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Two weeks before Christmas, many are rushing around trying to find final gifts for their loved ones. As Christmas Day draws near, let's pause to consider the great gift we ourselves have been given: the gift of God's Son. That gift comes in several parts, and today we'll learn about another aspect of the Father's incredible gift to the world.

As a Christian, do you share your faith? We who have eternal life often forget the emptiness in those who don't. Christmas is the ideal time to slow down life's race long enough to share Christ with friends who need Him. Just as Jesus was born into the world, He wants to be born into the hearts of all who will receive Him.

Will the real Jesus please stand up? Many people are confused at Christmas as to who Jesus really was and really is. The real Jesus gives eternal life, and only a spiritual connection with Him can impart that life to us. People search for meaning in all kinds of places, but all of them lead to a dead end except Jesus.

In this season of giving and receiving gifts, we must remember that God is the ultimate gift-giver. As James says, He "gives to all liberally and without reproach." This Christmas, we'll find that in sending His Son to earth, God gave us four great gifts.

Many people are fearful for what tomorrow may bring. Dark days loom on the horizon, and uncertainty is spreading. Finding the will of God is a lifelong quest, and we need to seek Him first before the details of life come into focus. When they do, we'll know that we've found the right road.

Is the will of God elusive? Does He make it hard to find? As the future unfolds, what lies ahead in the plan of God? Take it one step at a time. God's will is not a sudden blast of heavenly light. Rather it's a series of small events that, over time, will ultimately take us where He wants us to go.

The days ahead have no written history. It is like blank parchment. What happens in the future is known but to God. That's why it makes a lot of sense to allow God to order our steps in the weeks and months ahead. Today, as uncertainty continues to mount, you'll learn how to let God call the shots of your life. And no one can do it better.

Your church needs you. It needs you out on life's racetrack, running alongside the other members to get the job done together. At times of deepening crisis, our challenge is to "get involved." That's what Esther did at a crucial point in the history of the Jewish people. She got involved even at great personal risk, as must we to face daunting challenges in the days ahead.

Most of our choices don't affect world history. But sometimes God puts us in situations where they can - and do. To save her people from extinction, Esther faced possible execution to beg the king of Persia to rescind a royal edict. She did not try to "pass the buck." She knew that, at that key moment, "the buck stopped here."

As months go by, we are all conscious of the passing of time. We wish we had more time, but the sand keeps running through the hourglass. At crucial times, great leaders arise, often from common roots. They find themselves at the vortexes of history, and are called upon to make momentous choices. Today we learn about one such leader, a woman named Esther.

Sin is at the core of all marriage problems. In our self-focus, we often do not love our mates as we should. Many marriages begin happily but quickly descend into conflict. This is when husband and wife display the latent rebellion that characterizes every human since the first couple. Today we will learn how to apply God's solution to man's deepest problem and heal broken relationships.

Adam and Eve had it made in the Garden of Eden. But they tossed paradise aside, as each of us would have, when they disobeyed God. Like them, we find ways to manipulate each other to meet our own needs, not realizing that meeting our mate's needs is the real key to marital happiness. Feelings of rejection set in, as Adam and Eve's story repeats again and again down through history.

Despite counseling, divorce marks the end of half of American marriages, leaving behind incalculable damage. When the family unit breaks down, culture itself breaks down. Communication breakdowns affect nearly every marriage at one time or another, and this began quite early in history - all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

The family is an endangered species. The very definition of the family is being torn apart. Fractured, broken, stressed, and dysfunctional are words that can be used to describe this most basic unit of society. It begins when marriages fail. Today we will take a candid look at the causes of these failures.

Left to ourselves, we're basically narcissistic. We would much rather meet our own needs than meet the needs of others. In matrimony, two people have to care for each other. This combats the inherent selfishness we all share. In many ways, marriage is a crucible in which character is forged and where happiness is found in pleasing your mate, not yourself.