Mark Driscoll quotes:

You're either selfish, or you're a servant...but fundamentally selfish people are terrible friends, terrible lovers, terrible spouses, terrible Christians, terrible parents. They leave a terrible legacy. Will you be selfish? Will you be a servant?...A good marriage is a servant and a servant.

Spirituality, without the Holy Spirit, is demonic.

On the Sabbath day, we are remembering that my relationship with God did not begin with what I've done, it is not sustained by what I do, and it is not guaranteed to the end by my effort or work. I'm saved from beginning to end by Jesus' work.

...Seattle has unleashed this weird phenomenon on the world called the coffee shop. And the coffee shop, thanks to Starbucks, is the place where socially isolated, lonely, needy people gather together to ignore one another.

The church was custom built by Jesus, and we are all works in progress. We do not expect people to get their sin in order before attending church any more than a hospital expects people to get healed before they show up.

Study the Bible like a soldier on a mission, not a scholar on a sabbatical.

Fathers need to be tough and tender...you be tough for your family, be tender with your family. You protect them, and you be a safe place.

I know who made the environment and he's coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.

Truthless times need timeless truths.

Stop looking for the path of least resistance and start running down the path of greatest glory to God and good to others, because that's what Jesus, the Real Man, did.

Everything may not be OK but if God is with you, you will be OK.

Sin is not just action. It's life direction.

Repentance keeps sin from condemning us because Jesus died and scorned the shame.

I study the Bible all week, pray to the Lord, and then I speak from my heart. It's all about brutal honesty.

You have to laugh at yourself. Otherwise you'll waste all that great material.

Three, Christians who practice repentance should be the only ones allowed into church membership and leadership."

All of a Christian's life is one of repentance."

We will take a few moments and make fun of religious people, and we do this in love. No, we do, because we love to make fun of religious people.

Don't cohabitate. Don't fornicate. Don't look at pornography. Don't create a standard of beauty. Have your spouse be your standard of beauty. This is one of the great devastating effects of pornography: you lust after people and compare your spouse to them. It's impossible to be satisfied in your marriage if you don't have a standard that is biblical; that standard is always your spouse.

No one can remain neutral regarding Jesus' resurrection. The claim is too staggering, the event too earthshaking, the implications too significant and the matter too serious. We must either receive it or reject it as truth for us. To remain indifferent or undecided is to reject it.

Repentance keeps sin from condemning us because Jesus died and scorned the shame."

The only thing worse than dying is living a boring life.

Did think you were here to kill time listening to Christian music until you go to heaven? We've got work to do.

Everything in the service needs to preach - architecture, lighting, songs, prayers, fellowship, the smell - it all preaches. All five senses must be engaged to experience God.

You don't need to beat yourself up in order to make God love you. Jesus already took your beating.

Being single is not easy. But neither is being married. They are just difficult in different ways as God uses everything in our life to make us more like Jesus, who happened to live a perfect life while single.

Young evangelicals are likely to leave their faith because they are not able to articulate their own faith, and many lack a biblical worldview."

You were created by God, are on the earth to image and glorify God, and when you die, if you are in Christ, you will be with God forever, imaging and glorifying him perfectly in a sinless state."

if you can't take a nap, if you can't take a day off, heaven's going to drive you nuts.

Are you letting culture, not scripture, determine your sexuality, how you date, how you present yourself, how you engage in certain relationships with members of the opposite sex? We need to be very clear that the way we do life is different than the rest of the world.

A lot of people are using the Church, but not a lot of people are loving the Church.

A pacifist has a lot of difficulty reconciling pacifism with scripture.

A single woman should only marry a man she can follow: Ladies if you are single, be very, very careful who you date and marry. Don't just date a man who you can put up with, marry a man you can trust, you'll follow his leadership, you'll respect him, he's saved, he's godly. The last thing you want is some guy you don't trust, he's not wise, he doesn't do his homework, he's harsh, he's inconsiderate, he's immature, he's a boy, you're more his mother than you are his mate, Real danger...real danger...

A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband's sin, but she may not be helping him either.

An animal will conquer others. A Spirit-filled man conquers himself - self-discipline , self-control.

Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of

Any religious person who says he does not really need human friends because God is his Friend is calling God a liar because He's the One Who says we also need human friends.

Because we worship our way into sin, ultimately we need to worship our way out. When Christians commit sin, they do not cease worshiping. Rather, their worship is directed away from the Creator and toward created things. Repentance is the act of turning from sin and returning to God by trusting in Jesus Christ who is the perfect worshiper.

Don't believe false teaching that says you won't suffer if you really love Jesus. Jesus will end all suffering eventually, but on earth he suffered more than anyone.

Even a cursory reading of the book of Ecclesiastes shows that culture is a stationary bike that each generation climbs on in hopes of getting somewhere only to die and fall off so that the new young stud can take his turn peddling and, like a fool, make pronouncements about his progress. We would be wise to see postmodernity as simply the new guy on the old bike and not mistake cultural change for kingdom progress.

Every great cause was initiated by someone whose heart was broken.

Everyone has something to teach you if you are humble enough to learn.

Faith is not just what we believe internally. It's how we behave externally.

Fear in the mind causes stress in the body.

Fear is not always a sin but it always is an opportunity.

Fear is vision without hope.

Forgiveness is both a decision and a process.

Gentleman, it is a terrifying thing for a woman to trust a sinful man.

God is tolerant in that He asks everyone to repent.

God loves you enough to receive you as you are. He loves you too much to keep you as you are.

God picked a junior high girl [to be Jesus' mother]. Jesus was raised by a woman who today, we wouldn't even let her lead a bible study at a high school. But she could raise God.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel.

I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up.

I have noticed that people tend to stop maturing when they start self-medicating. Everyone has very tough seasons of life, but by persevering through them we have an opportunity to mature and grow as people. Those who self-medicate...often thwart maturity as they escape the tough seasons of life rather than face them.

I want to live with autonomy. That's the essence of sin.

I'm frankly sick of all the books and movies trying to predict when Jesus will return and we'll get to start our eternal vacation at his all-inclusive resort called heaven. I'm also sick of the nerd parade of books and conferences that approach the Bible like scholars whose mission is to get their Masters rather than soldiers who are on mission with their Master. We've got work to do. There are lost people to reach, churches to plant, and nations to evangelize. Hell is hot, forever is a long time, and it's our turn to stop making a dent and start making a difference.

Idols tend to be good things that you have turned into god things, which therefore become bad things

If my words don't flow out of a heart that rests in God's control, sovereignty, then they come out of the heart that seeks control so I can get what I want.

If you really want to be a rebel get a job, cut your grass, read your bible, and shut up. Because no one is doing that.

If you're not a Christian, you're going to hell. It's not unloving to say that. it's unloving not to say that.

I'll preach anywhere. If it's a round trip ticket to preach in hell, I'll take it-as long as it's round trip.

In marriage we have a duty to God, our spuses, the world, and future generations. But we are sinners. A husband and wife need to acknowledge that when the Bible speaks of fools, it is not just speaking about other people, but about them as well. Even the wisest among us has moments of folly. So God gives us spouses to serve as wise friends by praying with and for us, attending church with us, speaking truth, and providing Scripture along with good books and online classes, lectures, and sermons to nourish fruitfulness in our lives.

It is imperative that Christians be like Jesus, by living freely within the culture as missionaries who are as faithful to the Father and His gospel as Jesus was in His own time and place.

It is not uncommon to meet pastors' wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness,

Jesus and Paul were serious dudes. They had teeth missing. Jesus was a carpenter, Paul was in prison. These guys didn't eat tofu dogs and bean sprouts. They didn't play tennis. If there were trucks back in their times, they would have been doing driveway lube jobs on a Saturday afternoon. Same thing with King David. Yeah, he might have played a lyre, but he slaughtered thousands of guys.

Jesus, could you please rapture the charismaniac lady who brings her tambourine to church?

Ladies, use a loving voice, use a respectful voice, use a godly voice, but don't lose your voice.

Looking for a word from the Lord? Believe that he has already spoken, and read what he's already written.

Marriage includes a spouse, and often children. But the goal, center, and purpose of marriage is not self, spouse, or children. The ultimate goal of marriage and family is the glory of God. Only when marriage and family exist for God's glory - and not to serve as replacement idols - are we able to truly love and be loved. Remember, neither your child nor your husband (or wife) should be who you worship, but instead who you worship with.

Married life can seem as if it's only five days long. The first day you meet, the second day you marry, the third day your raise your children, the fourth day you meet your grandchildren, and the fifth day you die first or bury your spouse to go home alone for the first time in many years.

Much of spirituality today is an effort to change God to suit us. But he's not going to become more like us, we need to become more like him.

My desire as a Christian pastor is to see churches raised up as communities of grace ruled by Jesus and led by his gloriously masculine men who work their jobs, eat their meat, drink their beer, romance their wives, study their Bible, and raise their kids in glory and joy

One of the most astonishing things about Jesus is that as God he actually chose to come into our fallen, sick, twisted, unjust, evil, cruel, painful world and be with us to suffer like us and for us. Meanwhile, we spend most of our time trying to figure out how to avoid the pain and evil of this world while reading dumb books about the rapture just hoping to get out.

Our identity is not in our joy, and our identity is not in our suffering. Our identity is in Christ, whether we have joy or are suffering.

Past: Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin. Present: He saves us from the power of sin. Future: He will save us from the presence of sin.

So I decided to start a church, for three reasons. First, I hated going to church and wanted one I liked, so I thought I would just start my own. Second, God had spoken to me in one of those weird charismatic moments and told me to start a church. Third, I am scared of God and try to do what he says.

So let me tell you this, when it comes to...trying to introduce other people to Jesus. Don't get mad at them: it's not because they're stupid. It's because they're blind. Yelling louder, arguing harder, pushing firmer won't make someone who is blind see. Pray for them, speak to them, care for them.

Some will tell you that there are multiple worldviews. The Bible says we have only 2: the Truth and the Lie.

Sometimes prayer moves the hand of God, and sometimes prayer changes the heart of the person who is praying.

The Bible is not a book of principles to live by but rather a Person to live for.

The cross is the great jewel of the Christian faith and like every great jewel it has many precious facets that are each worthy of examining for their brilliance and beauty.

The goal of Christian dating is not to have a boyfriend or girlfriend but to find a spouse. Have that in mind as you get to know one an- other, and if you're not ready to commit to a relationship with the end goal of marriage, it's better not to date but simply to remain friends.

The inevitable result of borrowed faith is lost faith. People born into a family anchored in Christendom tend to assume they're right with God, regardless of whether they personally turn from sin and trust in Jesus.

The problem with criticism today is that is instant, constant, global and permanent.

The problem with our churches today is that the lead pastor is some sissy boy who wears cardigan sweaters, has The Carpenters dialed in on his iPod, gets his hair cut at a salon instead of a barber shop, hasn't been to an Ultimate Fighting match, works out on an elliptical machine instead of going to isolated regions of Russia like in Rocky IV in order to harvest lumber with his teeth, and generally swishes around like Jack from Three's Company whenever Mr. Roper was around.

the truths of Christianity are constant, unchanging, and meant for all people, times, and places. But the methods by which truth is articulated and practiced must be culturally appropriated, and therefore constantly translated ...if doctrine is constant and practice is constantly changing, the result is living orthodoxy.

There are some women who are a good time and there are some women who are a good legacy.

This world needs more than good works. It needs good news. Good works come out of the good news.

Those who only seek friends without seeking to be a good friend are selfishly needy and demanding. And those who only want to be a good friend but do not wisely seek good friends are bound to be taken advantage of, abused, neglected, and suffer from their foolish friend choices.

Tragically, we live in a day when offense to God doesn't matter nearly as much as offense to others.

Ultimately I think the difference between reading the Bible and studying it is making the connections between who Jesus is and what he's done.

We don't name God; God reveals His name to us. We don't have the right to exercise authority over God. God copyrights, He trademarks, He patents His name.

We need to pay attention to the questions non-Christians are asking, and the conversations that Christians are having.

We're not to follow our hearts, we're to guard our hearts.

While it only takes one spouse to be friendly, it takes both spouses to be friends. When both spouses are unfriendly, the marriage is marked by conflict and coldness. When one spouse is friendly and the other is unfriendly, the marriage is marked by selfishness and sadness. But when both spouses each make a deep, heartfelt covenant with God to continually seek to become a better friend, increasing love and laughter mark the marriage.

While this may look loving, when we struggle with an idol of dependence, we're in fact not loving people as much as we're using them to fulfill our need to belong, be liked, and be desired. This explains why some friends and family members can be so demanding, smothering, and needy. It also explains why we're so easily inflated by praise and deflated by criticism. It's as if others have the ability to determine our identity for that day based on a word or even a glance

Who you think you are is what compels you to do what you do!

Women will be saved by going back to that role that God has chosen for them. Ladies, if the hair on the back of your neck stands up it is because you are fighting your role in the scripture.

Work like an Arminian, sleep like a Calvinist.

Worship is living our life individually and corporately as continuous living sacrifices to the glory of a person or thing.

You aren't what's been done to you but what Jesus has done for you. You aren't what you do but what Jesus has done. What you do doesn't determine who you are. Rather, who you are in Christ determines what you do.

You can't meet Jesus and not change. If you haven't changed, you haven't met the real Jesus.

You know what I find amazing is within Christianity it is not uncommon to find [married] people who don't have sexual intimacy, don't have emotional intimacy, don't have spiritual intimacy, don't pray together, don't do their life together, don't put their schedules together, don't put their budgets together, but they don't get divorced. So they can pat themselves on the back and say, 'We're good Christians.' They're divorced in everything but the paperwork.

You wanna be counter-culture? You wanna be a total rebel? Get a job! You wanna be counter-culture, totally alternative, radical? Be a virgin until you get married...to a person of the opposite gender. And then stay married and pump out some kids and pay your taxes and read the Bible, you freak. You'll be just totally a rebel.

Tribes must be our homes, not our prisons.

Faith only grows through suffering.

There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus, and by God's grace, it'll be a mountain by the time we're done,

Everyone is sinning, so it's no longer rebellious to sin. You're just a conformist if you're drunk; and naked; driving around in a loud motorcycle; smoking cigarrettes; breaking commandments; getting pregnant out of wedlock. Everyone's done that. That's so tired!