A Biblical View of Depression - Week 3 of 4

Overview of Week 1
Week 1 - What is depression? Did it exist in biblical times?
Week 2 - How could we be so broken?
Week 3 - Some biblical truths to consider?
Week 4 - Q&A

Topic 1 - God’s View of Suicide & is depression a sin?

- What is God's/Bible view on suicide?

- Is depression a result of sin (deliberate)?

Topic 2 - Biblical Treatments

- Is it OK for a Christian to take medication? If so, wouldn't that be showing a lack of faith in God?

- What is the biblical view on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), mindfulness & meditation?

- How would one recover from depression in both a godly and "practical" way?

- What are the helpful strategies that those who have suffered depression do to walk the journey well?

Topic 3 - Why doesn’t God heal me?

- Why doesn't God heal me if He knows how much I am struggling and hurting? Isn't He supposed to care for me?

- How do you live by the spirit when you are in the 'mad heavenly dad' stage of depression and feel God is punishing you?

Topic 4 - Living by the Spirit, practically.

- In a practical sense, how do we "walk in the spirit and not in the flesh" - what does this look like in my workplace? in my home life? in my relationships? how do we "actually" do this and not walk in our "own spirit".

- Why does God not want happiness for us? Isn't heaven about happiness being one with him?

- I know that I have given my life to Christ, but I have trouble giving my problems to God? How do I get over this?

- What does it look like to "abide/walk" in the Spirit? Can you give real life examples?

Topic 5 - Comforting those with Depression

- How do you comfort a non Christian with depression when the only comfort you know is from God? How can they be comforted by God if they do not believe in God?

- How do I tell my depressed person to rely on God?

- How do you take of someone in a religious way, when the person you're looking after doesn't believe in God?

- How can we walk WELL with someone who is suffering from depression?

- What are the least helpful things that Christians do to those suffering depression?

Topic 6 - How to explain depression to other Christians

- We "over-diagnose" so much in our modern society, and I wonder if depression really needs to have a label as such, or if we truly recognize it for part of our natural human behavior and emotion - like anger, or jubilation - I think over our human existence we have always had moods, sadness, and anxiety at certain moments in everyone's life - some last for a brief moment, others last for a very long time.

- How do you explain to other Christians that depression doesn't mean you love or rely on God less?

- What do you say when a Christian keeps telling you to stop being anxious and take your anxieties to God?

- How do you explain to a Christian about anxiety/depression/panic attacks and that you just cannot stop them?

Topic 7 - What can the church do?

- How can the church help remove the stigma of depression?

- How can the church start talking about depression in a safe way?

- How can we as a church help those suffering with depression?

Topic 8 - Why do non-Christians get better?

- If we are supposed to live life from the spirit, why are so many non-Christians successful?

- If we are supposed to only function correctly by living by the spirit, how come there are successful non-Christians?