CCEF Podcast: Where Life & Scripture Meet

“Sometimes, we will listen and we will hear silence. We will look around, and we will not see him or what he is up to, and we will not know what to make of our circumstances, but here’s what we do know: we walk with the God who preserves his people. The God who stores our tears in a bottle is the God who knows our names and who shapes our names and our circumstances and will always be among us.”   What do we do when God is silent? How do we have hope when it feels like he is absent? Listen as Alasdair Groves considers God’s seeming silence for 400 years of history between the Old and New Testaments, and how even then, God’s care is never diminished.   Related resources: Where Was God? | Blog post by Ed Welch www.ccef.org/where-was-god/ Why Prayer Is Hard for Me | Blog post by Laura Andrews www.ccef.org/why-prayer-is-hard-for-me/

“One of your greatest goals as a man whom the Lord has called into marriage is to maximize your wife’s opportunities to use her gifts within the context of her life and community. You ask, 'How can I help her flourish?' That is serving her; that is leading her."   Scripture calls husbands to lead their wives. But what does this look like? How do we know if we’re leading our wives well? Listen as Alasdair Groves talks about what it looks like to focus on serving our wives rather than focusing on our role as leader.   Related resources: Manliness for Every Husband | Journal article by Ed Welch https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/manliness-for-every-husband/ Spiritual Leadership in the Home | Podcast episode by Alasdair Groves & Robyn Huck https://www.ccef.org/podcast/spiritual-leadership-in-the-home/

“We have a God who loves, cares, and knows, and I can rest utterly in the hope that he will be with me, he will walk with me, and he will provide. He will care for every last moment of my day tomorrow as I am exhausted.”   Do you ever have nights where you can’t sleep? Whatever the reason may be, struggling to sleep is a form of suffering. Alasdair Groves explores what it looks like to lean on the Lord when we can’t sleep, assured that he is near and he cares.   Related resources: “Rest” | Podcast episode by Alasdair Groves https://www.ccef.org/podcast/rest/ “Cares and Consolations” | Blog post by Mike Emlet https://www.ccef.org/cares-and-consolations/ “Fear and Faith Conjoined” | Blog post by Ed Welch https://www.ccef.org/fear-and-faith-conjoined/

“We do grieve, but we don't grieve without hope. Our grief is a hopeful grief. The losses we sustain and experience in this life are hope-filled because of Jesus, because we have a hope that transcends death itself. We have a God who is redeeming all of creation.”In the first episode of season 3, Alasdair Groves talks about how grief is not something to run from, be ashamed of, or try to get rid of, but grief is an invitation to worship God as the giver of every good gift.   Related resources: “Grief Undone: Walking through Grief alongside the Spirit” | Conference audio by Libby Groves https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/grief-undone-walking-grief-alongside-spirit/ “Is It Right to Feel Grief for What is Grievous?” | Blog post by David Powlison https://www.ccef.org/it-right-feel-grief-what-grievous-part-2-5/ “What do I do when I can’t seem to get over my grief?” | Video by Alasdair Groves https://www.ccef.org/video/what-do-i-do-when-i-cant-seem-to-get-over-my-grief/

Enjoy a bonus episode while we’re on break over the summer! This episode is a recording of Alasdair Groves’ plenary session from the 2021 National Conference: Modern Problems. This year's National Conference: The Way of Wisdom will explore Old Testament wisdom literature in light of Jesus, the true wisdom of God. Learn more and register at ccef.org/2022. To receive a $25 discount on your in-person registration, use the code “podcast” at checkout. This discount is valid through the end of August 2022. Find all the sessions from our 2021 National Conference: Modern Problems here: https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/modern-problems-2021-national-conference-download/.

“We should never be content with, ‘I love that person but I don’t like them.’ That should always be a call to press deeper, to seek to love in ways that lead us toward a greater tenderness and affection.”   In our 8th and final episode of season 2, Alasdair Groves explores the phrase, “I love you but I don’t like you.” Is it helpful, harmful, or potentially both? How can we engage with someone whom we love but don’t “like” in a particular moment or season? How can we both love someone and be passionate for their growth in godliness? How did Jesus model this wise love?   Related resources: “Treasuring Others” | Blog post by Alasdair Groves https://www.ccef.org/treasuring-others/ “Treasuring Others” | JBC article by Alasdair Groves https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/treasuring-others/ “Love is Inconvenient” | Blog post by Mike Emlet https://www.ccef.org/love-is-inconvenient/ “Authentic Love” | Conference audio by Mike Emlet https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/authentic-love-relationships-i-john-0/ “Side by Side” | Book by Ed Welch https://www.ccef.org/book/side-side-walking-others-wisdom-love/

"Anything that presses us forward towards each other with a desire to know the Lord and know his people and know how to love better is going to be helpful. Better to be thinking and reflecting more rather than less if you’re doing it with love and humility and the desire for wisdom.” How do we think biblically about personality tests? Are they helpful, harmful, or potentially both? Does Scripture have anything to say about personality? In this episode, Alasdair Groves discusses these questions and more.   Related resources: “Personality Tests” podcast episode by Ed Welch: https://www.ccef.org/podcast/personality-tests/ “What does temperament have to do with biblical counseling?” video by David Powlison: https://www.ccef.org/video/what-does-temperament-have-do-biblical-counseling/ “Psychological Tests: Are You For or Against?” blog post by Ed Welch: https://www.ccef.org/psychological-tests-are-you-or-against/ “Describe a Person Well and You Win that Person” blog post by Ed Welch: https://www.ccef.org/describe-person-well-and-you-win-person/

What is conversion therapy and how do we think biblically about it? How do we engage with and offer the hope found in Christ to those struggling with same-sex attraction, transgenderism, and other LGBTQ+ issues? How do we navigate our role as disciplers in a world where the definition of “counselor” is increasingly broad? In this episode, Alasdair Groves discusses these questions and more through the lens of a biblical counselor.   Check out other CCEF resources on these topics: “The Silence is Deafening: Understanding and Welcoming Those with Same-Sex Attraction” conference talk by Mike Emlet: https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/the-silence-is-deafening-understanding-and-welcoming-those-with-same-sex-attraction/ “Gender Identity” podcast episode by David Powlison and Alasdair Groves: https://www.ccef.org/podcast/gender-identity/ “When Your Child Says ‘I’m Gay’” conference talk by Michael Gembola: https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/child-says-im-gay/ “Five Ministry Prioriites for those Struggling with Same-Sex Attraction” JBC article by Mike Emlet: https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/five-ministry-priorities-struggling-sex-attraction/ “A Recent Question I Was Asked About Homosexuality” blog by Ed Welch: https://www.ccef.org/question-i-was-recently-asked-about-homosexuality/

Through the specific example of video game addiction, Alasdair Groves illustrates a broader skill fundamental to biblical counseling: learning to see and draw out what is good, even in the midst of someone making a mess of their life.   “In Hebrews 10, the Lord calls us as Christians to spur one another on to love and good deeds. That's an invitation to an incredible wealth of creativity as believers in thinking about how to apply this passage. Finding the traces of good in someone's bad decisions is one way of growing and being able to spur people on to love and good deeds. It’s a microcosm for seeing the surprising-ness of the hope and power of the gospel.”   Related Resources: “An Open Letter to a Discouraged Saint” blog by Mike Emlet: https://www.ccef.org/an-open-letter-to-a-discouraged-saint/ “Seeing the People in Front of You” blog by Darby Strickland: https://www.ccef.org/seeing-the-people-in-front-of-you/

"We are never outside of the tender care of God. It's true when we sleep. It's true when we struggle to get out of bed. It's true when we fail to read the Bible. It's true when we aren't eating healthily. It's true when everything just feels bleak."