Therapeutic Uses of Scripture
1. What are the most important therapeutic uses of Scripture in counseling?Mark McMinn (1996) references Stanton Jones’ work that conceptualizes four important therapeutic uses of Scripture in counseling. First, certain counseling strategies may draw directly...Sinfulness of Psychology
1. Respond to the following: Psychology is just sinful human beings sinfully thinking about sinful human beings. Clarify your rationale for agreeing or disagreeing with this statement.The pejorative nature of the statement appears illogical on three counts. First, if...Prayer in Counseling
1. What are some cautions or possible negative impacts regarding the use of prayer in counseling?A number of risks exist when using prayer in counseling. First, regarding intercessory prayer for the needs of a counselee, it is possible that the client will assume that...Healthy Sense of Self
1. How would you describe a “healthy sense of self”?Mark McMinn (1996) suggests that a healthy sense of self is one who has “an accurate understanding and acceptance of themselves,” which leads to “greater emotional or spiritual...Counseling Suffering People
1. How should you counsel suffering people? Is the point of counseling to remove all suffering? Why or why not? Three reasons suggest that the point of counseling is not to remove all suffering. First, suffering has the benefit of promoting growth (James 1:2-4). In...Confronting Sin in Counseling
1. How do you decide when to confront sin in counseling, and what form of confrontation to use?Deciding when to confront sin in counseling depends on two major factors. First, the level of trust the counselee has with the counselor, and second, the willingness of the...Why Did God Give Me Disease
An 8-year-old boy named “George” was diagnosed with a rare constellation of five auto-immune diseases; two of these diseases were terminal and could take his life. At the time of diagnosis, the diseases were very aggressive; he faced the possibility of...Pastoral Immorality and the Doctrine of the Church
A pastor has served a local church for 10 years. However, he developed an immoral relationship with the young lady serving as his administrative assistant. The associate pastor of the church learns of this affair and struggles with what to do.The associate pastor...Ministering to Pregnancy out of Wedlock
Jean came from a dysfunctional home where her biological father abandoned the family and her mother was physically abusive toward the children. As a result, Jean was removed from her home and placed in foster care. Eventually, she was placed in a loving Christian...Internet Pornography: Man and Sin
A young lady is engaged to be married. However, she discovers that her husband to be is addicted to internet pornography. She seeks counsel from her father concerning this issue. He shares for her not to worry about this issue. He states that the young man...Christian Therapeutic Willingness
1. How would you help a counselee in the attending position become a willing participant in the counseling process?Important assumptions to facilitate the movement from the attending position to the willing position in the counseling process include the perspective...Christian Solution Focused Brief Therapy
This discussion will show that a sound rationale exists to support solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). First, it will provide a brief comparison between SFBT and positive psychology (PP) and then present a research-based argument to support SFBT. An annotated list...Pastoral Counseling Models
David G. Benner’s “Strategic Pastoral Counseling Model” and Ron Hawkins’ “Pastoral Assessment Model and Counseling Scenario” have numerous similarities and differences. Both models support brief therapy, assume God is working,...Textual Issue of 1 Samuel 13.1
If someone in your church finds a study Bible footnote that describes the textual problem in 1 Samuel 13:1 and wants to know what the original text said, how would you answer them?The textual challenge of 1 Samuel 13:1 is particularly daunting due to the limited...Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 4:35, 32:17, and Daniel 7
Law of MosesIn Hebrew, two side-by-side nouns form a construct chain, which may express a possessive relationship between two nouns, where the first is the construct noun and the second is the genitive noun. However, a construct chain has a broad semantic range....Genesis 4.1 and Procreation
Do you think procreation is a possible interpretive option for qanah in Genesis 4:1 (i.e., “I have procreated a man…”)? Why or why not?The narrator of Genesis states, “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave...Views of Creation
Historical creationism asserts that God created the universe, which lasted for an indeterminate amount of time, prior to God preparing the land for habitation in six days.[1] Historical creationism appears to be the most appropriate interpretation of the Creation...Old Testament Literary Analysis
Literary Features and TechniquesThe narrative of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:1-27 provides a quintessential example of a tragic moral collapse. However, the depth of meaning and significance of the narrative may remain hidden without adequate attention paid to...Applying Old Testament Law
Daniel Hays asserts that Christians should utilize the Old Testament Law by interpreting and applying it based on an approach he refers to as principlism.[1] The traditional approach of interpreting the Mosaic Law consists of classifying laws into categories of moral,...
Freedom: How Grace Transforms Your Life Now
Minds on Fire: What Is Wrong With Our Thoughts..And How To Fix It