The best gift is the unexpected one you didn't even know you needed. The best gift God gives us is coming in the person of his Son with flesh on to make us his adopted children.

Christmas can be a real mixed bag. How can we enjoy God's good gifts to us at Christmas?

We know God loves us because 1) he displayed his love in sending his Son for us, 2) we love like him so we must have first been loved by him, and 3) our love for each other proves he lives in us.

What's a sure sign that someone has become a disciple of Jesus? Self sacrificial love for their brothers and sisters.

Babies always look like their parents, so what do you look like when you're born of God? And how can you tell if you're one of God's children? We become children of God by God's great love in sending his Son to make his enemies into his family. And we know we're God's children because we're not rebels against God anymore, and we do what's right like our Father who does what's right.

What are some of the dangers of living as a disciple of Jesus and how to stay Christian to the very end.

Like a medical test that comes back with inconclusive results, what do you do when the evidence you know God is inconclusive? Look for 3 signs: 1) we keep God's commands, 2) we love each other, 3) we have God's blessings. This is not a looking in to rely on ourselves - as that would leave us overly-worried (with such a shaky foundation) or overly-confident (when we have no reason to be). Instead the signs point upwards - we keep God's commands because God's at work in us; we love God's people because we're in the light; and we have God's blessings because we have Jesus who brings them.

It's so important to be certain, especially about a relationship with God. The great news of 1 John is that through Jesus we can certainly know God & even though we're certainly not pure light like God, we are certainly safe with God.

How much money should I give away? The Bible's answer is both comforting and confronting.

There are so many needs, how do I decide who to give my time, money and energy to?