Sociologists talk about the phenomenon of “voluntary kin,” to refer to people who “choose to be related.” The early church embraced voluntary kinship. They had to, after all, in families that often rejected those who chose to follow Jesus. The same is true today: when you become part of God’s family, you join his extended family, the church.

One of life’s ironies is that once one realizes how valuable youth is, it is generally in the distant past. Your life’s foundation is formed in your early years. Oddly enough, most of us resisted the life lessons our parents longed to teach us, many of which were learned, at great personal cost. What if today’s children embraced their parents’ instruction, instead?

Cain killed Abel. Jacob cheated Esau. Leah and Rachel competed for the same man’s affection. Joseph’s brothers trafficked him into slavery. Absalom killed Amnon. It seems like most of the siblings we read about in scripture are a mess. Sibling rivalry is just as common today. But shouldn’t it be different for Christian siblings? Whether your sibling follows Jesus or not, you can choose to treat him or her the way Jesus would.

Every mom wants to be a good mom. But it isn’t easy. Moms face vast challenges in raising kids today. How do you bridge the gap between the mom you are, and the mom you want to be? Hannah – the mother of Samuel the prophet – revealed how to become the mom you always wish you had.

The image that many of us have of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is of a young, vigorous youth. But Daniel was in his eighties when he faced this test. And he passed. So many Christians live great lives of faith, yet stumble in the bell lap. But even if the race was begun badly, when followers of Jesus finish strong their testimony becomes a legacy that is passed from generation to generation, bringing glory to God and encouragement for those who follow behind.

Daniel experienced more than his share of humbling events as a young man, but as he grew in influence and wisdom, he remained humble before God and the king. He lived out a lesson he learned in his youth – that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” That proverb was confirmed as Daniel watched Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar experience the consequences of their arrogance and pomposity.

Sometimes it’s easy to do the wrong thing. It’s especially easy to do the wrong thing when you’re the only one trying to do the right thing. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in a tight spot when their anti-Semitic colleagues plotted to have them executed. But their faith was stronger than their fear, and with the three of them standing together they found that there is strength in numbers, even when facing death. It’s easier to do the right thing when you’re not alone and, with the Son of God at your side, there is no fear you cannot overcome.

Daniel was slave to King Nebuchadnezzar, but there was a greater King to whom he owed allegiance. And because his faith was firmly rooted in Yahweh, when he and his friends were threatened with execution, they knew what to do: they prayed. God answered their prayers and gave them favor with the king. When Israel fell, the sacred temple articles were brought to the temple in Babylonia – a sign of disrespect for Yahweh. Two years later, Nebuchadnezzar believed and fell prostrate in worship to the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

It wasn’t an adoption; it was an abduction. Taken from their homes, carried to another country, four Jewish teenagers lost everything, even their names. But they didn’t lose their faith, even though the God they served had allowed such a fate to befall them. In the 66 years (605-539, BCE) that Daniel lived in exile, he experienced the reign of seven different kings from Media, Babylon and Persia. Yet through all the cultural changes that challenged his faith, Daniel never forgot who he was.

The last words Jesus told his followers before returning to the Father were to “...make disciples of all nations ...” They did that. The hallmark of the early church was their commitment to making disciples. Somehow we have lost that evangelical imperative. We’ve forgotten that there is no such thing as an unproductive disciple. By definition, if one is following Jesus, s/he makes disciples, helping them write new chapters in their faith stories.