Life Over Coffee

Shows Main Idea – What are some of the core elements that help to have a vibrant small group life? Is it best to have mixed small groups or gender-specific small groups? What are a few other things that make up a small group experience to help folks genuinely pursue each other with truth and love for each other's sanctification? This episode delves into small group life, answering this lady's ques...

We can agree that personal suffering is the one thing we fear the most. Who wants to suffer? Think with me for a minute. Certain things come to mind that tempts us to fear. Maybe you don’t spend much time thinking about your fears. Good for you. Fixating on fear is not the way to spend our time or minimize soul noise. But if you do think about your fears, even for a moment, you may pinpoint at lea...

On April 8, 1988, it all went wrong. I would later call that day the “beginning of woes.” I walked into our home shortly past 5 o’clock, and after a full day at work, and noticed the missing piano in our living room. I immediately knew what Had happened. My wife of nine years decided she had enough: it was time to leave. A simple note was left on the kitchen table. It read, “You’re right; we can’t...

Shows Main Idea – A church member sent me an email because they are struggling with what she called a “lack of community” in her local church. She is one in a long list of emailers talking about this problem, and while there are several angles to a local church’s lack of community, I’m only dealing with one in this episode: the church’s leaders. This episode will be dicey, but I want to carefully...

How many ways does the Lord have available for Himself to help us mature into Christlikeness? Most folks would say the Bible, prayer, church, and close friends. They are correct. Those essential means of grace are for growing us up into Christlikeness. Here’s another. Consider that the Lord would permit sin in your life to rattle your cage for Jesus. What do you think about the redemptive purposes...

Grumbling is a minor sin, but like tiny breadcrumbs leading you somewhere, the complaining person shows you the practical condition of their heart. The grumbler might not perceive what their words are saying about them or their need for a gospel recalibration, but you must know this to help them. My friend, Biff, is one of those undiscerning complainers. Perhaps this case study will provide insigh...

Shows Main Idea – Anton Krecic started Seven Weeks Coffee Company because he saw a need that nobody was fulfilling. He merged his love for coffee with a passion for the pro-life movement. Seven weeks is typical when a mother hears her child's heartbeat. The child is the size of a coffee bean. Seven Weeks Coffee gives 10% of its sales to pro-life centers around the country. Listen to Anton describe...

Working through pain is part of the human experience. Problems come and go as sparks fly upward. Trouble and trials began with the fall of humanity, and they will not go away until Christ comes to rescue us. The great news is that we can solve our problems, assuming we start at the right place. Did you know there is a unique first step to solving your concerns and that it flows out of your worldvi...

True freedom is only found when the singular opinion that governs your mind and conscience is the Lord’s. When His evaluation is the only one that holds sway in your heart, you are walking in the highest form of liberty. This posture before the Lord is how Jesus lived. Others did not manipulate him, nor was He governed by their approval or disapproval. No person could coerce Him, intimidate Him, o...

Shows Main Idea – “How do you answer a friend who is not a Christian but searching when she asks why God let my baby die? The grief is seemingly insurmountable, and not having a relationship with God adds a layer of complexity. I’m unsure what to say to her other than to be a friend. What would you say to her? What advice do you have for me?” This question is one of the most difficult ones to answ...

To say that God is all you need reduces your life to a “you and God in a silo,” which might sound nice if you’re prone to spiritualize everything while not factoring in reality. Spiritualized sloganeering typically fails the eye test in real-world dynamics. For example, you must have friends if your aim is to live out the grander purposes of the gospel. I’m not speaking of needing friends in an in...

The most crucial relationship in your life is God. The most practical way to experience Him is in a community of like-minded believers who are intentional about helping each other mature in their relationships with Him. To know God better means your primary relationships should provide you with contexts to deepen your experience with Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). If your essential relationships do no...

Shows Main Idea – A reader asked, "How do you deal with people who claim to be Christians, yet they are brutally invasive with their tactics by forcing religion down someone's throat and condemning the other person based on their past experiences and choices? There is only one way for secondary preferences in their view, and this person is the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong. Let me give y...

To fully release your vulnerable and intimate soul to another person, you must know the individual is trustworthy and will lovingly steward all of your inner truth. This quality in a marriage is one of a husband’s most critical leadership requirements as he leads his wife in proper communication habits. We build our most vital and profound relationships upon trust, which is why we love God so much...

A lady wrote, asking me how to help her and her husband. He recently left for another woman, and she's in desperate straits, not knowing what to do about it or what her role should be in restoring their marriage. She's hurting but is maturing while in her desperate crucible. I gave her eight things to think about, and though I am dealing with a husband who left a wife for another woman, you can ch...

We are relational beings because God created us in His image (Genesis 1:26). God, who has always belonged to a Trinitarian community, made us in such a way that we desire to belong to a reciprocal community (Genesis 2:18). Made in the image of God means, in part, that you have similarities to God (James 3:9). One of the most intrinsic qualities that the Lord put into us is a desire to commune with...

Transformation is one of the most frequently claimed yet most difficult to discern realities in the Christian life. Everyone says they have changed, want to change, or are trying to change. But discerning actual, Spirit-empowered transformation is another matter entirely. The problem is not that people lie, though they sometimes do. The problem is that people often confuse temporary behavioral adj...

Shows Main Idea – A reader asked, "When a leader falls, the church bags him up and throws him out. Can you comment on how to respond to a fallen Christian leader?" I assume there is hyperbole in the question to make a point because some churches are outstanding in how they care for those leaders captured by sin. However, the question is valid, and I will explore this essential issue that could com...

When most folks think about giving, they automatically default to money. It makes sense because money is vital to living well in God’s world. But if money is the only thing we think about regarding giving, we will miss out on some of the most incredible life experiences we could have. God is calling all believers to a level of generosity that touches every sphere of our lives, not just our finance...

God’s salvation is a gift that we must steward, though managing His salvation does not imply we can lose it, an impossible feat. But we must share it with others. Suppose we do not steward God’s salvation by extending His gift to others. Who knows, God might go to extraordinary lengths to get our attention to motivate us to think differently about the gift. Jonah was one of God’s children who refu...

Shows Main Idea – Sometimes, a person does not want to receive counseling because they are afraid to share their story. The complexity of shame, guilt, and fear incarcerate them. Though they know you can’t help them without knowing the truth about their lives, the inhibition effect is forbidding and captivating. To counsel well means you must know and do specific things, so how do you build that t...

How do you help a teen with a porn problem? This podcast discusses the issue with porn and how to help anyone struggling with addiction. One of our members asked a specific question, "I've had the opportunity lately to counsel a teenage boy struggling with pornography. He is aware of the inappropriate, sinful nature of this and has displayed some guilt and remorse. The parents want to be involved...

Merry Christmas, everyone. The holiday season is the best time of the year, especially when our focus is Christ as we celebrate His birth and what it means to us. The Christmas season is a snapshot of what our ministry is about, sharing the practical message of Christ globally. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/we-are-less-than-four-feet-from-6-64-billion-hearts/ Will you help us to continue p...

On the radio today, a well-known pastor says that Christians should not describe themselves as "sinners saved by grace" but "saints who occasionally sin." If we define ourselves as the first, he says, "What a dangerous, miserable way to live." As Christians, how much focus should there be on the reality of daily sin versus the spiritual reality of our identification with Christ and His holiness dw...

Shows Main Idea – What is the relationship between mental illness and suicide? Is that the best way to ask my question? If not, how would you frame the problem of a person who commits suicide? What does the Bible say? I deal with many desperate people who are Christian and non-Christian, and the normalization of suicide over the past few years has created not just an interest in self-harm but an a...