Deeper Roots

A RESPONSE TO “WHEN PEOPLE ARE BIG AND GOD IS SMALL” BY ED WELCH

This book starts off with a story that I completely identified with.  Too often I would sit at awards ceremonies wishing that they would not call my name because I was afraid of what everyone would think of me.  Would they think I was a know-it-all?  Would they think I had cheated?  What would they think?  I didn’t want to win anything.  But as soon as the ceremony was over and they had not called my name, I immediately was upset that I didn’t win anything!  I would wonder all over again what people thought of me.  Would they think I am dumb?  Would they think I am lazy?  I was constantly controlled by the opinion of other people.  I really liked that Ed Welch began with a story that made it very clear that we are controlled by what is important to us, and for most of us, people are most important. (more…)

A RESPONSE TO “DEPRESSION: A STUBBORN DARKNESS” BY ED WELCH

The first three chapters of this book were extremely eye-opening for me.  I have never known someone who was depressed and so have never interacted with the way that they feel and think.  Depression, to me, seemed as simple as the sin of not trusting God.  I thought that everyone who was depressed was going through the same thing.  Welch sheds much light on the subject and explains that this is just not the case. He says that there is both a severe and a less severe form of depression.  (more…)

Overview

John MacArthur does a great job in this article of asserting the sufficiency of Scripture to deal with all the problems we face both in and out of the counseling room.   He purports that Psalm 19 is the most succinct yet complete argument the Scripture has for its own sufficiency.  There are other passages that deal with the topic more thoroughly, but none in such a concise manner.  He walks through each of the statements about Scripture and defines the terms to give clarity to the arguments.  He points to other passages while defining each one to give his definitions solid ground on which to stand. (more…)

Overview

Ed Welch dissects the idea of our sin diving into how our sin affects us and what it looks like in our lives.  In the introduction he looks at sin as our deepest problem.  He uses Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as a springboard for his theology of sin.  Welch starts out by identifying that sin is not the first thing that most of us think of when we try to point out our biggest problem.  But he quickly reminds us that sin is what leaves us dead.  There is nothing else that does that level of damage to us. (more…)

Overview

David Powlison addresses in this article the types of questions that are used in counseling.  He begins the article with an illustration of the type of question that is most often asked and is least often helpful—why?  This question is often asked and can have an array of answers.  Why we do what we do is really the heart of problem in many cases.  However, the “why” question rarely pulls the mind into gear to produce an answer that reflects what is truly going on in the heart.  (more…)

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Ken Sande does a great job bringing the issue of reconciliation back into view. He begins with a very practical illustration of what church life is like in most churches. Conflict occurs. People get angry and hurt. No one attempts to reconcile the problem. People leave the church. This seems to be the process even in churches that preach the Gospel. (more…)

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

As we take a step back to look now at our need for God’s Word, Psalm 1 stands out as one of the clearest passages in scripture on the role of the Word in our life. (more…)

Christians today often live their lives as if there were no God.  It’s not that they really believe that there is no God. It’s just that they live like there isn’t.  They wake up every morning with things on their mind that pull their attention immediately away from God.  There is no reality of God to them…to us. (more…)

God has given us as His children a great responsibility to make disciples of all nations. This responsibility, though it includes evangelization, includes growth as the corporate body of Christ as well as growth on a personal level for (more…)