Long before there were offices of professionals, there was the people of God. And although our society has advanced to have the capacity to treat the most severe cases of mental health, we as the church are still equipped by God to offer a community of care to any and everyone struggling with navigating the soul.
Foundations:
The Foundations of Secular Psychology vs Biblical Counseling
- Authority – Observation vs Revelation
- Misdiagnosis – The heart is right vs The heart is broken
- Centrality – Self vs Jesus
- Sustainability – Codependency vs Interdependency
Observations & Conclusions: Principles of Communal Soul Care
- Transformation – Authentic change only comes through Jesus Christ
- Empathy – Our witness as Christians requires a mutual investment that is modeled after Jesus
- Accountability – The church holds a reciprocal expectation to help each other progress in the faith
- Therapy – God has designed the church as an agent of healing for the soul
- Charity – We all gain when we give beyond what we have received from sinners, because Jesus has first given charitably to us
Application:
- The way I serve the Lord at Grace is by __________
- These are the people in the church who know me, who will rebuke me, who are for me, and who I can be honest with_________
- These are the people who I am helping to carry their bucket __________________
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Matthew 15:16-19
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
Matthew 6:31-33
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
1 Corinthians 12:7
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
Galatians 6:1-2
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 5:13
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
Philippians 2:3-5
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Ephesians 4:15-16
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”