Quotes by Rick Warren

When you committed your life to Christ, he moved into the center; but you must keep him there through worship.

Dont indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

Impression without expression causes depression. Study without service leads to spiritual stagnation.

I expect God to use me, not because of who I am but because of who Jesus is. Not because of what Ive done, but because of what Jesus has done.

You didn’t create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If I handed you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn’t know it’s purpose, and the invention itself wouldn’t be able to tell you either. Only the creator or the owner’s manual could reveal it’s purpose.

You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many of your relationship problems are not really relationship problems. Theyre personal problems that spill over into relationships.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.

You exist only because God wills that you exist.

How Does What We Eat Affect the Planet? The things you put on your fork have the power to affect not only your health, but also agricultural practices, climate change, and even our economy. One church member told us about Nigerian farmers he met who were given seed by a large agricultural company at a cheaper price than their regular seed, but then the seeds from that crop couldn’t be replanted. (They are designed that way.) The farmers then were forced to buy the seed from the same company at a higher price the next year and eventually couldn’t afford to farm. This pattern of industrial agricultural practices not only has impacted the quality of the food you eat, but also creates hunger in little children in Africa. When you stop buying industrial food, it has an enormous ripple effect. The power of your fork can change the world. When it comes to our health and the health of the planet, we have a lot more to learn and study, but we don’t need all the answers in order to take action. We can each make choices to buy more whole foods, sustainably raised animals, locally grown produce, and more. Just as we’ve learned that certain fats are good for us and others are destructive, we can learn what agricultural and food practices are best for us too.

Death is not your termination but your transition into eternity, so there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth. Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity.

Why would God provide heaven on earth when hes planned the real thing for you in eternity?

While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. God views our lives from and for eternity, so he is never in a hurry.

To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart.

The New testament commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each others burdens, forgive each other, submit to each other, be devoted each other, and many other mutual tasks. This is biblical membership!

The cliché is true: People dont care what we know until they know we care.

Longing for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity. On the other hand, settling for the real without striving for the ideal is complacency. Maturity is living with the tension.

What may appear as audacity God views as authenticity.

Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.