Church and Family Life Podcast

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.  

With the 2024 election season in full swing, where are we to turn for answers as the presidential candidates exchange barbs and make competing claims? French Reformer Pierre Viret gives the right answer: “the law of God alone is the true standard by which all good and just government must be ruled and conformed.” Simply put: man’s law brings chaos, when it comes to the civil realm, while God’s law brings order and beauty.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm unpack the wisdom of Viret, who had to learn to live with flexibility under multiple different governments during his public ministry. Writing in the 16th century, he gave valuable insights that were recently compiled into the book, When to Disobey: Case Studies in Tyranny, Insurrection, & Obedience to God. Viret’s contention is this: Whether believers face suffering or enjoy blessing, they always have a way forward because they can obey God as they engage the civil sphere. Be they under a king, aristocracy, or representative government, Christians should pull whatever levers they can to advance God’s law and leave the results to Him.  Click here to purchase Viret’s insightful book. 

At the height of the COVID crisis, state governments around the world forbade churches from gathering on the Lord’s Day and restricted pastors and loved ones from visiting the sick in the hospital. The lockdown policies were particularly severe in New Zealand, which compelled a number of committed pastors and Christians there to push back and form the group, Free to Be Church.  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm interview New Zealand pastors Kris Baines and André Bay, discussing lessons learned during this trying time. The first and foremost lesson is that Christ, not the state, is the exclusive head of the church, and His mandate for local churches to gather must be followed. Churches must worship and fellowship as God directs, not invent pragmatic online alternatives. And, finally, true love for our neighbor comes through obedience to Christ, not by seeking the favor of our community or civil leaders.

Conrad Mbewe was born into a tight-knit family in the African country of Zambia. Yet he entered a dark period at age nine, when his mother—the sunshine of his life—passed away. In response to her death, his father turned to the bottle, even as Conrad and his two siblings were taken in by other relatives.    In this Church and Family Life podcast, Conrad gives his life story, sharing how his elder sister’s faith in Christ floored him. As their father sold off treasured family belongings to buy liquor, his sister radiated joy—singing “Amazing Grace” while she prepared a meal that was next to nothing. But Conrad still thought his “good deeds” were enough. This changed when a friend declared to him that salvation is solely God’s work. Driven to his knees, Conrad repented and gave his life to Christ. After a short stint as a mining engineer, he accepted a call at age 25 to pastor Kabwata Baptist Church, located in the Zambian capital of Lusaka. Serving there since 1987, Conrad has helped to start roughly 40 other Reformed churches in countries across Africa. 

Growing up, Paul Carrington never heard the Gospel. A native of downtown Toronto, he took to sports and met his future wife Melinda at a nightclub when he was eighteen. In God’s sovereignty, Melinda was soon converted to Christ—a change which made Paul mad. While playing hip-hop music in his bedroom one night, he began to read the Bible in the hopes of dismantling Melinda’s faith. Yet, in a miraculous work, the same Spirit that had saved his girlfriend gripped Paul’s soul as he read the Scriptures, and he surrendered his life to Jesus.  Becoming radicalized for Christ, Paul married Melinda. And while they lost old friends due to their witness, their zeal for God led them to share their faith around the world in remote huts in the Kenya bush, in shacks in the slums of the Dominican Republic, and in Muslim strongholds of Western Turkey. Paul and his wife currently live in North Carolina with their six children and remain active in missionary work through the translation and distribution of Christian resources into Turkish, Farsi, Russian, and Arabic.