As Wesleyans, we believe God has bound together all people, no matter how different, by creating each of us in God's image. As Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, we must be prepared to share the gospel of Jesus Christ at any time and in any place to all of God's children. Jesus crossed all barriers to share the gospel, and we who follow him, must do not less.
"My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing about it" (James 2: 14)
"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed."
A baby coming into a world that was in turmoil. His country was occupied by a foreign military force with the citizens being taxed heavily to support this presence. The local authorities weren't doing anything to ease the daily burdens of life. Hunger, poverty and homelessness were rampant. To the have-nots all seemed hopeless with no relief in sight.
We are not the source of God's light; we merely reflect that light. Jesus is the true light; he helps us see our way to God and shows us how to walk along that way.
Imagine Jesus talking to his disciples and saying that there was once a lazy husband named Scott whose wife went away for a few days. She left him in charge of the house telling him that she wasn't sure when she would be home but to be alert and don't get caught short. You don't want to be that guy. You don't want to be Scott.
Relevance can also make or break a church. One of the biggest complaints we hear about organized religion is that we just aren't relevant anymore. They ask, why should I get up early on Sunday morning, shower and put on clean clothes, and waste my time going to a church that isn't relevant?
John Wesley said, "employ whatever God has entrusted you with in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree, to the household of faith, to all me."
The point of giving is not so much the amount we give. In fact, John Wesley said in 1785, "When you do what you can, you do enough." What matters as Christians is why and how we give. God does not want our gifts to be given grudgingly.
The Beatitudes are not multiple choice. You don't get to pick one you like and ignore the rest. You can't say you'll be a peacemaker and that's it because the other stuff sounds too difficult or sappy. It doesn't work that way. The Beatitudes must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ's followers.