Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!

Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes from this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
In this session, Don Roy concludes his review of the ACBC counseling exam. Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
In this session, Don Roy reviews the counseling portion of the ACBC exams. Looking for the notes to this session? Download them here!
In this session, Don Roy concludes his review of the ACBC theology exam. Looking for the notes for this session? Download them here!
In this session, Don Roy reviews the theology portion of the ACBC exams. Looking for the notes for this session? Download them here!
Looking for the notes for this session? Download them here!
We live in fearful times. The events of 9/11 have reminded us of how little real control we have over our lives and have produced a culture of fear. In this lecture Dr. Adams talks to us about the fearful counselees we will be dealing with more and more in these...
The fundamental assumptions that shape biblical counseling are reviewed and key elements expanded upon. Building hope in God’s promises from the earliest stages of counseling is critical. What are some ways we can seek to build hope?
Sanctification is a dynamic process; established by God, carried out by God, and completed by God. Yet, human effort is involved in God’s design of sanctification. Much of that effort flows from an accurate understanding of self as having been crucified with Christ and raised with him to new life.
The Scriptures teach that a believer’s identity is associated with their belonging in the...
This session considers what our union with Christ has to do with our identity. Download...
This session examines how the sainthood of the believer informs their identity. ...
Every Christian should aspire to be a gospel counselor to others and church leaders...
” The sin of “being wise in one’s own eyes” is easy to see in others, yet difficult to...
” This workshop will teach you how to identify the idols that are hidden in your heart...
” Has your call to ministry become idolatrous? Has ministry become your chief identity?...
Sin is so tragic because it corrupts what is most beautiful: God’s personhood displayed...
Let's consider what it means to be chosen by God. Download MP3 Audio | Download Outline...
Bob and Ann Maree Goudzwaard continue discussing the "essentials" of biblical counseling...
Bob and Ann Maree Goudzwaard discuss the "essentials" of biblical counseling with Scott...
Marriage is a stage designed to show forth the realities of the gospel. This seminar will set forth the biblical vision of marriage and give practical counsel of how we can reorient our hearts and actions so our marriages better reflect the profound realities they illustrate.
The gospel of grace needs to be at the heart of how we understand marriage roles. Both husband and wife have a unique part to play that shows forth the relationship of Christ with his church. This session will focus on the role of the husband in marriage.
Marriage requires lifelong maintenance to keep it healthy and strong. It takes a lot of effort to guard and grow your marriage but the reward is more than worth it. This session will discuss many practical ways to preserve and strengthen your marriage.
This session looks at David’s catastrophic sin of adultery in 2 Sam 11:1-5. This passage shows that the Bible is honest about its heroes and serves as a warning to us against sin and presumption. How does David’s sin point us to Christ? What are some practical ways to guard ourselves from temptation?
Worry is a problem of the mind and can become life dominating. Worry, stress, and fear are closely related and often dealt with sinfully. How can we help counselees think about their lives in light of biblical truth? How might someone misunderstand or abuse God’s promises to care for them?
Trials are the ordinary experience of believers living in a fallen world. Believers in the Bible suffered great trials and we will continue to endure significant trials. Why do Christians tend to be so surprised by trials when the Bible speaks so often about them? How does God work in our trials and use them to mature us?
This session completes the Peacemaking series of the curriculum. It lays out important things to consider before attempting to confront someone’s sin and describes the peacemaking process. Church discipline is also explored along with how church structure and membership is related to peacemaking.
As Christians, we ought to do all that is in our power to pursue peace. How can we seek forgiveness biblically? How does the gospel empower us to forgive? Why is it important to go though a thorough process of confession?
Biblical peacemaking is founded on the gospel. Christ came to make peace between God and man. All conflict is the result of sin. Conflict is very dangerous but brings great opportunity: to glorify God, to be more like Christ, to serve others, and to bear witness to a watching world.
We and our counselees are responsible to exert effort towards change. Immediately after telling us to consider our identity in Christ, Paul exhorts us to take action against the lusts of the flesh. What is the proper use of biblical indicatives and imperatives? What should our motive be for obedience?
Counseling is about helping people to change. The change biblical counselors seek is unique and unbiblical approaches to change will impede spiritual growth. This session explores how change begins by understanding and applying the Gospel. Understanding our union with Christ is the key to growth in holiness.
The Bible says we are to fear God. Fear can also be an appropriate response to real potential dangers. Fear becomes sinful when we fear men more than God and we fail to trust God. What are some proper and healthy manifestations of fear? What are indications that fear has become sinful?
All counselors struggle at times with discouragement in counseling, particularly in harder cases like addictions. This workshop will offer biblical hope and encouragement to the discouraged counselor in need of spiritual refreshment.
A neglected biblical theme for addiction is the movement from lies to truth, and from the Liar to the Truth. Our job is to do whatever we can to invite strugglers to be open and honest.
This workshop explores the attributes of Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor and the Holy Spirit, the Other Counselor. We will examine what makes them the competent counselors that they are. Also, we will examine how these attributes must be and can be in your counsel. Finally, we will learn how you can develop these attributes.
Addiction cases can be some of the most complicated cases in counseling ministry. This workshop will present a toolbox of biblical principles applied to various aspects of counseling those struggling with addictions.
Our help comes in two parts: knowing a person’s story and knowing Scripture’s retelling of their story. Both are essential. In this session you will learn to really listen to your counselees and then help them reshape their stories from a biblical perspective.
How is the biblical counseling approach different from all other Christian approaches? What are some key texts for defending the sufficiency of the Scriptures for counseling? IBCD’s position of biblical counseling (the Bible as the sole and sufficient authority) is outlined and its key concepts explained.
What are some common Christian approaches to counseling in our day? Why might it be useful to learn about psychology? This session explores several Christian approaches to counseling including integration and synergism.
Psychology and theology both deal with the same fundamental issues of meaning and value. Many modern approaches have unscriptural presuppositions and practices. This opening session introduces biblical counseling and the importance of approaching these issues from a Christian perspective.
What is depression and how are we to understand it? Many secular psychologists see mankind as merely physical and therefore tend to see depression as a physical problem with a chemical solution. Christians recognize the dual nature of mankind – body and soul. What are some important things for biblical counselors to keep in mind when handling cases of depression?
Your counseling and counselees will be enriched by being centered in a local church. This workshop shows how involvement of the local church is a crucial aspect of biblical counseling because the tasks of counseling and discipleship are given by God to the local church.
Every counseling system seeks to answer basic questions about man’s purpose and personality. This session will seek to give biblical answers to three fundamental questions: Who is man? What is wrong with Man? How do you fix man?
Christian women know they should read their Bibles, but desire is often weak and the knowledge of how to begin is lacking. This workshop will encourage you to delve into the Scriptures through Bible reading, memorization, and suggested study methods.
Sexual predators often look upon churches as soft targets for their evil acts. This workshop teaches church leaders and parents the need to implement proven policies and practices that will help keep our children safe.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s attempt to redefine the institute of marriage has intensified the cultural chaos. This workshop will help pastors and biblical counselors understand the rapidly changing legal landscape so they can effectively minister God’s truth to a broken world.
Adultery and abuse are unfortunately all too common in the counseling office. This session teaches how to use Biblical narratives to encourage counselees to connect their story with the larger story of God’s work in the world, to provide hope and to point them towards Christ.
How can we do evangelism in the context of counseling those who have suffered sexually? Counselors are needed to engage in these situations but they present dangerous pitfalls. This session discusses how true godliness is the key to avoiding the trap of sexualized relationships.
Behind sexual sins and temptations are often subtle but distorted views of ourselves, the nature of sex, and the character of God. This workshop examines some of these lies and shows how the gospel breaks through them to reveal that the truth is better than we may think.
The truest measure of a Christian and a Christian’s character is not determined by whether or not they fall but by what they do after they fall. This session explains how real confession, both to God and others, is the pathway back to joy for believers who have fallen into sin.
It is the job of pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Individual mentoring and discipleship are key. This session discusses how to address the head, heart, hands and home of newer believers as you disciple them to Christian maturity.
There will be a life-long battle over faith in Jesus versus faith in idols. An important aspect of biblical counseling is to help counselees identify and engage in the battle that is raging in their own heart. This session teaches how to draw out and address idols of the heart.
Can God use you to help other women? What if you don’t know what to say, have your own problems or are afraid? This workshop show’s how God’s calling to serve Him by serving others applies to ordinary Christian women who are willing to be used by Him.
When you’re in the performance trap you start defining yourself in terms of your own performance in the Christian life. This session will teach you to counsel in a way that helps your counselees come to depend more deeply on Christ rather than their own performance?
The focus of counseling must be to lead counselees into deeper relationship with Christ, not just to dispense biblical principles. They need to taste his goodness so that they are ruined for anything else. This session will help counselors teach their counselees to savor Christ.
Why should I be concerned about idols of the heart? Because the Bible is! This first of a two part series examines the concept of idolatry, explains how even good things can become idols and shows the devastating spiritual ramifications of harboring idols of the heart.
Idolatry is misplaced worship and it can happen to anyone. It is not so much wanting the wrong thing, but even wanting good things too much. This second of a two part series will give you clues and diagnostic questions to help you track down idols of your own heart.
Burnout in Christian ministry is incredibly common. How can you avoid it? This session unpacks four guardrails to help you keep the main thing main and serve joyfully for a lifetime.
Counseling is about helping people to change, but the change we as biblical counselors seek is unique. This session shows how change that will bear God glorifying fruit requires effort on our part and is firmly rooted in the gospel.
A traumatic crisis is overwhelming, life-dominating and life-changing. This session will define critical incident stress and its phases, discuss its relation to PTSD and help you to apply the Scriptures to those struggling with stress from a traumatic event.
Biblical mediation skills can be applied in every life setting to help others resolve conflict. This session takes a detailed look at the primary and secondary roles of a reconciler and foundational skills needed for building a peacemaking team.
Mutual accountability and discipline are God’s gifts and blessing to the church. This session explains the process of church discipline and discusses how to build a culture that values, understands and allows for this kind of accountability.
Biblical counselors face different situations that call for balanced skillful finesse. Paul gives clear instruction on gentleness to all “men of God.” This session discusses the mandate in Scripture to counsel and correct with gentleness.
The First Amendment provides important protection to biblical counselors who live in a culture where lawsuits are legion. This workshop covers general legal principles for those who are seeking to honor God by faithfully counseling from the Scriptures.
The loss of a spouse or a child is one of the most difficult trials to face in this life. This session discusses the three seasons commonly experienced by someone in the wake of this kind of crisis and how to help build hope, build perspective and bring comfort.
How can you help people whose anger is out of control? This session will focus on helping people distinguish between sinful and righteous anger and teaching them how to think and exercise self-control during times of provocation.
What is manipulation and how can we help those who manipulate others? This session will teach you how to help manipulators identify their sinful patterns, evaluate their thoughts and motives biblically and begin to develop the mindset of a servant.
Some people are addicted to the approval of others. This session will give criteria to help diagnose the spiritual disorder of man pleasing and teach you how to help counselees dethrone the idol of approval.
The intense emotions following a romantic breakup can bring temptation to sin. This workshop discusses many of the common emotions provoked by the ending of a relationship and seeks to identify the heart issues and sinful patterns associated with them.
Yielding to sin means slavery to Satan and to sin. Yielding to the Savior is the only way to break the bondage. This workshop discusses who the enemy is, how he works to take people captive through sin and what weapons are available to the Christian to gain victory.
Sexual sin is one of the most common and deadly life-dominating sins. This workshop will help you to engage the heart of your counselee, exposit the word appropriately and apply it specifically as you seek to help him in his battle against sexual sin.
Do you have unanswered questions about tough issues in counseling? In this workshop ACBC fellow George Scipione holds a Q&A for any questions people may have related to biblical counseling.
How can you help a terminally ill person face death with hope in Christ? This workshop discusses the need to speak the truth in love to the terminally ill for the purpose of building them up at the very time that their body or mind is wasting away.
Crisis can be an opportunity for evangelism and discipleship. But how do we get from the presenting problem to the gospel? This session seeks to help biblical counselors work towards lasting change in their counselees by applying the whole gospel to the whole man.
Do biblical principles “work” with children on the autism spectrum? This workshop discusses special challenges that children on the autism spectrum face, gives instruction for patiently applying biblical principles and builds hope that God is at work in every circumstance.
What flame can ignite motivation, what fuel can sustain hope that overpowers the pain of change? This session examines the powerful role of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone as the impetus for radical life change.
Is it ever legitimate to blame misbehavior on the brain? The Bible teaches that we are embodied souls with hearts that can be sinful or obedient and bodies that can be strong or weak. This session seeks to distinguish genuine brain disorders from problems rooted in the heart.
God’s design is for marriage to be a lifelong covenant of companionship between one man and one woman but many marriages fall short of this ideal. This session seeks to offer wisdom to counselors working tough questions about separation, divorce and remarriage.
Legalism is an ever present danger in Christ’s church and in counseling in particular. This two-part session will help us to understand it so that we will be able to detect, avoid and counter it whenever we see it in ourselves and our associates.
Legalism is an ever present danger in Christ’s church and in counseling in particular. This two-part session will help us to understand it so that we will be able to detect, avoid and counter it whenever we see it in ourselves and our associates.
God’s revelation in Scripture is complete. While every believer is called to seek God’s revealed moral will, some go beyond this and claim that God speaks to them. How does God guide us today? How are we to understand his will for our lives?
The goal of parenting is to make your children ready to live wisely on their own. Parents must recognize that their relationship with their adult child is very different from what it was when the child was small. One of the biggest mistakes made by Christian parents is to treat young adults as if they were still small children. How can parents foster healthy relationships with their adult children and pursue peace?
What should parents do when their children rebel? Christian parents must be aware of two extremes: giving up too soon because of personal hurt feelings, anger and bitterness … and tolerating and enabling sin. How can we beware of not being manipulated and becoming enablers of their sinful lifestyle?
There are clearly special needs people in the Bible. Having a different child sometimes doesn’t feel like a blessing but God is sovereign over these difficult situations. In these cases, parents are often tempted to make excuses or be overprotecting, but they need to love the way Jesus loves. God chooses the weak, foolish, and despised and his grace is sufficient for us.
Those advocating formulas often assume a form of “parental determinism” – the (unbiblical) belief that how well you follow their formula determines how your kids turn out. Parents who depend on these can tend toward pharisaical pride, as if we can save our kids by our good works. Parenting is not about following an extra-biblical man-made formula; it is about the gospel.
Parents often look for a formula which will guarantee that their kids will turn out right. Many “Christian” approaches to parenting are legalistic. It is very important to distinguish between what Scripture commands versus one of many possible ways to fulfill our responsibilities to God. Some make their particular methodology “law”, while failing to acknowledge that other approaches are equally valid ways to fulfill biblical commands.
This session explains the features of cognitive-perceptual disorders. Is there a connection between sin and sickness? Do people with brain disorders sin? Determining the boundary between physical disability and willful sin can be difficult. How can we help those with these disorders?
Psychotropic drugs improve feelings without changing the counselee’s basic response to circumstances. These medicines produce a mood that doesn’t match the counselee’s real-life situation. How do we think about these medicines from a Christian perspective? How can we better understand drug dependence and withdrawal?
This session explores contrasting views of human nature (biblical vs. materialist) and explores a theology of pain and emotion. Medicine may be needed to control a few serious brain conditions, solve a crisis situation, or help a “stuck” counselee begin to move forward. But even those who take these medicines can learn better self control and habits of thought that will lead to greater emotional stability through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christian men are called to love their wives unconditionally, as Chris loves the church. Christlike love is not merely a feeling. It is a commitment. Christ’s love is demonstrated on the Cross. What should a husband do if his wife is hard to love? What should he do if he doesn’t have loving feelings towards his wife?
God has designed marriage to be a partnership in which the wife follows her husband’s leadership. Many women suffer under the authority of sinful husbands. What if a husband won’t lead in a Christlike way? What does Peter mean by saying you should win your husband “without a word”?
Marriage is designed by God to be the most intimate of human relationships. It is a lifelong covenant of companionship. The bond is not metaphysical but covenantal. We need to invest time and effort in our marriage relationships and enjoy the blessings God has given.
Marriage is a foundational social institution and a creation ordinance. It is a lifelong covenant relationship and is meant by God to be a blessing for mankind. What can we learn from the Bible about this important area of our lives?
Anger is a problem both in the world and in the church. Anger is very deceptive and dangerous. It is usually murderous by nature and leads to many other sins. What are some ways that people try to justify their anger? Where does anger come from? How do we go about uprooting anger from the heart?
Psychology and theology both deal with the same fundamental issues of meaning and value. Many modern approaches have unscriptural presuppositions and practices. This opening session introduces biblical counseling and the importance of approaching these issues from a Christian perspective.
What are some common Christian approaches to counseling in our day? Why might it be useful to learn about psychology? This session explores several Christian approaches to counseling including integration and synergism.
How is the biblical counseling approach different from all other Christian approaches? What are some key texts for defending the sufficiency of the Scriptures for counseling? IBCD’s position of biblical counseling (the Bible as the sole and sufficient authority) is outlined and its key concepts explained.
The fundamental assumptions that shape biblical counseling are reviewed and key elements expanded upon. Building hope in God’s promises from the earliest stages of counseling is critical. What are some ways we can seek to build hope?
This session continues exploring the key questions involved in biblical counseling. Why is investigation a crucial part of the counseling process? What is the goal of asking good questions? Why is it important to give biblical labels to our counselee’s problems? How much sin be dealt with?
Counseling is more than instruction and the greatest progress in counseling is made between sessions. What are some ways we can prepare our counselees for growth between sessions? Why is concrete homework important? This session completes outlining the key elements of biblical counseling.
Counseling is about helping people to change. The change biblical counselors seek is unique and unbiblical approaches to change will impede spiritual growth. This session explores how change begins by understanding and applying the Gospel. Understanding our union with Christ is the key to growth in holiness.
We and our counselees are responsible to exert effort towards change. Immediately after telling us to consider our identity in Christ, Paul exhorts us to take action against the lusts of the flesh. What is the proper use of biblical indicatives and imperatives? What should our motive be for obedience?
This session covers the fundamental theological concepts involved in biblical counseling. It explores the IBCD and NANC understanding of the Bible’s authority, the Trinity, anthropology, Christology, soteriology, pneumatology, and ecclesiology.
Biblical peacemaking is founded on the gospel. Christ came to make peace between God and man. All conflict is the result of sin. Conflict is very dangerous but brings great opportunity: to glorify God, to be more like Christ, to serve others, and to bear witness to a watching world.
As Christians, we ought to do all that is in our power to pursue peace. How can we seek forgiveness biblically? How does the gospel empower us to forgive? Why is it important to go though a thorough process of confession?
This session completes the Peacemaking series of the curriculum. It lays out important things to consider before attempting to confront someone’s sin and describes the peacemaking process. Church discipline is also explored along with how church structure and membership is related to peacemaking.
Trials are the ordinary experience of believers living in a fallen world. Believers in the Bible suffered great trials and we will continue to endure significant trials. Why do Christians tend to be so surprised by trials when the Bible speaks so often about them? How does God work in our trials and use them to mature us?
What is depression and how are we to understand it? Many secular psychologists see mankind as merely physical and therefore tend to see depression as a physical problem with a chemical solution. Christians recognize the dual nature of mankind – body and soul. What are some important things for biblical counselors to keep in mind when handling cases of depression?
Worry is a problem of the mind and can become life dominating. Worry, stress, and fear are closely related and often dealt with sinfully. How can we help counselees think about their lives in light of biblical truth? How might someone misunderstand or abuse God’s promises to care for them?
The Bible says we are to fear God. Fear can also be an appropriate response to real potential dangers. Fear becomes sinful when we fear men more than God and we fail to trust God. What are some proper and healthy manifestations of fear? What are indications that fear has become sinful?
This session looks at David’s catastrophic sin of adultery in 2 Sam 11:1-5. This passage shows that the Bible is honest about its heroes and serves as a warning to us against sin and presumption. How does David’s sin point us to Christ? What are some practical ways to guard ourselves from temptation?
What is the difference for an unbeliever and a believer who are confronted with temptation? How is idolatry connected with temptation? This session walks through some specific issues involved with temptation such as substance abuse. How can a drunkard or an addict find help to overcome his sin?
To what extent does our body (nature) and relationships (nurture) affect our hearts? We are embodied creatures. However, both our inner and outer person have been affected by the fall. While we reject both genetic determinism and social determinism, we recognize that the Bible teaches that both body and social environment influence the inner person.
Every family experiences communication breakdown. The key to our relationships with each other is our relationship with God (and vice versa). We need to grant forgiveness when we have been wronged. We need to learn to listen in love. Are we more concerned about being heard, or hearing?
God is the owner and source of all wealth. We need to maintain a balanced perspective on finances. Money can be good but it is also dangerous. Christians need to learn the secret of contentment as they work hard and smart to make a living. Make it your goal to be wise, not rich!
How can we make our sexual relationships in marriage all that they should be? We need to think about our marriage and sex lives through a gospel lens. Gracious sex gives to your spouse freely, just as God has given to you – treating him/her better than he/she deserves.
God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant of companionship. Marriage is worth fighting for. Some are called by God to remain in hard marriages. Divorce (and remarriage) without biblical grounds is sinful and adulterous. This session unpacks the surrounding issues and questions about this difficult subject.
God created sex to be a blessing. It is part of God’s perfect and holy creation but is often twisted sinfully. Idolatry, more than adultery, is the key to understanding sexual sin. Even something which is good can become sinfully idolatrous when we desire it more than we desire God, are willing to sin in order to get it, or react sinfully when we don’t get what we want.
A compilation of helpful questions for use in probing the heart for places where sin might be harbored. This can be helpful in drawing out and identifying sin.
40 questions for counselors to ask when working with a counselee who struggles sexual problems. This could also be given as homework to be filled out by the counselee.
Effective counseling involves spiritual warfare. This is why it must be a matter of prayer. In this session Voddie Baucham shares some personal counseling experiences to encourage counselors to remember the importance of prayer in counseling.
A handout of questions for self-examination based on Psalm 139:23-24. Questions focus on three areas: one’s relationship with God, stewardship in life, and interactions with others.
A one-page reflection sheet that can be used in accompaniment with any reading assignment. This sheet is designed to help counselees engage with and apply the material.
A list of 15 questions for use in counseling and discipleship. These questions are helpful for anyone seeking to come alongside someone and help them articulate what is in their heart.
A simple guide to aid counselees in identifying the root issues of a particular sin and reflecting upon the fruit that sin produces in their life.
An 11-step guide for counselees if failure in fighting a sin occurs. This handout helps one think biblically about the sin and reminds of the grace and forgiveness of God.
A worksheet with a 4-step graphic organizer designed to aid counselees in reflecting on a particular problem they face, their current response to it and how to respond biblically.
An extensive assignment for family members to reflect on themselves and one another. Topics include identifying qualities and characteristics, determining patterns of conflict, and understanding communication styles.
A 7-step guide to lead counselees through the process of genuine repentance before God.
A simple method for teaching how to meditate on a particular passage of Scripture using the acronym MAP. MAP stands for Meditate, Analyze and Personalize.
An 8-step guide for identifying possible logs in the eye of one who wants to help someone caught in sin. This helps establish a proper heart attitude before approaching another brother.
An adaptable journal for recording when and where events in life provoked a person to become upset or react in a sinful way, calling for reflection and proactive thinking about the event.
A worksheet providing points of reflection for thinking about sinful patterns and setting goals for new behaviors. This follows the biblical model of “putting off” and “putting on.”
A suggestive list of how pride can influence people to sin in particular instances. This list culminates in a prayer of repentance for the specific ways one has acted in pride.
14 possible homework assignments for counselees who struggle with depression. Suggestions include establishing routine, serving others and giving thanks.
A 30-question quiz requiring reflection on what it means to be an “encourager” and the extent to which one manifests those qualities in their relationships.
A handout of 13 passages of Scripture that provide hope for believers.
A 2-page handout walking through four rules for God-honoring communication. This handout is based on principles from Ephesians 4:25-32.
11 possible homework assignments for counselees who struggle with issues of fear, worry, and anxiety. This list includes reading assignments, scripture memory and journaling activities.
A contract of 11 affirmations and vows to be made by a person before God and man to maintain purity when engaged with computer usage.
A handout outlining the purpose and procedures for Conference Table discussion. This handout is useful for counselees to review before beginning a discussion during the week.
A graphic organizer depicting how thoughts and motives drive our feelings and choices resulting in the production of good or bad fruit. This handout is based on Eph 4:22-24 and Col 3:1-17
A checklist of 13 quick and easy reminders concerning the counselor’s role and objectives during a counseling session.
This worksheet highlights the characteristics of worldly sorrow in contrast to godly sorrow. Help the counselee examine his life and seek by God’s help to move from being characterized by the top part of the list (worldly sorrow) to the bottom part of the list (godly sorrow).
A survey for self-reflection on 19 characteristics of the wise person portrayed in the book of Proverbs contrasted with their negative counterparts.
A handout of reading and reflection assignments for anyone seeking to rebuild their marriage after an affair. This includes specific exercises for both the offending and the offended parties.
A spreadsheet for recording activities for every hour of the week. This is a useful assignment for counselees struggling with time management, prioritizing or laziness.
A two-page guide for counselors detailing six goals they should keep in mind as they assign homework to counselees.
All people face troubles in life. The Bible is a book that is shockingly honest about these troubles. This session unpacks the reasons why biblical counseling is really the only true answer to walking with people through seasons of serious trouble.
Are ministers of the Word really equipped to counsel people with “serious” problems? Voddie Baucham discusses his journey to the conviction that the Bible is essential and sufficient for meaningful counseling.
Middle and High School presents difficult challenges for kids today. From peer pressure to issues concerning sexuality our kids are facing a fast changing world. Come and hear how living in community helps to provide the context for counseling teens.
Biblical counseling is necessary for the church and the church is necessary for biblical counseling. This session will define what is meant by “counseling” in the context of the local church and discuss how helping hurting, needy people is at the heart of her calling.
In a world full of trouble, God is actively involved in caring for His people. He is a Shepherd who gives us rest in the midst of a World that assaults us with pain. This session unpacks the gospel hope found in Psalm 23.
Biblical counseling is really about sanctification and growth in the Christian life. How much transformation can we expect? This session will use the New Testament pattern of the already and the not yet to help frame our expectations in counseling.
The work of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can bring about lasting and God-honoring change. As biblical counselors we are dependent upon the Spirit to work powerfully in the entire counseling situation, both through us and in the lives of our counselees.
How can we really have joy in the midst of trials? In this workshop we will examine how God uses losses in this life for great gain, and how that enables us to find joy in the midst of our own suffering, and to help others do the same.
You want to be a competent counselor don’t you? Of course you do! What does the Bible have to say about what that looks like? This workshop explores the Biblical characteristics of a competent counselor as described in the Pastoral Epistles.
If the Holy Spirit is necessary in our counseling, what exactly is His role? What gifts does He employ? This session will briefly sketch the theological positions and identify how each position impacts our view of the Spirit’s role in counseling and the sufficiency of God’s Word.
What is the role of the church in a biblical counseling ministry? From the Biblical mandate for ministry under the church’s authority, to the nuts and bolts of daily ministry, Darrell and Janet will share insight gleaned from 23 years in the church counseling ministry.
The birth and growth of the biblical counseling movement, like all movements, has many strengths and weaknesses. This message contains the professional, pastoral and personal reflections of the biblical counseling movement at 45 years.
One of the great delights in biblical counseling is the opportunity to explain the gospel to someone who has never heard. This session will discuss strategies to move from initial presentation problems to appropriate discussions about personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Counselors sometimes have the privilege of serving parents who have been blessed with children with special needs. This session will review a seminal passage of Scripture on this subject along with an account from the Viars’ journey with their special needs son Andrew.
This workshop offers practical tips for working with a counselee and their doctor as they come off an antidepressant. It also includes a section that explains the theory of chemical imbalance and why psychiatrists are now saying it is not true.
What wrong desires do you habitually battle? The premise of this seminar is that learning to live as a proper worshiper changes the stubborn desires of the heart. Many practical suggestions for what it means to live life worshiping properly will be given.
How do we care for others when we just don’t feel like it? This message will discuss the call for Christians to care for others, the challenges that arise in caring for others, and what we shoulld do when our emotions run contrary to this.
Christ cares for his people so much that he was made like them in every respect. He did this that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest who can help them in their temptations. We are encouraged to care for others when we see how much Christ cares for them.
To what extent to our body (nature) and relationships (nurture) affect our hearts? This session discusses how God has created humans as complex creatures that exist in a social context. Counselors must learn to care for the whole person to counsel effectively.
The Bible has a lot to say about the nature of man. This workshop explores the key components of man’s nature and the importance of balance in diagnosing and directing the counseling process so it comes to a successful conclusion.
How do you help someone who already has many labels regarding their condition? In our heavily psychologized culture it can be hard to know the accuracy of these diagnoses. This workshop aims to equip you to work with those who have diagnoses from the psychological community.
Believers often function in daily life without the gospel to sustain them, growing weary and even spiritually depressed. This session will discuss the physical and spiritual symptoms, causes, and cure for depression, including the centrality of the gospel.
We know we are to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted and help the weak, but how do we really do that? This session will seek to answer that question with specific counsel and instruction for three case studies: Unbending Ursula, Worrisome Wanda, and Fragile Franny.
100 foundational texts that speak to a wide-range of common counseling scenarios. These texts are organized by topic and can be quickly referenced by a counselor.