There's an amazing story in Genesis where Abraham fights for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and essentially negotiates with God to spare their lives. We need to likewise fight for the people in our lives who don't yet know God, whether they aware of it or not. Most of the time, this means foregoing the masses and focusing on the few, seeing them the way that God saw us. Lost, alone and in need of rescue.

Sometimes it's hard to talk to people about serious topics and we all have days where we'd rather just be left alone. But God never promised we'd always be comfortable and, indeed, calls us to leave our comfort zone from time to time. But God does promise to bless those who accept the call and speak to others about Him.

The ideas of Evangelism and Multiplication are closely linked. In the same way that God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply (physically), he wants us to multiply others by bringing them to Christ. But, in order to do that, we have to be connected to Christ ourselves - that is the only way we can fulfill this command from God. And we are expected to fulfill it - our life on the vine is determined by how much fruit we produce.

All human beings have intrinsic value - we know that because the Bible says that God created us in the likeness and image of God. This means that, in some ways, we can be like God. But what does that mean? What is God like? He wants to be in relationship with his creation and is willing to go to great lengths to see that accomplished. Therefore, we need to be doing the same thing - bringing people back to God.

At this time of year, many of us think about the promise of Christmas: hope, peace, joy and love. But where do these ideas come from in Scripture? We're looking at the first 2 chapters in Luke this week to see these themes in the Christmas story.

Christianity is for everyone. There is no division amongst believers whether Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. We all serve the same Lord and everyone is included in God's invitation. In the same way, ministry is for everyone. It isn't reserved for pastors and evangelists - everyone is included in the call to share the gospel message with those who have not yet heard.

Do you love unconditionally or are there certain conditions that must be present before you can love certain people. Genuine love shows itself in the way we treat others, not in the words that we say. If we want to truly love others - genuinely - we need to focus on what is good and let the future hope that we have dictate our present actions.

We have suffering in the present, but that doesn't mean that destruction awaits in the future. We can still praise God in the middle of suffering because we know it pales in comparison to the glory of heaven we'll receive later. God chose us for this purpose. And he will see us through the suffering by his love.

In Romans 8, we learn that the Spirit gives us life and sets us free. After becoming a Christian, a person has two choices - to be led by the Spirit or to be led by the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, we can enjoy life and please God, but if we live in the flesh, we cannot do those things. We must learn to choose the Spirit.

The Law was supposed to bring life but, because of our sin, instead brings condemnation. But the Law is ultimately good because it points out our need for grace. We know the good we want to do but we don't do it. Instead, we do the evil we don't want to do. But thank God for sending his son Jesus to rescue and deliver us! He is our only hope.