jesus does (see Deuteronomy 6:5 and 1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Integrity isn’t about perfection, it’s about character. Jesus’ inward life was in harmony with his outward life. While we certainly don’t need to be exemplary in a subject to teach on it, we do need too allow the word to shape us even as we are sharing it with others.