• Are You Prepared?

  When the first Christmas came, when Jesus was born, most people missed it. Of course, there were no telltale signs like reindeer on front lawns. No Christmas songs had been written. There were no colorful, twinkling lights or sales at the downtown market. Children did not find it hard to sleep that night, because it was a night like any other night.

• Take Care of Your Heart

  Where is the easiest place to get a hardened heart? In church. The same truth that will set one person free can cause another person to become more hardened against the things of God.

• The Watchmen

  The apostle Paul saw himself as a watchman, someone who would be positioned on the wall of a city to keep watch for the enemy or any other danger that was approaching. A watchman would then run and warn people about what he saw. Paul told the Ephesian elders, "I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it's not my fault, for I didn't shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. So guard yourselves and God's people . . . " (Acts 20:26–28).

• A Face with the Sin

  It is very easy to rail against someone who is caught up in a certain sin until you personally know them. It is easy to say that certain things are a sin until you know someone who is trapped by that sin. Maybe you have a close friend, even a family member, who is gay or who struggles with alcohol or drug abuse.

• No Room for Prejudice

  Being an effective communicator of the gospel requires a willingness to reach out to people who are different from you. We tend to want to hang around people who look like us, who talk like us, and who are just like us. But how willing are we to leave our comfort zone and go to a person completely different from us with the message of the gospel?