Christine Garde Denning preaches on hope from two poles: reeds that wither fastest while still green, and an anchor for the soul. The distinction is that hope is defined by what it is attached to rather than by how strongly it is felt.

Two men go up on a roof. David sees a woman and sends for her; Peter goes to pray and is given a vision he refuses three times. Dr. James Smith III sets the passages side by side and asks what a person does with a high place and some solitude.

Rondi Pogue, who directs a ministry working in conferences, India and the local jails, preaches on the question her work puts her in front of constantly: am I bad? The distinction the message rests on is shame as a claim about what a person is.

Bryce Maurer, who pastors a revitalising church in Livingston, Montana, preaches Matthew 5 on salt and light — noting that both are stated as identity rather than instruction, which changes entirely what the warnings that follow are doing.