In this week’s episode of The Whole Counsel Podcast, Dr. John Snyder discusses a letter from Thomas Charles to his future wife, Sarah Jones, also known as Sally. The letter is found in Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels, published by Banner of Truth. Thomas Charles was mentored by John Newton and was a leader in Wales during the Evangelical Revival.

“Thomas Charles is God’s gift to North Wales.” —Daniel Rowland

This week on The Whole Counsel, we return to our series on great letter-writers in Christianity over the past 500 years. In this episode, we are introduced to Thomas Charles, a Welshman whose ministry is worth noting. He was converted under the preaching of Daniel Rowland in the mid-18th century and later studied for the ministry at Jesus College, Oxford.

During one of his summers at college, he lived with and was mentored by John Newton at Olney. Thomas eventually settled in Bala, North Wales, due to his love for a young woman, Sally Jones. After joining the Calvinistic Methodists (those impacted by the Evangelical Revival of the 18th century), Charles became one of the most significant leaders of the Welsh wing of that revival, guiding the next generation. 

His letters, taken from the book Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels, are full of practical, warm, experiential advice, reminding us of John Newton’s balanced approach. In these episodes, we will select a few of those letters and also take a look at some of his spiritual essays from the same book. 

SHOW NOTES

📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

📖 Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels: Banner of Truth

📝 “Thomas Charles,” by Jonathan Thomas (Evangelical Magazine, May/June 2020, page 12)

🎥 Welsh Awakenings: The Story of God’s Work in Wales, by Dan Pugh

📖 John Elias: Life, Letters, and Essays, published by Banner of Truth

In episode five of Biblical Help for Life’s Problems, Dr. John Snyder is once again joined by pastor and counselor Louis Sacran. Drawing on Romans 13:14, Louis helps us understand sanctification biblically and practically. How do we grow and change as believers? How do we mature? We must understand the inner workings of our hearts (our desires) and our walk (our actions), and how they are connected.

John and Louis tackle the topic of sexual sin. What is at the root of it, and how can I break the chains of enslavement to this sin?

John and Louis point us back to the gospel and to our Lord Jesus. Being aware of what we have been given in Christ and of our unshakable standing with Him because of His righteousness is foundational to growing in Christlikeness. 

This week on the Whole Counsel, Louis Sacran, an experienced pastor and biblical counselor, sits down with Dr. John Snyder to discuss how to apply what we have learned so far in this series to live in accordance with our purpose.

As Christians, our purpose is clear. Our purpose is to please God, and we please Him by loving Him and loving people. Louis helps us to see that everything we do is either a loving or an unloving response.

John and Louis discuss what biblical love is. They help us recognize the dangers of not addressing our specific responses and of categorizing ourselves and others in unhelpful ways.

In today’s episode of The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder is once again joined by Louis Sacran, an experienced pastor and counselor.

In session three of Biblical Help for Life’s Problems, Louis addresses our ideas about God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is not the same as God fulfilling all our preferences for life. Louis takes us to various passages to clarify what it means for God to be faithful and shows that he is indeed trustworthy.

Louis also addresses the choices we face in pressing circumstances. What is beyond our control? What is our ultimate desire? What dangers and deceptions can we avoid?

We pray you will be helped by Louis’s wise counsel as we have been.

SHOW NOTES

📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

In today’s episode of The Whole Counsel, Dr. John Snyder is joined by Louis Sacran, an experienced pastor and counselor from Ripley, Mississippi. Today, John and Louis discuss a biblical perspective on trials. Using 1 Corinthians 10:13 as a starting point, Louis explains that trials are real, and they hurt. They are also common to all humanity. He reminds us that God is faithful and that we have choices during trials. John and Louis also talk about the importance of taking all thoughts captive to Christ and of not forsaking Scripture in times of difficulty.

SHOW NOTES

📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

This week on The Whole Counsel, John is joined by Louis Sacran to discuss how to handle difficult problems biblically. Louis has many years of experience as both a pastor and a counselor. John has asked Louis to discuss the most common problems he encounters among believers.

We all, from time to time, face problems that are especially hard for us. In this first episode, Louis offers us wise advice on viewing our problems in light of Scripture and practical insight into handling those difficulties. Louis lays the groundwork for a biblical perspective of ourselves. How we view ourselves affects everything. All of us are saints, sinners, and sufferers, and we must keep those three views of ourselves in proper balance.

This week we are taking a short break between series and re-airing a favorite episode in which John Snyder is joined by a long-time friend and fellow minister, Jordan Thomas. You may recognize Jordan as a contributor to the studies Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically and Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty. John and Jordan spent a few weeks discussing the descriptions of Jesus found in the book of Hebrews. This week's discussion focuses on Hebrews 1 and the 34 descriptions of Jesus in those 14 verses.

Next week we will begin a new, short series with pastor and biblical counselor Louis Sacran. Louis and John will spend several weeks discussing wise counsel for common problems we face.

SHOW NOTES:

📖 Looking Unto Jesus by Theodore Monod

📖 Looking Unto Jesus by Isaac Ambrose

Check out Jordan's sermon series on Hebrews: https://www.gracechurchmemphis.com/sermons?offset=1436720400215&reversePaginate=true&category=Looking+Unto+Jesus

There is a secret to finding contentment. The secret has been revealed in the Bible, and Christians have proclaimed it for 2000 years. Despite this, humanity seems stubbornly confused about the source of happiness. We are naturally inclined to look for it in all the wrong places. The secret to finding contentment is that you don’t find it by pursuing contentment itself, but by looking for it in Christ.  

In this final episode of the Life of Joy series, John Snyder and Justin Miller discuss how Christ is the foundation, the center, and the cornerstone of Christian contentment.

They conclude the series not only by reflecting on Justin Miller’s forthcoming book, A Life of Joy, but also by recommending several books that have encouraged them in their pursuit of Christ-centered contentment and joy.

SHOW NOTES

📖 Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

📖 A Life of Joy: Learning Christian Contentment by Justin Miller

📖 The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs:

📖 The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, by Thomas Watson

📖 The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ by Thomas Vincent

📖 Mortification of Sin by John Owen

📖 The Diary of Andrew Bonar

There is a vast difference between contentment and complacency, though we may be tempted toward the latter.

In this episode of The Whole Counsel, John Snyder and Justin Miller explore why biblical contentment is never passive, indifferent, or spiritually stagnant. Rather than settling for “enough” of Christ, the believer who is truly content finds that satisfaction in Him creates an even greater desire to know Him, obey Him, and enjoy deeper fellowship with Him.

Looking to passages such as Proverbs 1, Philippians 4, and Colossians 3, they discuss the danger of spiritual complacency and the joy of a life that rests in God’s wise providence while pressing forward in holiness. Along the way, they show that Christian contentment is not stoicism or resignation to circumstances, but joyful submission to a sovereign Father whose gifts always draw His children closer to Himself.

If Christ is the object of our contentment, then contentment will never diminish our pursuit of holiness. Instead, it will continually fuel it.

Show Notes

Kingdom Life: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount: https://shop.mediagratiae.org/collections/kingdom-life

A Life of Joy: Learning Christian Contentment by Justin Miller - https://freegracepress.com/collections/coming-soon/products/a-life-of-joy

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs -

Free from Chapel Library: https://www.chapellibrary.org/book/rjoc/rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment-the-burroughsjeremiah

Banner of Truth edition: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/the-rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment/

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