“The holidays were really bad for me, because my company laid off a number of employees (including me) just a few weeks before Christmas. I’ll get unemployment benefits and all that, but I feel so useless and depressed. You’ll probably tell me to pray, but I don’t even feel like it. What should I do? ”
“Both my parents were alcoholics. I always swore I’d never go down that path, but now I’m afraid I have. What’s wrong with me? I know alcohol will destroy me, but I can’t seem to stop, no matter how many times I say I’m going to. Can God help me?”
“My cousin wants nothing to do with God. If he were a bad person or had messed up his life, then maybe he’d realize he needs God. But he’s not this way, and he just laughs at me and says he doesn’t see any reason to bother with God. How can I convince him otherwise?”
“Are some people just naturally religious? If so, I must not be one of them. Faith is a struggle for me, and no matter how hard I try to be spiritually-minded, I just don’t seem to be able to make it.”
“My doctor keeps getting after me because of my weight, but I’ve told him that my parents always enjoyed eating and it didn’t seem to hurt them any. And anyway, isn’t good food a gift from God? Why shouldn’t we enjoy it?”
“I read an article once in one of those supermarket tabloids, claiming that when Jesus was a child He was taken to someplace like Tibet, and that’s where He picked up all His wisdom. It sounded kind of far-fetched to me, but could this be true?”
“Last year, I made a bunch of New Year’s resolutions, and to be honest, I haven’t kept a one of them. Why wasn’t I able to I keep them? Maybe this year I should just forget about making any resolutions.”
“I’ve never made any New Year’s resolutions before, because I knew I wouldn’t keep them. But several months ago I committed my life to Jesus. Now that I’m a believer, what would be some good resolutions for me to make as I begin a new year?”
“Did people in Biblical times celebrate New Year’s Day, like we do now? Or is it only a holiday that doesn’t have any religious significance, but just celebrates the beginning of another year?”
“I can’t wait for this year to end. It’s just been one problem after another — family sickness, a couple of deaths, financial issues, you name it. I begged God to solve them, but nothing happened. Where was God in all this?”
“I’m afraid we gave up trying to teach our children the real meaning of Christmas this year. We had good intentions, but we got busy and they were interested in other things, so Jesus kind of got left out. What can we do differently next year?”
“A family in our apartment complex comes from a country with very few Christians, and yet they told us their stores are full of Santa Clauses, Christmas decorations and holiday sales. They didn’t even realize Christmas is supposed to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Could this happen here?”