Church and Family Life Podcast

Join us with Brian Borgman to discuss chapter 10 in “When to Disobey,” under the chapter title, “How the Sheep will Vanquish Wolves.” Viret tells us things that are contrary to human wisdom. He unveils a lie we often embrace when dealing with corrupt civil governments.

Join us with Phil Kayser to discuss chapter 9 of Pierre Viret, “When to Disobey.” Titled, “Jurisdictions and callings are ordained by God. Viret addresses the various callings of individuals, pastors, and magistrates. What should individuals do? In this chapter, Viret corrects some of the wrong thinking that he is encountering.

How should the church respond when magistrates misbehave? Gavin Beers joins us to discuss Chapter 6 of, “When to Disobey,” Viret makes his case that we ought to understand the office of the magistrate, acknowledge the problems they bring, and how to navigate. Viret is defining and defending the role of civil magistrates. He makes an appeal for godly responses to the civil magistrate. I appreciate how Viret explains the problems that Christians will have with magistrates. Viret explains in careful detail what kinds of sins the people of God will have to endure at their hands.

In our continuing discussion of, the book, "When to Disobey,” we are joined by Toby Logston a pastor of one of the churches in our network in Lynwood Washington. We are discussing chapter 5, “Honoring Authority Over Us.” Viret makes a very strong case for honoring authorities. He bases this on the fifth commandment, telling us that the application is much broader than simply father and mother. We live in a time when very few people were brought up to honor their fathers and mothers, and therefore they don’t honor anyone.

How can you tell if your obedience to the government is really a cloak for disobedience to God? Our discussion centers around Pierre Viret's analysis of the questions we ought to ask and the conclusions we ought to consider. Our discussion focuses on Chapter 8 of "When to Disobey."

Kevin Swanson of Generations and pastor at Reformation Church in Elizabeth Colorado describes his upbringing and crisis of faith. Kevin had a very unusual childhood and his parents did their best to prepare him for holiness.

What does it mean that Christians are the best citizens? Our discussion centers around Pierre Viret's explanation of why Christians are and must be the best subjects under civil governments.

In this podcast, we discuss the importance of local church life for families.

Tom’s family background was plagued by heartache. Tom’s dad, as a young boy, witnessed his father being shot dead while the two sat together on a wagon. The state then awarded Tom’s father and his two siblings to become indentured servants — slaves, in effect — who were chained in a farmer’s field to pick various crops. The oldest of three, Tom’s dad grew up to be a womanizer who drank heavily, while also teaching Sunday School. Tom grew up embarrassed by his own father. Embittered that his dad served as deacon in their church, while living a life of moral failure, he harbored an angry distrust for pastors. Despite these struggles, Tom confessed Christ at age 8, due in part to the earnest prayers of his godly mother. Then, at age 16, Tom felt called to the ministry. Still struggling with a dislike for pastors, God slowly softened his heart and, in time, propelled him to not only become pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, but to launch Founders Ministries.

What should do when the government shuts off access to their churches? What should they do if their properties are confiscated? Our discussion centers around Pierre Viret's advice to pastors who have found themselves in this predicament.