Scott and I (Sue) are a couple of ordinary Christians who found ourselves in an all-too-common situation: a disappointing, miserable, and failing marriage.  We could hardly understand how we got into that state of affairs.  Twenty years along in what we thought had been a basically happy marriage, we were at an impasse.  We were full of frustration, confusion, and anger, each convinced the other was primarily at fault for landing us in our predicament.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the unique parables narrated by the Lord Jesus Christ as it is found only in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 10:30-37, and it conveys the principle of high morality in the salvation that has been provided to the fallen humankind. The reason for Jesus to expound this parable was to answer a test question posed to him by a lawyer, which was: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Jesus, knowing that this was a learned lawyer who posed this question, replies in turn with two questions for the lawyer to answer: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (Luke 10:26).

In 1800, only 2.5% of the world's population lived in cities. In 1900, the number had grown to 10%. Today, half of the world's population lives in vast metro areas. By 2020, 75% of people will live in cities! Floyd McClung the author of “Spirits of the City” notes, “Cities are the mountain peaks of society-trends, Ideologies, and fashions are born in the fermenting cauldron of city life- and then flow down and out to influence the populace.” Cities world wide including, Boston and Quincy share the same problems: single generation families; poverty; chemical dependency; mental illness; housing and development issues; gangs, justice and prison systems, prostitution; HIV/AIDS and much more. And also these swirling, teeming cities are multi-cultural (Jeremiah 29:7).

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Genesis 2:18.   God formed a woman out of the man’s own body, so that she can be “just right for him.”  Anyone who reads the following chapters will see that even the woman God Himself picked for Adam was lured into sin.  How much more easily we fall short of God’s ideal for marriage in our own lives.

It is estimated that forty percent of the population in India are children younger than 15 years of age.  One United States study revealed that 85 percent of people who came to Christ, accepting Him as personal Savior, were between 4 and 14 years of age.  That brings a great challenge to reach children.

Being a parent of three girls (two of them being teenagers now) and living in a very promiscuous and liberal US society, we find that it is a real challenge to give a proper ‘education’ to our children. Like so many other Indian parents who have immigrated to the United States hoping to provide a better ‘education’ to our children, my wife Nissy and I have been dismayed to find ourselves battling a tidal wave of cultural and social differences in the likes that we have never seen before.

Among the Indian Churches, one-third of the young people said they were dissatisfied with the current church environment. Youths think that church is not having a positive influence on them. They are discontent with the adults in the church, especially with adult failure to live up to the truths they profess to believe.

Ahmad Deedat a Muslim scholar challenged Josh McDowell in a debate on the subject "was Christ crucified"? The debate took place in August 1981, in Durban, South Africa. Deedat posed the following challenge to McDowell “Throughout the length and breadth of the 27 books of the New Testament, there is not a single statement made by Jesus Christ saying "I was dead, and I have come back from the dead." The Christian has been belaboring the word resurrection. Again and again, by repetition, it is conveyed that it is proving a fact. You keep on seeing the man, the man's eating food, as though He was resurrected. He appears in the upper room - He was resurrected. Jesus Christ never uttered that word that "I have come back from the dead," in the 27 books of the New Testament, not even once.” What do you think?

This presentation tries to explain the various stages of Discipleship as a person is born into the Kingdom of God and grows to mature into the fullness of Christ. It is a life long process and we often become stagnant in that process. Realizing the stages of life and acting appropriately will help us achieve the ultimate goal that God wants us to achieve. Six shapes Circle, Semi Circle, Triangle, Square, Pentagon, and Hexagon are used in these slides to explain the various stages of discipleship

Proverbs thirty one chapter gives a tribute to a Performing working mother, entrepreneur, blessing and inspiration for the whole city.  While the leaders of the church debate whether a woman should be confined to home,  or work outside the home; this chapter describes of wife of noble character who is worth far more than rubies (Prov 31:10).  She is a dynamic, energetic and inspiring personality. It gives such laudable tribute that could be listed in a dozen different headings.

Parental verbal abuse often wound children so deeply that the effects remain apparent into young adulthood.  Furthermore, it is noted that verbal abuse contributes towards more serious psychological complexities greater than that caused by physical abuse. Parental verbal abuse during childhood can scar brain deeply.

A custom-built product, unlike a mass production item, is one that is made to fit individual specifications.  The manufacturers invest a considerable amount of energy and finances to see that a given product meets the peculiar taste of the individual customer.  For example, a computer can be ordered with or without a DVD player.   In the case of a car, we can choose cruise control or decide to do without it.

We are familiar with the old adage that "birds of the same feather flock together", that is "people with the same or similar tastes tend to congregate together", as do birds of the same species. This is true of many churches today. We tend to congregate with people who are more like ourselves, with whom we share the same ethnic, economic or education background. We naturally gravitate to what is most comfortable. As a result, vast majority of local churches remain segregated. And yet this is not the pattern set by the Bible.

THE INDIAN CHRISTIAN  COMMUNITY in North America can be proud of their younger generation.  In general, they are brilliant, industrious, and goal-oriented.  In addition, most of them are God-fearing and have a solid family life.  Yet many of them face struggles as they try to adjust to two different cultures and accommodate the spiritual values of their parents and those of their peers.  All immigrant communities face such struggles, although in different degrees.
Although there are certain issues common to all immigrants from India, the Indian Christian  community faces certain unique situations.  The struggles of the younger generation of this identifiable ethnic group are discussed and certain recommendations for their survival are made in this chapter.  It is to be emphasized that there are many homes where the children do not encounter the problems mentioned here.  In the field of human behavior it is impossible to generalize observations and findings in a manner in which they will be equally applicable to all in the community.

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, credited with much of the rebuilding of America during and after the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s, when asked about his view of the next generation of young people, remarked, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”  Decades later, his statement still holds true.  Many young people are disillusioned with the future, and rightly so.  They face more uncertainty than anyone else about the challenges they will face in the 2000 era.  This is especially hard for Indian youth, which are in the midst of a generational transition of culture, values, faith and lifestyle.