From This Day Forward

Teenagers. Every parent wants to know what on earth do with them. As these young people go through one of the most difficult times of their lives, how do we point them to Christ and help them come out the other side intact? Matt is joined by Pastors Derek Head and Andrew Crowe from RiverWinds Church to figure it out!

How do you talk to your kids about sex, gender identity, porn, same-sex attraction, and all the rest? How do you prepare them to be godly Christians regarding their own sexuality? Some of the answers may really challenge you, as Pastor Matt is joined by Dr Corey Gilbert, author of I Can't Say That! Going Beyond "The Talk!": Equipping Your Children to Make Choices About Sexuality and Gender from a Biblical Sexual Ethic.

Grief strikes everyone, including the young. How do we help children handle grief? What do we say to them? What do we not say? How do we give them hope in Christ, without resorting to cheap platitudes or untruths? There's a lot for a biblical Christian to parse, and in this podcast, Pastor Matt sorts through all this with his wife, Dana, who happens to be accredited by the American School Counselor Association in this very subject. 

No one makes it through life without grief. Whether it's the death of a loved one, a traumatic event, or any of the other sadnesses that attend our lives, we all have to do the work of mourning. How do we do in a way that honors God and finds true comfort in Christ? And how do we help others do the same? Pastor Matt and his wife Dana talk about all this and more. 

God made sex, and we can only truly enjoy it when we obey His will for it. In this episode, Pastor Matt is joined by a VERY special guest, his wife Dana, to answer common questions about sex. There's nothing graphic here, but this episode is intended for adults. 

What is God's purpose for parents? Why exactly do we have children anyway? And what are we supposed to do with them? It has to be more than just make sure they get a driver's license and and a college degree, right? In this episode, Pastor Matt looks into the scriptures for a gospel-driven approach to parenting. And he has some excellent help from some of our good friends at Oakhill Baptist Church, including Bryan Gotcher (Pastor of Children & Missions), Nick Scott (Pastor of Spiritual Development & Administration), and Brian Van Doren (Pastor of Students), AKA The Oakhill Boys. 

Pastor Matt talks to Barbara Avis, LCSW, about addiction. How do we see past the shame and stigma attached to this subject to show the love of Jesus to those who are suffering?

Today's episode takes on a very serious issue: victims of trauma and PTSD. Pastor Matt talks to Melody Harrell, LCSW. What is PTSD? What causes it? What does it look like? And most importantly, how can the church love those suffering from it, and point them to the true healing found in Jesus Christ? 

We tackle a tough topic in this episode--teenage sexting. Unfortunately, many teens in today's culture will deal with this, one way or another,  and its worth parents and other adults being aware of what it is, the dangers associated with it, and how to fight against it. 

Wondering how to get your marriage off to a good start? In this episode, Pastor Matt interviews a couple of newlyweds (okay,  they've been married for six years, but that still counts, right?) on what they've learned in the first years of marriage, and how, by God's grace, they laid a path for success in the future.