Church and Family Life Podcast

How does a young man who grew up in the church and loved his parents end up depressed and suicidal? Here is the testimony of Jeffrey Johnson, an eighth-generation Baptist pastor from Arkansas, who was lost and found. It is a story of a young man in deep depression whom the Lord rescued from his darkness. He is now pastor of Grace Bible Church in Conway, Arkansas.

We are here to encourage you to prepare Kids for Morning and evening. There is a Christian way to go to bed at night and get up in the morning. This is the sufficiency of Scripture for the morning and the evening. The Lord gives careful guidance on how to start the day and end it. The Bible speaks of these two bookends of the day in terms of "morning and evening."

In his book "Life Together," Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out that we must in the church keep our eyes on what Christ has called us to do in the church. He tells us that we usually come to the church with our wish dreams about the church. We come to the church looking for what we want, not what Christ wants. This is usually the source of our disappointment with our churches.

We believe that Scripture presents workable patterns applicable to having a Christian wedding. However, we don't think that Scripture provides a single formula for governing the process of having a wedding. This does not mean that the Bible is silent on the matter. What does the Bible say about weddings, and what can we learn from them as we plan weddings?

Today, our subject is the assurance of salvation, with Jeffrey Johnson from Conway, Arkansas. Every pastor and most believers have had to answer earnest questions from themselves or others struggling with doubt about their salvation. We will be discussing some of the points made in Chapter 18 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 on assurance.

A few years ago, a major researcher reported that 94% of those who claim to be Christians do not tithe. Of course, this means that only 6% of Christians tithe. What do Christians actually give? These researchers indicated that the congregation tithes or donates only 2%-3% of their income to the church. How should we think about giving to local churches?

Children need help to hear sermons, they need coaching and assistance to train them to listen, and this is your job as a parent. I hope your children spend hundreds of hours in church listening to sermons. Do everything you can to make it a rich experience. Help them hear the Word of God through preaching and singing, and the fellowship. Jesus says, "Take heed how you hear" (Luke 8:18).

Their experiences shape the spiritual welfare of any new generation at home. We are grateful to see how the grace of God overcomes many terrible experiences. God is very kind. However, it matters what kinds of homes we grow up in. Children tend to do what they see, replicating communication patters and lifestyle patterns of their parents. Sometimes these are burdensome to the children. Our discussion today focuses on setting good habits before your children.

Marriage books will give you dozens of practical techniques. But is that the way the Bible teaches us? What are the most important matters? What are the fundamental indispensable things that make for a good marriage?

This podcast is for the son or daughter wondering if they are ready for marriage and parents considering this for their children. Here are twelve questions you should ask yourself about marriage to test readiness.