Life Over Coffee

God gave everyone an internal moral thermostat, the conscience. Con-science in Latin means co-knowledge, our inner voice. It is one of the means of grace that teaches us how to think and react properly. Along with the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the people of God, our consciences assist us in the decision-making process that can lead to relational and situational harmony. Of course, a miscalibrated conscience will not do this, choosing instead to be our worst enemy, making it essential to learn how to train our consciences.

Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/do-you-know-how-to-train-your-inner-voice/

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The preaching of God’s Word is essential for life transformation but preaching alone is not enough to change lives and families. A transformational church is both a preaching center and a discipleship community. A preaching center and discipleship community work in tandem from the pulpit to the living room. With sound, theological wisdom flowing from the pulpit, the church is in a position to disseminate and distill the preached word in applicable and practical ways throughout the week so the church member can experience transformation.

Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/is-your-church-a-preaching-center-or-a-discipleship-community/

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Shows Main Idea – There are times when our behaviors do not align with God’s Word. There are several reasons for this. James suggested a person could be double-minded. Jesus talked about hypocrisy in Matthew 23. Truthfully, all of us have sinned as Christians. For some, it’s an intentional habit, which makes one wonder if they are a Christian. For others, it’s a life-long struggle with patterns that they fight fiercely. Thus, answering the question, how can a Christian sin like that has a complexity worth our time exploring.

Show Notes: https://rickthomas.net/podcast/can-person-sin-like-still-christian-2/

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When you think about the characteristics of a good leader, what comes to your mind? I suspect many of us would think about a pastor of a church or a boss in the workplace or perhaps a husband or father. Those roles would be worth your consideration since they are all impactful leadership roles where a person’s demeanor, attitudes, words, and actions can shape those under them for the rest of their lives. But what about other leaders who don’t immediately come to mind? What about you? You’re a leader, too. What three leadership characteristics describe you?

Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/three-characteristics-wonderful-leader/

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One of the most challenging situations with any counselor or counseling ministry is placing counselees in a long-term “sanctification context” in their local churches where they may receive ongoing, life-long care from competent disciple-makers. At best, formalized biblical counseling is a fleeting season in a struggling person’s life, whether it happens outside or inside the church. To maximize the fullest potential of soul care possibilities, all Christians must embed themselves in local church disciple-making communities to receive lifelong help.

Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/a-proactive-plan-for-pastors-to-help-people-to-care-for-people/

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Shows Main Idea – The process of a hard heart begins when we want something so much that the desire for that thing starts to manage our minds. It’s not that the desire is evil, but it controls us so much that we lose sight of the God-centered, God-managed life. Even good desires can send us down the wrong path. If we don’t change our thoughts about the things we want, the end of this process leads to a hard heart, as Rick explains.

Show Notes: https://rickthomas.net/podcast/ep-427-the-ten-step-process-to-a-hard-heart/

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One of the kindest things we can do is introduce a biblical sin plan to our families so they can enjoy the full benefits of the gospel. If we do this, we will begin to release an entire generation of people who will sin but quickly remove it, eliminating the lingering effects of sin which so many of us had experienced from those who had gone before us as they tried to hide the obvious in plain sight while effecting us generationally. We will sin before our families and friends, so let’s demonstrate what we are supposed to do about it. Let them see how we may be ashamed of our sins, but we are not ashamed of the gospel.

Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/the-wisdom-of-introducing-sin-to-our-families/

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When I was a single man during the 90s, I worked a third shift, dead-end job at a glue factory. There were about thirty employees, three of whom were practicing lesbians. I was grateful to have the job, but it was a difficult place to work for many reasons. Two of them had no interest in me, but one did, so I asked her out on several dates. She accepted.

Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/i-dated-a-lesbian-2/

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Shows Main Idea – In the last three episodes, I talked about the danger of the biblical counseling movement passing its prime. I also brought a few practical solutions that could help change current course positively. (Those podcasts stirred a lot of conversation in the biblical counseling world.) One of the reasons I mentioned this possibility is that there has been a lack of innovation in the movement over the past two decades. In this episode, I will share with you one way we can innovate by maturing in our understanding and practice of listening in counseling contexts.

Show Notes: https://rickthomas.net/podcast/ep-426-the-four-types-of-transformative-listening/

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A lesbian walked into my counseling office looking for help. She had grown weary of her lifestyle, had a remote association with God, and thought maybe He was in her problems somehow, some way, and she needed help sorting things out. It’s a great story, and I trust my retelling of it will be an encouragement to anyone with children or friends who have walked away from the Lord. There is hope. There is no life or any sin that is outside God’s grace to redeem. Here’s what happened.

Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/a-lesbian-walked-into-my-office-ready-for-help/

Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here https://rickthomas.net/donations/