Jars of Clay House Church Pastoral Counseling

01/01/2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vm3r5RyZc0

In six captivating DVD video sessions, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller opens your eyes to the powerful message of Jesus' best-kno...

11/28/2016

If God were a God who simply once reached out to man, who once spoke to us, we could rely on history alone, finding our assurance in what others claim God has already said and done. If our God were a deity who always communicated in the same way, or who could only be known and experienced by “professional” God-followers, then we might be excused from trying to experience him ourselves. But the God of the Bible, the Father of Jesus Christ and the giver of the Holy Spirit, has been speaking to and communicating with men and women since he first created them. God has never stopped sharing himself with his people. “The problem is not that we’re bad; it’s that we’re dead!” one speaker noted. So what gives? Scripture describes a God who passionately pursues the people he created and makes it possible to fix our broken relationship. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” In other words, God takes us, in all our brokenness, and offers to make us whole forever. http://www.exploregod.com/can-i-know-god-personally-video

God seems so far away. Is it possible to have a personal relationship with God? These thought leaders, authors, philosophers, and theologians examine whether or not we can know God personally.

11/28/2016

As you start to read the Bible, it’s imperative that you keep the big picture in mind. The Bible is not just a collection of individual books; it’s a collection of stories that tell a grand, overarching story. Perhaps this is why author Eugene Peterson said, “God reveals himself to us not in a metaphysical formulation or a cosmic fireworks display but in the kind of stories that we use to tell our children who they are and how to grow up as human beings, tell our friends who we are and what it’s like to be human.” Together, these stories of the Bible show how God is working to make things right in our broken world—a world full of pain. This is the epic trajectory of the Bible, the narrative arc toward which all of the Bible’s individual stories point. As you read more and more of the Bible, begin to see yourself as an active participant in the larger story of how God is working to make things right in our broken world. As one theologian concluded, “The answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ can only be given if we ask ‘What is my story?’ and that can only be answered if there is an answer to the further question, ‘What is the whole story of which my story is a part?’” http://www.exploregod.com/is-the-bible-reliable-video

The Bible is the Best Selling Book in history. It's also one of the most questioned books of all time. Is the Bible reliable?

11/28/2016

Let’s suppose for a minute that God can become a human. He is God, after all. If he can create the universe, he can certainly enter into it. If he did become a human, how would he act? What would he do? What would he say? And are the things Jesus did and said the kinds of things we would expect from God? Is Jesus God? Billions of people believe so. And his life has certainly altered the course of human history. It’s fashionable to suggest that Jesus was a good teacher, a man with an important message of love, and that’s all. He wasn’t God; that’s impossible. However, the problem with that perspective is that he claimed to be God. (In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”). Consequently, in C. S. Lewis’s words, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. Let’s explore the possibility. http://www.exploregod.com/is-jesus-god-video

Lord? Liar? Lunatic? Jesus actually claimed to be God. How can we possibly know if he was telling the truth? Is Jesus really God?

11/28/2016

Many people would insist that it’s intolerant or “ignorant to say that Christianity is the only right religion.” But, in the end, it might be best to admit that we’re all exclusivists. All of us make exclusive claims about most things— religion included. Yet the challenge seems to be finding a tone of gentleness in the midst of conversation and even disagreement. In Jeremiah 29:4–11, God calls his people to be present in their city in a way that enables it to flourish, while remaining focused on God. “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7). In other words, the God of the Bible commands his people to be gracious and charitable toward all people—including those who do not share the same faith. Is it possible to have an honest yet graceful dialog about important matters like faith? http://www.exploregod.com/is-christianity-too-narrow-video

Christians claim that Jesus is the only way to God. Is Christianity too narrow and intolerant for our culture?

11/28/2016

As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Suffering is a perspective-changer. When things are going well and life seems easy, it can be hard to see any reason to look beyond ourselves. When the opposite is true, our need for divine assistance becomes crystal clear. It’s through suffering that we begin to look beyond the shallow confines of this life and peek out into eternity—to the glorious salvation that awaits all who believe in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” http://www.exploregod.com/why-does-god-allow-pain-video

Learn why pain and suffering are a basic part of our lives and why God allows it.

11/28/2016

Perhaps the most powerful evidence for God is the one the Bible uses most consistently. The Bible doesn’t offer an argument for God, rather it points to God’s involvement in the world. Most significantly, that would be how, in the person of Jesus Christ, the God who created the world took on flesh and stepped into our world to rescue and save it. This is not a distant, remote, theoretical God, but a God who is very much alive. That’s a quite different proposition—and if that God exists, that changes everything. C. S. Lewis put it this way: “I believe in Christianity in the same way as I believe that the sun has risen. Not because I see it, but that by it, I see everything else.” http://www.exploregod.com/is-there-a-god-video

We can't prove or disprove the existence of God. So how do we know if there is a God? Check out these perspectives from authors, pastors, theologians and thought leaders on whether or not God exists.

11/28/2016

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q1 answers the question what is man's purpose? Man's primary purpose is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. But in reality, as we know, that isn’t how we live. We live as if real happiness is found apart from God, and therefore we don’t glorify him. We spend our time glorifying something or someone other than God. We can’t help ourselves. Because human beings were made in the image of God, we were made to glorify. So we seek out “lesser glories.” Think about what we give our thoughts and daydreams to. Think about what our hopes and aspirations are. Career, s*x, money, leisure, family. If we’re honest, we glorify lots of things, and we glorify lots of people—including ourselves. Because we aren’t “imaging God” as we were born to do, we look to these lesser glories and start to image them instead. Our souls shrink to the size of the things we’ve set our hearts on.
http://www.exploregod.com/does-life-have-a-purpose-video

We all long for a sense of meaning, but does life have a purpose? These thought leaders, authors, philosophers, and theologians examine the meaning of life.

09/27/2016

Why is talking about God so difficult. Shouldn't it be easy? Gabe Lyons discusses the difficulties of talking about God. English Transcript: People aren't co...