Life Over Coffee With Rick Thomas

One of the most counterintuitive messages for anyone to accept is their inherent badness. Most people think poorly about themselves but they will not accept that overcoming what’s wrong with them is affirming those negative thoughts. If you think poorly of yourself, you’re on the right path to wholeness. The Bible’s declaration is we are worthless. We are not good people. The culture says you are somebody. They believe that people are inherently good. The Bible says we’re not that special. I’m not speaking of self-worth that flows from the Imago Dei but a futile belief system that says we are good people outside Christ’s alien righteousness. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/knowing-youre-bad-is-the-beginning-of-being-good/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Sometimes, you can't stay at your local church. It's sad, but it happens all the time. You have to leave; when it happens, it's one of the more gut-wrenching seasons in any God-loving Christian's life. You love the Lord and His people, but for biblical and conscious reasons, and after gaining advice from helpful friends, the only option on the table is to find another local church. The good news is that there is a way to leave your church well. And there is a way to leave poorly. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/how-do-you-leave-your-church/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

If you isolate a portion of Scripture from the narrative of the Bible’s story, you can misunderstand its meaning, complicating your life and triggering our unregenerate friends. Isolating texts is why some Christians struggle with many of the Bible’s declarations. Being worthless is one of those declarations. Imagine lifting Paul’s words about us from its context, isolating it from the whole counsel of God. It could be devastating. What did Paul mean? Why is such a harsh perspective on humanity essential to our ultimate good? Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/mystery-misunderstanding-worthless/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

“I have a question about church discipline or how you handle a lack of church discipline or involvement from the church when trying to help someone. Though I don’t have a current situation, it appears that church assistance should involve counsel, instruction, and, in some cases, the church’s discipline to restore a brother or sister to Christ. What if this is not happening? Is there still a way to help those in need? How do you engage the church’s help when the church isn’t interested in following God’s instruction? What if the person you are caring for knows the church isn’t helping and loses heart for the church or disengages from the church?” – Supporting Member Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/when-the-local-church-wont-help-you-2/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The local church is the dearest place on earth, outside of our unique families. It is the one place where the body of Christ can gather to celebrate their King while caring for each other in all the various contexts possible. It is an amazing means of grace, where families can gather to spur one another to love and good works. Though all Christians should commit themselves to a local gathering, it’s not the case. What about you? Are you committed to your local church? Do you make it easy for your fellow church members to care for you? Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/are-you-committed-to-the-dearest-place-on-earth/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Self-esteem teaching has been around for a long time. It’s one of the central planks of the culture’s gospel, which is their attempt to feel better about themselves. They, like us, realize they need help. As ambassadors for Christ, we must know how to engage cultural friends, to help them while keeping an eye on their version of psychology to ensure we don’t fall for their traps. The fallacy and futility of the self-esteem gospel are everywhere, so learning to debunk it with competence and compassion is every believer’s responsibility. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/fallacy-futility-self-esteem/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The best discipleship soul care happens in a community, not isolated, artificial settings where there is a disconnection between the person and the community. God can change lives in one-and-done or a season of meetings, and no reasonable person would argue against the good Lord doing just that, but the most compelling soul care needs time, people, and context. Body-to-body ministry is the primary way change happens, placing a requirement on every believer to do all they can to equip themselves to make our local churches more effective discipleship communities. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/do-you-fight-fires-or-change-lives/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The preaching event on Sunday morning and the working out of the preached Word during the week are not either/or activities. They both work together to help the Christian mature. The Christian life is not centered on the pulpit because the Christian lives his life chiefly everywhere else after the building door closes on Sunday. The person living by the preached Word on Sunday alone but not implementing contexts to work it into their soul will not mature the way God intends, or the Bible teaches. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/you-need-more-than-preaching-to-change/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Thinking more about yourself is not the path to freedom. The self-esteem agenda demands that we turn our thoughts onto ourselves, spending even more time thinking about ourselves. The Bible has a counterintuitive message: The more thoughts about God we have, the freer we will be. The path to freedom is not by turning inward but upward and outward as we practice loving God and others more than ourselves, a counterintuitive, anti-cultural worldview. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/loving-me-the-hidden-agenda-of-self-esteem-2/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Shows Main Idea – What is the schizophrenia unicorn? Understanding the truth behind the fictitious animal has more relevance than you might imagine. In Dr. Daniel Berger’s latest book, The Schizophrenia Unicorn, you will learn how the disorder label is a misdirection that offers false solutions with which so many people struggle. Finally, the truth about schizophrenia is here with the hope and help the struggling soul needs. Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-498-a-deep-dive-analysis-of-schizophrenia-with-dr-daniel-berger/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

"Can you give some clear examples of signs of how a pastor or church leader is crossing the line from being a shepherd to a spiritual abuser? It would be helpful to know when to support a pastor when he is genuinely trying to defend and protect his flock from outside and wrong influence vs. a pastor who has an agenda and is above questioning or accountability. The lines sometimes seem blurred, and I would appreciate your help distinguishing these differences." – Supporting Member Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/a-few-signs-of-spiritual-abuse-from-a-pastor/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Mable walked into the woods one day, doused herself with gasoline, and set herself on fire. The newspapers said she suffered from low self-esteem. They were wrong. Mable was preoccupied with herself. She could not stop thinking about herself, her problems, those who mocked her, put her down, alienated from her, and a myriad of other everyday disappointments from family and friends. Her thoughts would not release her from a self-centered preoccupation that led her into the woods, the only path she knew that would break the stronghold of soul noise consuming her. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/the-cure-for-self-esteem/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The best local churches have values distinct from the culture, while transforming the church’s community to reach the culture with the gospel to export those values to the next generation. When looking for a fantastic local church, there are many thing to consider, in addition to their views on the gospel and sound theology. What are a few things that come to your mind? Let me share with you three characteristics that all local churches should prioritize. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/three-characteristics-of-a-fantastic-local-church/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The most important question when looking for a local church concerns the gospel—the main thing forever and ever. Amen. Nothing is more essential in any local church than the good news of the gospel, who is Christ. While many things matter when looking for a church, nothing matters more. So, lets suppose we exalt Christ in our minds and seek to imitate Him in all we do. If so, it will create a presuppositional window to interpret our theology, worship, ministries, and everything else in church life is congruent with the gospel we exalt. To follow Christ well implies that we will disregard anything that will impede or hinder our walk with Him. Thus, with Christ established as the preeminent one, we have the proper filter to discern the other vital matters of the church. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/the-second-most-important-question-you-can-ask-your-church/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or yo

Shows Main Idea – Sinful anger comes from the heart of a weak person who has not learned how to submit his desires to the obedience of Christ. The angry person has learned how this weapon is a manipulative, emotive method to secure what they believe they need. The heart is fearful and needy; anger is the tool to satisfy these out-of-control desires. Understanding the cause of anger is the first step to changing the behavior. Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-110-help-for-the-angry-person/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The local church is our most crucial sanctification context outside our homes, making finding the right kind of church a critical matter for all serious-minded Christians. The church search can be daunting because there are so many varieties, and we have a plethora of preferences. If you were to highlight a few essentials of things you'd like for your church to be, what would be on your list? More specifically, what is the main thing you want when looking for a place to mature in Christ, care for others, spread the fame of God throughout your community, and glorify our heavenly Father? Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/the-main-thing-to-look-for-when-looking-for-a-church/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Shows Main Idea – A friend on the Supporting Member side of our website asked about dating apps because of their growing ubiquitous use in the church. The concern for many believers who want to marry is the difficulty in finding relationships in the church, especially a small church where there is a dearth of godly men. She’s asking whether dating apps are biblical, possible, or wise. It’s a great question in light of our technological age and something every Christian needs to consider because we are past the point of no return regarding technology. Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-496-is-it-okay-for-christians-to-use-online-dating-apps/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

The global effect of all these issues on the body of Christ is what it’s doing to our local churches. The family is the core of all civil societies, and within the Christian world, the family constitutes the local church. In former generations, the social center of every community was the local church building, the structure where Christian families gathered to build koinonia practically. All roads led to the church building. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/what-you-can-do-about-migration-cyber-effect-8-0/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

These adverse cyber effects always beg the question of the best time to give your child a phone. Part of the discussion centers on the type of phone you want to give your child. The other part centers on the kind of child you have, their maturity level, or if God has regenerated them. You also want to consider their personalities. Some children are leaders and not easily influenced; others are followers, easily tempted, or have dull to hard consciences. It could be a practical choice if you want your child to have a flip phone at an early age. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/what-you-can-do-about-accountability-cyber-effect-7-0/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Show Notes: A person with a bad habit needs a clear path to freedom, though it’s not always clear which pathway to take. As he thinks about freeing himself from bondage, he must begin with a rational worldview that lays a foundation for the practical application that flows out of that worldview. If you’re struggling with an addiction, bad habit, or stuck in a rut, here is that clear path—the worldview and your practical path forward. I will start by laying out a biblical worldview in an unsuspected place: what is a covenant? Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-265-here-is-practical-help-for-anyone-stuck-in-a-bad-habit/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.