When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, it is not that He didn’t know the ultimate answer. He was quoting out of Psalm 22 , which was the answer. He was being made sin for all of us, and the only way out of that was the faithfulness of the Father. “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” Everything depended on the faithfulness of the Father at that moment. We can get into places in which it becomes so clear to us that there is no way to go on or no way out, unless...
Apr 20, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 55
When America locked down to protect its citizens from COVID-19, the pandemic scattered many Christians into social isolation. These extraordinary times call for serious reflection. Events like COVID-19 remind us about necessary timeless truths for personal revival. How can Christians stay faithful and Spirit-filled in these unique days? Listen to this week’s episode of the Biblical Counseling Podcast as Pastor Jeff discusses the necessity of extraordinary measures for personal revival during ext...
Apr 07, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 54
As people who live in a fallen world, we are all prone to worry and anxiety. Worry may look different for various people, but we all struggle with fear over what may happen to the things or people we treasure. During COVID-19, many Christians experienced unique levels of worry and anxiety as they faced new and uncertain times. What can we learn from Scripture about overcoming worry when we are faced with circumstances that threaten the people or things we treasure? Listen to this week’s episode ...
Mar 30, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Many Christians struggle with worry and anxiety. While we know that Scripture tells Christians not to worry, the world tells us that worry is a normal part of life. Is it a sin to worry? How should Christians think about worry and sin? Listen to this week’s episode of the Biblical Counseling Podcast as Pastor Jeff wrestles with this important question: is it a sin to worry? Do you sense a calling to become a Biblical Counselor? Are you being led to become part of a team that desires to Counselin...
Mar 24, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 52
A study based on Jesus words in Mathew 6:25-33 #1 - Number one. The believer should not worry. The Christian. The follower of Jesus Christ should not be filled with anxiety. Now let me offer a word of clarification. Jesus was not saying that a Christian should not think about or be concerned with the needs of this like food or clothing. Jesus did not say, “Don’t think about food. Don’t concern yourself with clothing.” No. He said in verse 25, “Don’t worry about those things.” Oh yes you need to ...
Mar 16, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 51
(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) (12) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word of God is able . It is able to cut so deeply that it can deal with the “thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). When we minister the Word we do not know what those hearing it are thinking, nor do we know the motives or intents of their ...
Mar 09, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 50
If Christians are to be competent as counselors, they must have the right tools. Many Christians struggle to discern between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom in counseling situations. A certain idea may sound insightful, but the tools of the world struggle to penetrate deep into the soul of counselees. What does it mean when Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is “sharp”? Listen to this week’s episode of the Biblical Counseling Podcast as Pastor Jeff Christianson discusses how the Word of God...
Mar 02, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 49
People today are overwhelmed by words. Whether we are scrolling our phones, listening to media, reading books, or watching words of a T.V., words surround us. When Christians read Scripture, how should they view God’s Word? How is God’s Word different from the words all around us? Listen to this week’s episode of the Biblical Counseling Podcast as pastor Jeff Christianson begins a miniseries titled “The Ability and Character of God’s Word.” Get started on the right foot with your Biblical Counse...
Feb 24, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Doug is a Biblical Counselor with his local church and is gifted in helping church leaders plan their financial future - God's Way! Doug is the co-founder of Pastors Legacy Plan and the President and Registered Principal of Eagle Retirement Plans, Inc. He’s a Registered Investment Advisor through Crown Capital Securities, L.P. and hold a California Life and Health Insurance License. Doug serves as an advocate for his clients, protecting their best interests. Pastors Legacy Planning gives me an o...
Feb 17, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Pastor Gregory Kirk serves as the Executive Director of the United Gospel Rescue Mission of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. My prayer is that you will learn who we are, what we do, and how you can connect with us and help us continue to serve the broken lives of men and families. The United Gospel Rescue Mission still takes care of the men who, through circumstances of life, have fallen through the cracks of society. Those coming out of prison, and those who due to addictions, broken family situations, ...
Feb 10, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 46
It’s one of my personal convictions that psychological theory is one of the most crafty tactics the enemy ever came up with to plague, bind, wipe out, pull down, distract, swallow up the human family. It’s almost like a way to live with God left totally out of the picture. A way that is so satisfying to the mind and so enticing to the flesh. It is crafty! Do you sense a calling to become a Biblical Counselor? Are you being led to become part of a team that desires to Counseling in God’s Way? Thi...
Feb 03, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 45
If someone said, “What really threatens the church counseling God’s way?” I would say there are two aspects to it that everything else fits under. One is forsaking our Wonderful Counselor, then that always leads to the second one, turning to worldly counsel. The church’s failure to counsel God’s way is our failure to look to the Lord Jesus as the Wonderful Counselor. The church in many ways is drifting from the Lord; disobeying and neglecting His Word and thereby often being left open to decepti...
Jan 27, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 44
The Apostle Paul gave this charge to Timothy in his final epistle: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Paul would soon be martyred (See 2 Timothy 4:6), and he wanted to ensure others would continue his church planting and discipleship efforts. Who would lead the church after his departure? He gave Timothy this simple pattern of succession to ensure continuity, accountability, and stability. It...
Jan 20, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Trauma is a part of life that a lot of people will endure at one point in their life. In the world that we live in when we experience trauma and respond to it adversely. Some are told that they need professional help from those in the psychiatric field. Those in the field of psychiatry will try to find a way to mask the issue without dealing with it directly. The end result of worldly counseling is a feeling of inadequacy and being different than "normal" people. However, faith can help in respo...
Jan 13, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Dr. Daniel R. Berger II is the founder and director of Alethia International Ministries (AIM), where he continues to write and to speak around the country in various churches, organizations, medical communities, and at various counseling and teacher's conferences. He is also an experienced pastor, counselor, school administrator, and the author of ten books on Biblical counseling, practical theology, education, and the history and philosophy of the current mental health construct. In this episod...
Jan 06, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 41
James tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials". It doesn't say if you fall into trials, but when you fall into them. Hardships are a part of life that every Christian must endure. There is hope and it is found in Scripture. When you counsel those who deal with hardships and trials we must communicate that hope is found in the Word. God will continue to help you grow and learn about his sovereignty. As Christians we must first understand that God works all thing...
Dec 30, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Christmas time is a time of joy and celebration. The fun of gathering with family, holiday themed parties, and a host of holiday distractions. The world has slowly taken a time set aside to celebrate the coming of the Savior, turning it into a time of traditions and self gratitude. Christians, if you are not careful you will find yourself swept away in the madness of gift giving and self seeking desires. This is a time of the year where Christians are to proclaim the reason for celebration. Huma...
Dec 23, 2019•21 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Dr. Mark Hager shares about his salvation through Biblical counseling sessions he took as an unbeliever. As Biblical counselors we sometimes assume that individual we are counseling is a believer. I mean why else would they seek out Biblical counseling? However, we must never assume that an individual that has come to you for help has a relationship with Christ. We need to ask probing questions and begin to develop a relationship with the individual. As trust is built, the door is open to share ...
Dec 16, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Warren Lamb is Author of Behind the Veil: Exposing the Evil of Domestic Oppression and Providing Hope. Warren works extensively with those who have suffered significant trauma from childhood abuse and neglect, domestic oppression and abuse, sex-trafficking, kidnapping, sole-survivors of catastrophes, traumatic loss survivors, first responders, combat trauma survivors, and the like. He also works extensively with the sexually broken, including those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction....
Dec 09, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 37
As we speak about humanistic philosophical psychology we are speaking directly about what is not scientific. This type of humanistic psychology deals with moral dilemmas and the humanistic worldview that has captured a broad audience today, not only within the world but also within the church. Church, we need to wake up and see that this type of worldview has crept into the church. Scripture tells us that in the latter times that some will depart from the faith and turn to human teachings. As be...
Dec 02, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 36
The way we approach the Bible determines our worldview. There are a lot of Christians that believe psychology is above Scripture in counseling. It's true that people have been helped by theories and concepts, but when we take man's ideas and value them above the Bible we have made our worldview cloudy. We need to create a better worldview with the Bible as the foundation and psychology as a secondary humanistic thought. Although man has achieved a lot since creation, God is still sitting on the ...
Nov 25, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 35
The Holy Spirit is required in biblical counseling. If God is ultimately the counselor and Jesus is not here, we are to rely on the Holy Spirit for counseling. God is going to use you through the power of the Holy Spirit to minister and disciple others. We can pray to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Power is given from God through the Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are evident today. The Holy Spirit has the power to change others, far beyond what we can do apart from the Spirit. The ...
Nov 18, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Psychology and Christianity do not offer offer the same answers to our problems. A square peg cannot fit into a round hole. In our society today people want to take the square peg of psychology and fit it into the round hole of Christianity. The problem is they are competing not complimentary. Psychology is a dealing with the social and mental capacities of an individual, not the scientific aspect of an individual. It is built on a foundation of feeling and emotions. Psychological theories and p...
Nov 10, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 33
We live in a culture that walks on eggshells. We are sometimes afraid to correct someone because of the backlash we might receive. The world continues to spin out of moral control and it seems as though everything is permissible. However, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not called to be like the rest of the world. That means that there is going to come a time when we need to reprove someone and help correct their sinful action or there may be a time when we need to be corrected of our ...
Oct 30, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 32
There is no easy way to deal with conflict. Most people in the world try to avoid conflict as much as possible while there are others that love nothing more than creating conflict. Within Christian circles, it is difficult to sometimes deal with our conflicts. Do we say what is really on our mind? Do we just say nothing and hope it goes away? Do we just speak the truth harshly because it needs to be said? If someone tells us to let it go, do we let it go? Communication is necessary and biblical....
Oct 28, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 31
There are central doctrinal truths that every believer must believe in to be saved. The divinity of Christ, a trinitarian God ( The Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the death and resurrection of Christ, just to name a few. However, there are doctrines that believers can disagree upon. As believers we must discern by wisdom from God in dealing with doctrinal differences. There is power and authority in the Word of God that we must study the Scriptures to know what God is trying to communicate to us....
Oct 20, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 30
There are many places where you can receive exceptional biblical teaching, but there is only one place where you can receive specific Calvary Chapel denominational teaching. As you continue to grow in your walk in Christ and as you are called into ministry it is key to find out where you fit in. At Calvary Chapel University you can discover where you belong and learn from pastors that found there place within the Calvary Chapel denomination. God will call you into the ministry and continue to gr...
Oct 13, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Often times Christians are plagued by past transgressions. If you continue to look back at your past failures you will be unable to look ahead to see what Christ has prepared for you. Christ has made us new and there is no need to allow our past sin to weigh us down and eat away at our conscience. As we look ahead to the future glory that Christ has prepared for us we can leave yesterday behind. There is power in the forgiveness Christ has given us at the cross and Christ sent us with a Helper t...
Oct 06, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Listen to this podcast to hear Pastor Jeff and Bill Hines address: Passages which address confronting the sin of others Proper heart dispositions for confronting others How the gospel informs our approach in confronting sin Want to learn more? Listen to this week’s discussion and subscribe to hear future episodes from Pastor Jeff Christianson and the Biblical Counseling Podcast. Get started on the right foot with your Biblical Counseling Training. The Biblical Counseling Academy’s Starter Course...
Sep 30, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 27
During this episode, Pastor Jeff will give you some practical concepts to help you counsel those that are suffering from thoughts of suicide. Wisdom and discernment come from God, but we are tasked with the responsibility to help others with God's word. God has equipped every believer to help those we know overcome suicidal thoughts. It is not a simple task to help those who struggle with thoughts of suicide, but nevertheless God has placed His people in the lives of those who may need help. God...
Sep 22, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 26
