Podcast
Life Over Coffee
Hosted by Rick Thomas · EN
Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master's University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).
70episodes
Episodes
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How to Change: Chapter 4—How Do I Know I Have Changed
4d ago00:14:55Tap to summarizeThe transformation process is not mysterious, though it often feels hidden. Many Christians experience a deep frustration because they see little progress in themselves or others, as if sanctification were a secret code reserved for the spiritually elite. But repentance—the Bible’s word for change—is neither cryptic nor arbitrary. It is objective, sequential, and transforming. You can change. You can also help others change. But that requires learning to discern between worldly sorrow and godly repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). The worldly sorrowful person feels bad; the godly sorrowful person turns around—what we call repenting. The first cries tears of regret; the second bears fruit worthy of repentance. This chapter will help you tell the difference. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/what-is-change-how-do-you-know-if-someone-has-changed/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →How to Change: Chapter 3—How to Change
6d ago00:16:51Tap to summarizeOne of the more surprising things I’ve learned from decades of counseling is that the average Christian does not know how to change. We know how to confess, feel remorse, and promise to do better, but not how to repent biblically. The Bible’s word for change is repentance, and learning how to do it is the most important thing you will ever know. The doctrine of repentance is not a single act but a divine process with thirteen interconnected steps. Understanding these steps is the difference between momentary guilt and lasting transformation. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/most-important-things-youll-ever-learn-to-help-you-change/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
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Investigating Legalism—Where in the World Is Worldliness?
1w ago00:25:41Tap to summarizeWhat is worldliness, and where do you find it? Your answer to that question will shape your entire Christian life. It will influence how you worship, how you lead, how you serve, how you love, and how you engage your culture. Many Christians define worldliness as something external—something “out there” to be avoided. But if your goal is to walk in a manner worthy of Christ, you must look deeper. The Christian life is not primarily about what you distance yourself from but what you pursue, treasure, and allow to govern your heart. To discern rightly, we must understand both the deceptive nature of legalism and the subtle pull of worldly affections. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/investigating-legalism-world-worldliness/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →How to Change Chapter 2 Making Life Hard on Yourself
2w ago00:19:11Tap to summarizeEvery time we sin, a response is required. God calibrated our consciences that way; we have an internal moral thermostat that sends out a signal each time we transgress. One of God's many mercies to His creation is our internal warning system (Romans 2:14-15). Thus, the question is not if we will respond to our offenses but how. Our reaction to failure is the truest window into our practical theology. What we do with sin reveals what we believe about God, ourselves, grace, and change. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/four-things-we-do-to-make-life-hard-on-ourselves/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →Ten Things to Know Before You Can Help Someone
3w ago00:22:10Tap to summarizeTalking about change and being willing to change are not the same things. Most people can talk a good game when the pressure is on. They know the vocabulary of crisis: “I know I need help…” “I’m tired of living this way…” “I want to change.” But saying those words is not the same as surrendering the heart. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/ten-things-to-know-before-you-begin-helping-someone/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →I Am a Saved Legalist Who Struggles with Depression
3w ago00:25:43Tap to summarizeDo you believe God sends people to hell, or do you think hell is the result of people who reject God? The question is complex, and your answer will affect everything from your view of God to your motives for obedience to your interpretation of suffering. Our lived experience is downstream of our theology, making it of utmost importance that our view of God is as precise as it can be, and how we think about our eternal destinies is one of the more theocentric questions you can ask. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/i-am-a-saved-legalist-who-struggles-with-depression/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/
Transcribe →When Marriage Breaks: Conclusion—Ten Anchors for Your Soul
3w ago00:17:08Tap to summarizeFew battles cut deeper than the double blow of discovering your spouse has committed adultery and then facing the finality of divorce. Each one by itself can flatten the soul. But when they come together in succession, it feels like an earthquake followed by a tsunami. Your compass spins wildly, your sense of safety collapses, and God Himself can seem hard to find or understand. I write this conclusion with you in mind: the one whose heart has been ripped in two and who wonders if life will ever steady again. Maybe you are in the thick of it now, or maybe you are walking with someone who is. Either way, the counsel here is meant to give you perspective, hope, and practical handles for the long journey forward. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/when-marriage-breaks-conclusion-ten-anchors-for-your-soul/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →When Marriage Breaks: Chapter 7—From Adultery to Restoration
4w ago00:22:07Tap to summarizeThe path to dysfunction is unmarked and hidden. Nobody knows they’re on it until it’s too late. There are subtle indicators, but we rarely discern them. One of the clearest is the quiet mantra, “I deserve better.” That whisper hardened into a posture in Biff, and it paved the way to adultery. Biff had been frustrated with Mable for most of their marriage. They were high-school sweethearts. Everyone predicted a fairy-tale future. She was everything to him; he was the apple of her eye. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/the-path-to-adultery-and-a-plan-to-restoration-in-thirteen-steps/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
Transcribe →When Marriage Breaks: Chapter 6—Helping Your Offender
4w ago00:32:55Tap to summarizeOne of the hardest opportunities in the Christian life is learning how to help the very person who has hurt you. Everything in us recoils at the idea. The natural instinct when offended is to defend, withdraw, or retaliate. When your trust has been shattered, especially in something as devastating as adultery, the thought of leaning back in to help your spouse feels impossible, even offensive. Yet this is exactly where the gospel pushes us, not to ignore sin, not to excuse betrayal, but to look beneath the surface and begin addressing the root-level issues of the heart. Read, Watch, Listen: https://lifeovercoffee.com/learning-how-to-help-the-person-who-hurt-you/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
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Mind Mapping Insecure Husband and Critical Wife
Jul 1400:14:17Tap to summarizeThe dynamic of an insecure husband and a critical wife is one of the most common and deeply embedded relational patterns in marriage counseling. It’s a dynamic that doesn’t usually appear overnight, and it’s rarely the result of one major failure. Instead, it’s the slow erosion of trust, affection, communication, and humility over time. This kind of marriage dysfunction typically forms from a combination of personal insecurity, unresolved sin, habitual selfishness, and immature gospel application. And yet, as with all biblical counseling situations, this relational spiral is not beyond hope. The gospel is robust enough, the Spirit powerful enough, and the church necessary enough to bring healing. Read, Watch, Listen: lifeovercoffee.com/mind-mapping-in…-critical-wife/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
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