Church and Family Life Podcast

Since ChatGPT launched last year, AI has dominated headlines, with its great benefits and real abuses being hotly debated worldwide. Without question, AI is poised to transform how governments, companies, ministries, and individuals manage information and engage in problem-solving. But how should Christians respond to this emerging technology?  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by Church and Family Life Technical Lead Colton Neifert, explain how technology, at its core, is a means to do things more efficiently, which Christians should welcome, when used rightly, as a means for godly dominion. Though AI can be harnessed for evil, Colton explains the exciting new ways that Church & Family Life has employed AI to offer thousands of new online resources to build up Christians, as well as new innovative tools that churches on the FIC Network can use to encourage their congregations. 

Singing is one of the glorious gifts of the church. It draws you into the beauty of the kingdom and the power and truth of God. If this is true, what are you as parents doing to teach your children to sing and prepare them for corporate worship?  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm offer five key scriptural insights highlighted in the book, The Family at Church: Teach your children to sing (1) to teach others God’s Word and (2) to admonish one another; and teach them to sing (3) to God personally, (4) to the unconverted, and (5) to their own souls. Rather than view singing as an option, parents should guide their children to joyfully obey God’s command: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). 

Should Christians make “New Year’s Resolutions?” The answer is “yes,” as believers are under a Divine order to “excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:1, NASB)—to “be fruitful in every good work” (Col. 1:10) and to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).   But why do most fall short of their yearly resolutions? In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Mat Dewing, attack the problem head on. They explain the need to make resolutions that matter and are “SMART”—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific. And if you have a bad day or week? Persevere, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 2:3-4). 

What’s your reading plan for 2024? The Bible should come first, above all other books, for God’s Word makes wise the simple. It rejoices the heart. It converts the soul. It’s a true and unchanging witness that is sufficient for all of our needs. As such, it should take precedent in our personal study, as well as in what we read aloud to our families.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by Church and Family Life Technical Lead Colton Neifert, discuss Journey Through the Bible. This daily Bible reading plan began as a book, but is now available as an app you can take with you anywhere. Great for personal study and family worship, it includes a daily Scripture reading, so you can read the Bible in a year. But there’s much more! For each book of the Bible: (1) read the outline and overview; (2) listen to the summary audio message; (3) sing a hymn on the theme; (4) ask important study questions; (5) memorize key verses; and (6) learn top 5 facts to remember. As you start 2024, read God’s Word and saturate your family with it!  Learn more and download The Journey Through the Bible app here. 

Time is a precious gift of God. But what are Christians doing with this valuable asset? Are they using their time to promote their own self-interests or wisely investing it for the glory of Christ?   In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm are joined by data analyst Drew Davis, who shares his research on how people use their time. The trends are disturbing. The average American, for example, spends 2 ½ hours a day consuming television and radio—not to mention their time on their phone and tablets. And young people entering adulthood are playing more than working at an increasingly higher rate. Rather than squander time, their charge to believers is this: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

Young people struggle with the same dangerous pitfalls in every generation. They’re typically full of zeal but lack wisdom and consistency. They view the advice of their elders as backwards and prefer the opinions of their peers. Though technology and cultures change, these same errors ensnare the young, over and over again.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm call out the key traps so common to youth and urge them to follow the path of true wisdom. Their counsel is to the point: Understand the devastation of sin and don’t dally with it. Kill envy between brothers and sisters. Be careful who your friends are. Don’t hand influence to worldly peers or pop stars. Listen to the counsel of wiser older people, instead. Drawing insights from such authors as Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon (as collected in the book, The Theology of the Family), Scott and Jason seek to fortify the young by pointing them to the sure path found in God’s Word. 

How do you discern whether a child is a Christian based on his profession of faith to you or to a pastor during a baptism interview? Are they coming forward for baptism to please their parents and to follow what they’ve seen others do—or is their genuine contrition for sin and true belief?   In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Trent Moody, tackle these thorny questions. They maintain that being born again is more than mental assent to certain Gospel truths; it comes to a heart who knows the weight of sin, a heart that beats with fervent faith that the Savior has washed him clean from his corruption. And it comes with a cost: The child’s allegiance must be to Christ first, even above their own family. Their deepest affection must be to the things of God and His Word. 

In every generation, the relationship between the law and the gospel is fiercely debated, as if the two are at odds with one another. We’re under grace now, not law, some claim, while others pridefully parade their law-keeping, believing it merits their salvation. Neither position is correct.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm cut through the confusion and show how law and gospel work together for our good. The law, they explain, is a reflection of who God is in all His moral perfections, so to argue that it’s now abrogated is an affront to His eternal character. Because no man can perfectly keep the law, it therefore drives sinners to the Gospel, as Christ bore the curse of the law as the only perfect lawkeeper, making the way for salvation. Once redeemed, the Christian should strive to grow more in God’s likeness each day and joyfully exclaim, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). 

Thanksgiving, as a yearly celebration, has all but been canceled in today’s culture, with stores transitioning directly from Halloween to Christmas. It’s as if the story of our Pilgrim forefathers doesn’t matter. And where it is acknowledged, it is dubbed a “day of mourning” by Leftists who loathe the Christian heritage of the small band of believers who settled Plymouth in 1620.     In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guests Steve Hopkins and Gill Arterburn, urge listeners to make Thanksgiving great again. They suggest that families engage in special readings, with excerpts from the Pilgrims and Psalms, sing period songs, and play fun, but meaningful games that give gratitude to God and commemorate the rich legacy of the Pilgrims. Learn from their inspiring Thanksgiving celebrations as you plan your day together with your family.     Click here to read Scott Brown’s “Fifteen Tips for Celebrating Thanksgiving Day.”     Click here to read Steve Hopkins’ “History of the Pilgrims.”   

There’s never been a better time for women to shine. With feminism’s dark shadow looming large, Christian girls have the opportunity to show what joy-filled femininity looks like in practice. Rather than fall prey to the bondage of “woman’s liberation,” they should embrace the Bible’s beautiful picture of womanhood, which brings fulfillment and lasting hope.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, encourage ladies to “come out” from the world by swimming against the cultural tide and living out godly womanhood. This means being an active dominion-taker, domestic entrepreneur, submissive and respectful wife, keeper at home, faithful member of a local church, bearer of children, and teacher of the next generation. Instead of being drug down by worldly music and fashion trends, women should claim the moral high ground, shining a bright light for Christ in their homes and communities.