From the Garden to the Cross	Living Parables	Healing Inner Wounds
Love in the Last Days	The "Why, God?" Questions	The Word on Women

Healing Inner Wounds: Lasting Change though Biblical Psychology

Media: Tape, Syllabus

This four-part seminar uses the Bible as its chief source to explore the subject of mental and emotional healing. The message of the gospel has been called the "message of His healing grace”; it is the source of true recovery from all that ails. The seminar isn’t a cliche-driven, surface treatment of the subject, but rather a careful analysis of the human condition and God’s method of change. The four meetings cover:

1. Assessing the Damage—- The first step toward healing is proper diagnosis. Spiritually, we must gain an understanding of the human condition. Genesis chapter three is the basis for this. It is there that we where our alienation, misapprehension, guilt, shame, denial, self-righteousness, blame, animosity and fear came from.

2. People Change—This Is How: Many despair of overcoming deep-seated tendencies toward destructive thought and behavior. Addictions and compulsions abound, even in Christian circles. But when Jesus said He would save us, it was from more than the penalty of sin. It was from its power and dominance in our lives.

3. Case Study Number One— Psychological theories must ultimately be validated by evidence. One of the most common methods of testing is a “case study,” in which an individual subjected to the variable in question is observed. Mary Magdalene was just such a case study. Her miraculous recovery from demon possession and mental illness marked Jesus’ simple method as 100 percent effective.

4. A “Me” Replacement— Self-concept is a powerful determinant of behavior. God’s answer to our identity crisis is to make us new creatures in Christ. This ability to see ourselves as God sees us is key to overcoming long-standing cycles of defeat.

5. Hope for Sad, Anxious People— In our “prosperous” culture, mood disorders are epidemic. Yet God’s will is that our souls prosper. While attempting to change our emotions is like trying to catch the wind, it is possible to change our thoughts. Careful management of the thought life leads to lifted mood and often the resolution of serious psychological disorders.

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WOW! The Word on Women: Scripture, Science and Story on what Women Need

This seminar taps into the latest Biblical and scientific research to identify women’s problems and reveal their solutions. She strives to reach the head and the heart, and balance spirituality and practicality. A little humor and human interest makes these presentations both educational and entertaining.

1. Beauty— In our image-saturated culture, the pressure to be beautiful is increasing by the day. Women especially make desperate attempts to meet the standard of physical perfection portrayed in the media. But in the final evaluation, our physical appearance really has little to do with the true beauty and meaning of life. What truly satisfies our thirst for beauty? What makes us truly beautiful?

2. Self-esteem— Feeling good about oneself is considered a sign of psychological health. Yet the call to follow Jesus involves self-denial and humility. Do the two messages contradict one another? Does God want us to look down on ourselves, look up to ourselves, or look away from ourselves? How does a follower of Jesus see herself in relation to Him and to others?

3. Relationships— Women are proven to be more relationally-wired than men. It seems that our special office in life is to be the relational "glue" in family, church, and workplace systems. Since this falls to our lot, why not excel at it? Relationships are a science and an art. Especially conflict resolution and communication provide opportunities for the application of spiritually-informed skills.

4. Boundaries— As more and more women are employed outside as well as inside the home, our roles are expanding and becoming more complex. We wear more hats than a mannequin! As if our lives weren't busy enough, the church asks us to make even greater sacrifices. Many of us give, and then feel taken. We're also prone to carry the burdens of others, putting ourselves in the position of enablers. How do we keep our integrity and individuality without being purely selfish?

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Love in the Last Days: The Art and Science of Relationship in a World Gone Mad     

This four-part seminar deals straightforwardly with the issue of human relationships from a Biblical perspective. Love is a powerful force in the universe-to save or destroy, depending upon whether or not it is kept within the boundaries of Gods law. This presentation seeks to refine the listener’s concept of love, and give the participant discernment between the true and false as well as power to choose the true. The four meetings cover:

1. Love Has a Form—- Many conceive of love as an amorphous emotional force rather than a highly-structured, boundaried way of life. Speaking for humans, love is a choice to conform to God’s principles and plan for human affection.

2. The Four Loves— Human relationships are designed to take three basic forms—parent/child, friendship, and marriage. These models are God-given and cannot be tampered with without consequences. If a friendship takes on the characteristics of a marriage, or a romantic relationship becomes too parent/child, there can be serious problems.

3. Sex, Plained— Given its power and pull, human sexuality calls for very straight talk. This God-given blessing quickly becomes a curse when allowed to rage outside of boundaries. God’s boundaries are simply heterosexual monogamy, but we have a hard time sticking to that!

4. A Timeline of Love— For the religious history nerds, this addendum meeting offers a theory of how theology has impacted culture’s definitions of love and thus steered whole churches and societies toward revival or ruin.

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TEEN SEMINAR: "Pure Love"

"Pure Love" is a presentation that designed to instill moral principles in young hearts. It can be adapted to the needs of the academy or youth group into a program ranging from a one-talk session to an extended week of prayer. Teens are increasingly sexually active before marriage. For instance, since 1970, the rate of adolescent girls losing their virginity has jumped from 5 percent to over 30 percent. Thankfully, the "True Love Waits" movement has succeeded in increasing the number of virgin teens through raising awareness of the effects of casual sex. But while we applaud any effort to stem the tide of immorality in our world, we recognize that no lasting motivation to remain sexually pure exists apart from the gospel. "Pure Love" is an attempt to put the issue of moral purity in the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make a spiritual appeal which we hope will result in moral reform. 

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The "Why, God?" Questions

Seminar Abstract

This four-part series addresses the things about God that don't make sense. These gut-wrenching issues can only be resolved in the light of God's love which streams from the cross. There we see the perfect blend of justice and mercy which comprises God's love.The four meetings are, as follows:

1. Why Punishment? Not a few have been perplexed by the passages that seem to depict a punitive God. These passages are compared with others that illuminate the Godhead's true motives and purposes behind retributive justice.

2. Why Suffering? Millions are bowed down with grief, hardly able to bear the burden of everyday living because of physical disease, loss and catastrophe. Why does God allow such pain? This study draws back the veil and shows the blessed side of human suffering.

3. Why Injustice? This is a broader question still than punishment or suffering, because it not only involves God allowing the unjust to go unpunished, but the just to suffer. There is, however, a lesson for us in the experience of injustice, as well as the knowledge that God's forbearance is the foundation upon which we exist.

4. Why Me? Perhaps the hardest aspect of the "Job experience" is the feeling that for some reason the hurting one has been singled out by God as deserving condemnation. This study explores some of the feelings associated with serious misfortune and presents hope to the despairing that God is, in fact, suffering right alongside them.

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From the Garden to the Cross

Seminar Abstract

This four-part series is a journey through the last twelve hours of Jesus' life. Should we, as His loved ones, not long to relive those moments with Him as anyone whose loved one dies? This seminar carefully reports the facts as they are recorded in the scriptures, and then explores the ramifications of each event. The four meetings are, as follows:

1. "The Orphan" As the cloud of heaven's condemnation of sin wrapped itself about Jesus, He cried out to His Father. Yet there was seeming silence where there had been only joyful communion. In a world full of fatherless children, Jesus became a fatherless child for us.

2. "The Heretic" During His trials before Annas, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Jesus was condemned three times by His church. To be rejected by one's faith community is a devastating experience. Jesus endured the manipulative malice of the Pharisees and Saducees with serene patience. He even took bravely the blow of Peter's denial. From Him we learn how to respond to hypocrisy and toxic religion, and how to win those who will be won.

3. "The Convict" The Jews could not crucify Jesus without a ratification from Rome. Because of Jesus' innocent demeanor, Pilate mightily resisted the pressure to condemn Jesus to crucifixion. Herod, although a hardened man, also feared to condemn One so innocent. Ultimately, Pilate's love of position drove him to do what he knew was wrong. Through Jesus' conversations with Pilate, we gain a deep understanding of how He dealt with the secular mind, and how to graciously appeal to the hearts of proud people.

4. "The Anathema" Crucifixion was, to the Jewish mind, a sign of utter God-abandonment. In a strange transfer of sin and righteousness, God Himself became God forsaken in Jesus Christ. In these closing scenes of Jesus' life, we see the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan come to a climax. This will prepare us for a replay of these same dynamics in the closing scenes of earth's history.

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Living Parables

Seminar Abstract

God communicates to different minds in varied ways through His Word. There is the beautiful poetry of the Psalms, the logic of Paul, the mathmatical exactitude of the prophecies. The most universally appealing and accessible form of communication, however, is the story. The amazing thing about the stories of the Bible is that they are true on more than one level. First, they are actual accounts of the lives of real people. Secondly, they are often beautiful tapestries of the great truths of redemption. Average human beings like you and me, in living out their lives, painted a picture of something much greater than themselves. They were not aware that the simple unfolding of events would be such a vital instrument of instruction to us.

1. Mephibosheth: Dead Dog, Royal Son This disabled man's life speaks volumes to us today on the issues of self-worth and significance.

2. Job: The Innocent Sufferer This well-known man was used of God to illustrate some pensive questions that come in the face of tragedy.

3. Mary Magdalene: The Broken Woman and Her Broken Box Who was Jesus' prime-time disciple? This woman, as far as He was concerned. Learn from her that forgiveness is the key to reflecting the love of Jesus to others.

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From the Garden to the Cross	Living Parables	Healing Inner Wounds
Love in the Last Days	The "Why, God?" Questions

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