Incarnation: the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form; embodied in flesh or taking on flesh

Transcendence: God is highly exalted, supremely rules over creation, and exists beyond us.

John 1:1-4 – In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

Immanence: God is present in the lives of people desiring to reveal himself personally and intimately.

John 1:14 – So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

“Christianity teaches that, contra fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; contra Buddhism, suffering is real; contra karma, suffering is often unfair; but contra secularism, suffering is meaningful. There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.” –Timothy Keller

Isaiah 53:4-5 – Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

Isaiah 53:10 – But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.

“In the secular view, suffering is never seen as a meaningful part of life but only as an interruption.” –Timothy Keller

Romans 5:3-5 – We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

“Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire.” –Timothy Keller

“My wife and I would never want to go back to the kind of prayer life or spiritual life we had before the cancer. I really thought that I had a good prayer life. And when I broke through into another dimension, I realised that, frankly, my prayer life wasn’t very good.” –Timothy Keller

Matthew 6:10 – May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

“But in first-century Christianity, what mattered was not people going from earth into God’s kingdom in heaven. What mattered, and what Jesus taught his followers to pray, was that God’s kingdom would come on earth as in heaven.” –N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus

Matthew 25:35-36 – For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.

1 John 3:17-18 – If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

“The crucifixion was the shocking answer to the prayer that God’s kingdom would come on earth as in heaven.” –N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus

John 1:11-12 – He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Matthew 11:28 – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

John 3:16 – For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.