Showing titles in Counseling

Married Christians, and those preparing for marriage, know that they're sinners—and that their sin threatens God's great purposes for their union, including mutual support, companionship, and intimacy. But how often do believers recognize that they are also saints, equipped through God's power to create a healthy, loving marriage? In Gospel-Shaped Marriage, Chad and Emily Van Dixhoorn encourage couples with how Christ calls and enables them to love their spouse.

When I returned home from my latest deployment in the U.S. Army, my life began to fall apart. One night, after heavy drinking, I placed my 1911 pistol in my mouth and thought a prayer—silence. I deactivated the safety and began to slowly squeeze the trigger. BANG! I dropped the pistol, and I looked around me, but there was no blood. The bang I heard was the Bible on my desk falling and hitting the floor. I fell to my knees and asked God for forgiveness. I surrendered to Jesus Christ and asked him to help me. He answered.

La pornografía es un tema tabú entre muchos cristianos hoy, especialmente entre las mujeres. Sin embargo, las mujeres pueden volverse y, de hecho, se vuelven esclavas a la pornografía. Imágenes impuras, novelas calientes, incluso series de televisión pasadas de tono cautivan nuestra mente y nuestros corazones. Este minilibro redefine la pornografía en términos bíblicos y explora sus peligros. Aprende cómo la Biblia expone el corazón del problema y provee abundante esperanza de libertad.

In this unique look at a one-year journey through counseling told from both sides of the couch, Sandi Brown―the founder of St. Louis’s largest Christian radio ministry, JOY FM―and her counselor, Dr. Michelle Caulk, walk through Sandi’s therapy journey, answering the question, “What do I do when I know God loves me, but I don’t like myself?” Healing Out Loud captures many of the insecurities the modern woman faces in her walk with Christ. Brown and Caulk’s combined voice creates an accessible path for listeners to face their vulnerabilities with biblical insight.

Vivimos una época en donde el contenido sexual explícito es fácil de conseguir de manera inmediata. Por eso, la lucha contra la pornografía es con frecuencia la más grande tentación del hombre cristiano hoy en día. Aunque los cristianos hemos sido transformados por la fe en Jesús, somos golpeados por nuestra cultura saturada de sexo. ¿Cómo los hombres cristianos podemos encontrar victoria sobre la pornografía? Este minilibro presenta la única solución real: el poder efectivo de Dios a través del evangelio en el contexto de una iglesia local.

En Coronavirus y Cristo, John Piper invita a lectores alrededor del mundo a anclar sus vidas en la Roca sólida de Jesucristo. Nuestras almas solo pueden ser sostenidas por un Dios soberano que ordena, gobierna y reina sobre todas las cosas y que cumple todos Sus buenos propósitos para los que confían en Él. En este desafiante libro, Piper ofrece seis respuestas bíblicas a la pregunta: ¿Qué está haciendo Dios a través del Coronavirus? y nos recuerda que Dios está obrando grandemente en este momento de la historia.

Millions of people in our society suffer from anxiety, often unbeknownst to those around them. The pressures of modern life seem specially designed to cause anxiety, and anxiety is on the rise in recent years. The good news is that anxiety is very treatable. Pastor Jason Cusick tells the story of his own history with anxiety and offers expertise, practical guidance, and empathy. Filled with practical advice and the hope of Christ, The Anxiety Field Guide is a rich resource for both those who suffer from anxiety and those in a position to help them.

God's peace, his shalom, can penetrate every aspect of your life - spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Although the word shalom appears 550 times in the Scriptures and was a constant theme in Jesus' teachings, it is a neglected topic today. As a result, God's peace has been elusive to so many followers of Jesus. This book charts a course of shalom for you!

In Do You Believe What God Says About You?, pastor and Christian counselor Stephen Viars encourages you to trade misgivings about your identity for the Bible's life-changing affirmations of who you were made to be.

A friend feels rejected. A counselee is angry. A church member's child is ill. You want to help, but where do you begin? Author and counselor Michael R. Emlet outlines a model of one-another ministry based on how God sees and loves his people primarily as saints, while bringing comfort to the sufferer, and faithfully speaking truth to the sinner. Filled with everyday illustrations as well as counseling examples, Emlet demonstrates what it looks like to approach fellow believers simultaneously as saints, sufferers, and sinners.

Too often we think and teach in ways that reinforce a mind-body split. This can lead people to self-alienation, impeding holistic, healthy relationships between people, God, and each other. Body Connections takes a different approach, teaching us to see the connections between our embodied experience and faithful spiritual care.

In 2012, Steve Austin, then a pastor, nearly died by suicide. His experience launched him on a journey that opened his eyes to the widespread problem of mental illness and how those who live with it are often treated in congregations. He began to wonder: If church folks had talked openly about mental health, therapy, suicide prevention, recovery from abuse, and other difficult issues, would that have changed his story? In Hiding in the Pews, people with mental illness - some of whom might be pastors themselves - will find comfort as they learn they are not alone.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, even those who have never struggled with mental health have found themselves reeling, looking for answers they don't know how to find. For Christians, especially those who've despaired of help from a church that has too often stigmatized poor mental health as a lack of faith, the way forward can be particularly difficult to see. Jonathon Seidl aims to fix that. Having fought his own way through crippling anxiety, life-altering OCD, and suicidal thoughts, he knows the value of concrete advice grounded in strong biblical truth.

Human beings are wired for connection. We long for deep relationships and real intimacy — both of which reflect our fundamental desire to be close to God. But all too often, whether because of our sin or our failures, we imagine that God prefers to keep his distance. In this book, Edward T. Welch shows us the purpose for which we were created: to be brought near to God as a kingdom of priests.

Does the phrase church discipline sound like an oxymoron? The church’s message is about grace, we reason, while discipline feels like the opposite of grace. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples to practice church discipline because it’s one way congregations grow in holiness and imitate God’s own love. In this audiobook, Jonathan Leeman presents biblical answers to questions about the nature and application of church discipline, conveying that Scripture presents church discipline as both loving and necessary.

A woman marries a man, not his ministry. But all too often her husband’s calling complicates their life together. What if ministry life isn’t what she bargained for? What happens when her children make mistakes? How does she deal with church gossip, or even slander? As a pastor’s wife of almost 50 years, Jani Ortlund addresses these questions, along with many others, as she offers encouragement and guidance to ministry wives. Jani reminds listeners that God works out his delightfully good purposes in and through their sacrifices.

The first book to link the science behind Tiny Habits to faith and trauma recovery.

This substantive collection from noted scholar Serene Jones explores recent work in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one's capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus's death is remembered.

Our bodies are designed to heal. But while our skinned knees easily heal, it can sometimes feel like our emotional and relational wounds are left gaping open, broken beyond repair. If our bodies instinctively know how to heal physical injuries, could they also help us understand how to restore painful emotional and relational ruptures? Physician Jennie McLaurin and scientist Cymbeline T. Culiat present Designed to Heal: a fascinating look at how the restorative processes of the body can model patterns we may adapt to heal the acute and chronic wounds of our social bodies.

Have you ever noticed that conflict is absolutely everywhere? Though we all want harmony in our relationships and our world, peace seems so hard to come by. No matter its form, conflict always finds us. And often, we let it overtake us. In this short, biblical, and practical book, pastor and author Tony Merida shows us that it doesn’t have to be this way. Merida not only paints a stunning picture of Christ our peacemaker he also shows us how to stop wishing for peace and go make it.