CCEF Podcast: Where Life & Scripture Meet

What does it mean to "get over something"? After enduring a difficult situation, how do we know if we've processed it wisely? Listen as Alasdair Groves discusses some steps we can consider as we grieve and heal. Check out our free resource included with this podcast! Use the code "podcast" at checkout to receive your free article. "'I'll Never Get Over It': Help for the Aggrieved" by David Powlison https://www.ccef.org/shop/product/ill-never-get-help-aggrieved/

What do we do when we don't seem to feel much emotion? How can we understand this experience, and what is God's call to us in it? Listen as Alasdair Groves talks about the experience of numb emotions. "Each one of us will face different struggles, but for each of us, there's an opportunity to walk toward the Lord and walk toward each other. If you experience a lack of emotion, that in and of itself is always an opportunity to speak to the Lord and to speak to others." Related resources: Untangling Emotions | Book by Alasdair Groves and Winston Smith https://www.ccef.org/book/untangling-emotions/ Strong Emotions, Extreme Confidence | Blog post by Ed Welch https://www.ccef.org/strong-emotions-extreme-confidence/ Engaging Our Emotions, Engaging with God | Blog post by Alasdair Groves https://www.ccef.org/engaging-our-emotions-engaging-god/

Most of us are familiar with the ways our phones can be detrimental to our spiritual lives. But how often do we consider ways they can be of spiritual benefit? Listen as Alasdair Groves talks about how smartphones can actually enrich our relationship with God. "My phone was pointing me directly to the glories and the riches and the treasures of God's promises to us, fulfilled so directly and so richly through the Holy Spirit, even in things as simple as what I was doing as I swiped or scrolled or sent a text or did a hundred other things that we do every day." Related resources: "Why Do We Pray?" blog post by David Powlison "Eyes That See More" blog post by Ed Welch

"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."

"Leviticus is probably not the first place that people think about life meeting scripture. Most of us don't get to January 1st, planning to read through the Bible this year, and put the day on their calendar that we get to start Leviticus. That's not how most of us tend to function. Of course, if you have read the entire Bible, you have a sense that the book of Leviticus is quite important."

"Think about Psalm 103. That beautiful phrase, "For the Lord knows that we are dust." He sees our frailty, He knows how fragile we are, and He meets us in that."

"The problem is not that our desires need to stay constantly small and in check to make sure they don't threaten our feeble love for Christ. It's rather, we want our love for Christ to grow and grow"

"Biblical hope is, God is with you. You are not alone in the wilderness. God is with you and that changes everything."

"If we are people of the God of grace, and the word of God is utterly full of grace, then any true words we say ought to be full of grace as well."

"The Bible offers one central way of dealing with our negative emotions: we pray them. We take our deeply distressing emotions and we run to the Lord, placing them in his hands."

"As Christians we share the experience of simultaneously being saints, sufferers and sinners. Knowing one another and loving one another well requires that we attend to these three foundational experiences."

"As Christians we share the experience of simultaneously being saints, sufferers and sinners. Knowing one another and loving one another well requires that we attend to these three foundational experiences."

"As Christians we share the experience of simultaneously being saints, sufferers and sinners. Knowing one another and loving one another well requires that we attend to these three foundational experiences."

"Being a saint, sufferer, and sinner are intertwined experiences for believers. These are not segmented areas of our lives—our day to day experiences are a blending of the three."

As Christians we share the experience of simultaneously being saints, sufferers and sinners. Knowing one another and loving one another well requires that we attend to these three foundational experiences.

Let me ask you a question. Is it okay for Christians to feel really bad? Is it okay for Christians to get upset and feel terrible? Do you have a place in your theology for a Christian to be sad or angry or afraid or any of a host of other negative emotions?

"God is passionately interested in giving us encouragement that shapes our ability to endure hardship every step of the way."

Where you end up is actually through Christ Himself through His trauma and His overcoming the grave itself and every violation that He, knowing and meeting and living with us, has this way of drawing us close and we end up in a place more profoundly deeply good than even where we were. That doesn't make the trauma good, it doesn't mean, "Oh, I'm glad I went through trauma," it just simply means there is this inescapable reality to the depth of hope that a connection to Christ in the midst of trauma offers.

Is our rest actually restful? In this episode of the CCEF Podcast: Where Life and Scripture Meet, Alasdair Groves sits down to expose the ways that chasing after rest can feel like a never-ending, unsatisfying cycle, and discusses how viewing rest through a Christ-centered perspective frees us to embrace true rest in whatever capacity it might come.

"There's a fine line between godly anxiety that's a godly concern and godless anxiety that pushes away from God and toward man."

"The conversation about spiritual leadership requires humility and patience from both husband and wife."

"Many times in our anxiety, depression, and hardships, we forget the Author of our story. What does it look like for me to remind someone that we can trust the Author who is good and faithful?"

Ed Welch and Alasdair Groves talk about addictions.

Robyn and Alasdair talk about headship in marriage.

Alasdair & Todd sit down and talk about understanding shame.

Ed and Alasdair sit down and talk about "The Danger of Being Practical in Counseling".

Alasdair and Todd discuss the topic of methodology for counselors.

Alasdair, Mike, and Aaron discuss the topic of self care for counselors.

Alasdair and Julie talk about sexual assualt and how to help.

Alasdair Groves sits down to talk with Mike Emlet about addictions.

Alasdair Groves sits down and talks with Mike Emlet about addictions.

Alasdair Groves sits down and talks with Laura Andrews about Boundaries.

Alasdair Groves sits down and talks with David Powlison about Psychiatric Disorders and the Church.

Mike Emlet and Alasdair Groves sit down and talk about engaging with Scripture.

Alasdair Groves and Myriam Hertzog talk about Anger Management.

Alasdair Groves sits down with Pastor Marc Davis about things that he's learned as a pastor.

Megan Krimmel and Alasdair Groves sit down and talk about engaging with Scripture.