Counseling Religion

A gripping true story, Prodigal Daughter narrates a family's darkest time through addiction and their journey toward healing. Father and daughter team, Rob Koke - founder and Senior Pastor of Shoreline Church - and Danielle pull back the curtain on the mind-numbing power of addiction and offer hope and real strategies for those longing for freedom. This book is your field guide in the battle of addiction. Danielle and Rob's story will challenge you with truth, equip you with strategies for the journey, and infuse your heart with hope.

So many of us suffer from chronic guilt feelings; we assume that these feelings reflect God’s opinion of us. But then along comes the gospel – exploding the lie with its mind-shattering declaration that not only does He love us, He is the One who “forgives all [our] iniquities, who heals all [our] diseases” (Psalm 103:3). While we tend to conform to our own self-concept, becoming what we think we are, Jesus does something for us that no man can do, He give us a new identity. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have become new (2Corinthians 5:17).

In twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, Scott Sauls has come alongside countless individuals and communities through weary seasons and circumstances. From his own seasons of regret, hurt, and fear--including battles with anxiety and depression--he knows what it's like to be unfinished and on the mend under Jesus' merciful, mighty healing hand.

Many pastors feel ill-equipped to handle the challenges that arise when a couple is going through marital difficulties. If you are or have been in this situation before, this book shows church leaders how to counsel married couples from both a logical and biblical perspective. Author and pastor Jonathan Holmes offers you a practical guide to get started with the first sessions and then offers specific guidance on nine of the most common topics that come up in marriage counseling.

Are you tired of being at war with your body—and with your thoughts about your body? Rachael Gilbert struggled with shame when she didn’t measure up to her dream body image. Then, as a fitness instructor and licensed counselor specializing in disordered eating, she realized how many of us bury the same painful insecurities. But keeping up appearances is exhausting. We need restoration from the inside out. In Image RESTored, Rachael offers professional guidance, coloring pages, Scripture, prayers, journaling prompts, and a link to online teaching videos to help you experience true freedom.

Has sex been a source of frustration or pain in your marriage? Celebrating God's beautiful purposes for sex, biblical counselor Scott Mehl helps couples to put God-glorifying sexuality into practice.

In this life-changing Bible study, John Eldredge distills a lifetime of wisdom into five practical and ready-to-implement practices for putting your life back together. These practices include: (1) the one-minute pause, (2) benevolent detachment, (3) practicing kindness, (4) getting outside, and (5) stepping back from technology. These practices, ready for the taking, will enable you to begin recovery, focus on what matters most, disengage from the tragedies of this broken world, and discover the restorative power of beauty.

In Take Back Your Joy, Nicole Jacobsmeyer tells how she felt defeated and ill-prepared for a decade of relentless trials, from assault and depression to miscarriage and cancer. With a heart full of questions about the God she was raised to love, Nicole began to doubt. Had God given her more than she could handle? But there is always more to the story with Christ. Through trial after trial, Nicole allowed God to strengthen her faith, and now she shares biblical strategies that carried her through.

Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story’s life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin’s short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer possible. And yet in struggling with God about how to live with broken dreams, Laura has found joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

The wisest counselor to a Christian Marriage is God! "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: For it was founded upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24,25). Divorce is expensive and can lead to a lifetime of pain. Marriage is too important to get it wrong! Whether you are just starting out, or seeking restoration to your marriage, know exactly what God's advice is for your marriage.

Tired of being trapped in unhealthy and destructive behaviors? Feeling stuck in moving on and getting the most out of your life? You may not realize it, but you’re probably dealing with deep-rooted shame that negatively impacts your relationship with others and God. In many cases, it is shame that prevents us from moving away from emotionally troubling behaviors. In Removing Your Shame Label, you will discover how to remove the shame label from your life by overcoming harmful behaviors.

If you are living under what feels like a curse, or are unable to overcome problems that also plagued your parents, grandparents, or other ancestors, or if you seem to be experiencing more defeat than victory, and you desperately desire to reverse this trend in your life, the message in this book can help you! This book will help you discover the real truth of the source of the curses and strongholds that have been plaguing you, and how to defeat and eliminate them from your life once and for all!

This one-of-a-kind resource provides pastors, church leaders, and nonprofessional counselors with everything they need to establish a program for lay counseling. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated in light of fresh research and outlines a practical training resource that can be used to train and equip lay counselors. Filled with useful forms and questionnaires, it also provides a helpful and comprehensive survey of the programs and resources that are currently available.

After hearing the words no one wants to hear - "you have cancer" - Jim Burns set out to articulate the most important principles for a life well lived and now shares them with you as a collection of essential truths for a healthy, balanced, and successful life.

In an accessible Q&A format, biblical counselor and former financial consultant Jim Newheiser presents financial wisdom that is grounded in faithful biblical exegesis and rooted in sound theology. How can you create and balance a budget? How can you get out of debt? What insurance do you need? He answers these questions and more, providing a go-to resource for laypeople and those who counsel them.

Without a doubt, the quest to attain sexual purity is the number one battle Christian men face in the 21st century. The message of this timely book is that you need not settle for a fear-driven form of freedom when an abundant life of victory in Christ is yours for the taking. The secret to victorious living is to tap into God's great storehouse of mercy for one's own needs, and then act as a conduit for that power, directing it toward the lives of others.

In 2012, Steve Austin, then a pastor, nearly died by suicide. His experience launched him on a journey that opened his eyes to the widespread problem of mental illness and how those who live with it are often treated in congregations. He began to wonder: If church folks had talked openly about mental health, therapy, suicide prevention, recovery from abuse, and other difficult issues, would that have changed his story? In Hiding in the Pews, people with mental illness - some of whom might be pastors themselves - will find comfort as they learn they are not alone.

What do you do when someone you love leaves? And how do you pursue someone who has hurt you, who has sinned against you? In Letting Go, pastors Dave Harvey and Paul Gilbert share stories of pain and stories of hope as they reveal how to care for the prodigal who has strayed. Whether you are dealing with an unfaithful marriage partner, a rebellious child, or a wayward friend, the counsel they offer will help you to pursue a gospel-rooted approach, grounded in truth and practiced in the midst of Christian community.

We all have both good and bad habits in our life. Creatures of Habit reveals how to remove bad habits and replace them with godly ones. But it's not a matter of working hard, of "pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps." That approach simply doesn't work. True transformation is God's work - our job is to listen, obey, and put into practice what he's already directing us to do. Steve Poe has pastored large, growing churches for more than 34 years, and during that time he has counseled hundreds. He's seen that poor choices often become bad habits that in turn cause problems.

"The thought of pushing God away doesn't seem a good option; surely I need him on my side", is often peoples' first response. And, they are right, but this is what most people are doing each day. For some reason, they think it's okay to take matters of God into their own hands. They feel it's their right to worry, doubt, judge others, seek revenge or hold bitterness in their hearts. When you hold onto these negative thoughts and feelings, they slowly fill the mind and heart.