“My father (who's gone now) was very abusive, never showing any love but always using violence to make us obey him. I can't even imagine loving God, because my idea of Him is that He's just like my father, just waiting for us to get out of line so He can punish us.”
“I think I'd probably believe in Jesus if He were living today, but how can you believe in someone who lived a couple of thousand years ago? Maybe He didn't even exist and someone just made Him up.”
“Is God telling us something? Whether it's the recent string of natural disasters in the U.S. – or storms in our family lives, jobs, health, or finances – unforeseen crises often cause us to ask “Why?””
“Do you think we’ll ever have lasting peace? I’m not sure all those wars we’ve fought in the past have done much good, because the world seems just as bad off today as it was 100 years ago. I guess I’m not a very optimistic person.”
“I know you believe the devil exists, but how do you know? I think people just dreamed up the idea of the devil to try to explain all the bad things that go on in the world. Or maybe it doesn't make any difference what we believe about him.”
“I lived a very immoral life until two years ago. I can't believe how rebellious I was. But then I turned my life over to Jesus and God changed me. I still worry, though, that God might not have forgiven me because I was so bad. Is there any hope for me?”
“I always promised my mother I'd never put her in a nursing home but would keep her with us if she couldn't take care of herself. But now she has serious dementia, and it's almost impossible for us to give her the care she needs. Will God be angry at me if I break my promise?”
“We've just come through the Easter season in our church, and it struck me again how Christ's disciples didn't really expect Him to be killed or to come back to life. Why didn't they? After all, He'd told them it was going to happen, hadn't He?”
“I have a friend who wears a gold cross around her neck but she doesn't pretend to be a Christian. Should I say something to her and maybe tell her she shouldn't be wearing it? I'm not sure why she does.”
“Our son has some serious birth defects, which will mean he probably won't ever have a normal life. We prayed and prayed God would take them away but He didn't. We love our son deeply but it's very painful for us to think about his future. Why didn't God heal him?”
“My friend says he doesn't see how I can base my faith on the Bible, because the Bible is full of contradictions and mistakes. What can I say to him?”
“I've always heard about being “called” to the ministry or “called” to be a missionary, but recently I heard a Bible teacher on the radio say that our career is also a calling from God, no matter what we do. What do you suppose he meant?”