“I know the Bible says God can bring good out of evil but it sure hasn't happened to me. I won't go into the details, but I've been going through some very hard times recently, and sometimes I think God must have turned His back on me.”
“Our son (in his early 30s) wants to move back in with us after a disastrous marriage. We'd told him he was marrying the wrong woman but he wouldn't listen. My wife says he's crushed and we ought to forget the past, but I'm not so sure. After all, he made a wrong decision, so shouldn't he have to suffer the consequences?”
“Do you think the world will ever be perfect? I have a friend who feels that if we'll just train our children properly the world will be almost perfect a generation from now. Is she right?”
“What's the hardest part of our personality to change? I know we're supposed to become kind and good when we follow Jesus, but that covers a lot of territory. Aren't some things about us harder to change than others? For example, I just have a very hard time being patient.”
“I know Jesus wants me to love everyone the way He does but I just can’t do it. I was abused as a child, and I can’t just wave a wand and have all those memories and emotional scars go away, can I? I guess God loves those who hurt me, but I can’t go there.”
“I know I'm supposed to worship God when I go to church, but I can't say I always do. My thoughts wander, or I get to thinking about the people around me and I come away disappointed in myself for not really worshipping. How can I keep from being distracted?”
“I run a small business with about a dozen employees. I became a Christian about two years ago and I want to run my business according to Christian principles but I'm not sure exactly what that means. Any suggestions?”
“I guess I'm just a natural pessimist, always seeing the negative side of things and assuming they're going to get even worse. My sister is just the opposite, however — always sunny and optimistic no matter what happens. Why are we so different?”
“I know Christians are supposed to do good and help those in need, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed because there are so many problems in the world. What good can my few dollars do in the face of so much misery?”
“Friends say my response to any problem is to panic, and they're right. I know I ought to turn to God and trust Him when problems arise, but I just don't think about it at the time. How can I change this?”
“I made a New Year's resolution to read through the Bible this year, but it didn't last very long. I got so bogged down in the Old Testament that I finally gave up. Is the Old Testament out of date or irrelevant?”
“I know I'm supposed to make my life count for Christ, and I really want to, but what can I do? I can't teach or anything like that. I'm just a carpenter, and while I try to help out by fixing things around our church, I know that's not very much.”