All episodes

How can a wife encourage her husband to lead spiritually? This episode came straight from wives in the Marriage After God community who asked Aaron and Jennifer Smith to talk about it. Aaron lays the biblical foundation for headship from Ephesians 5:23 and 1 Corinthians 11:3, explaining that a husband's authority is derived from Christ: 'my authority does not come from me being a man, it comes from Christ.' Jennifer shares honestly about her own growth in submission, including a story about school-loan debt and an apology at a sandwich shop. Together they walk through five concrete ways a wife...

What should a Christian couple think about birth control, family planning and how many kids to have? In this listener Q&A, Aaron and Jennifer Smith answer five questions from the Marriage After God community with honesty and Scripture. Jennifer shares her two difficult months on chemical birth control, and they explain why they now lean toward natural planning. They open up about why they waited to have children, from painful physical intimacy to selfish pride, and how a friend's gentle challenge turned 'how many do we want?' into 'how many does God want?' They also share how to prepare for...

What is the biblical view of suffering, and why is it good for every believer? Suffering is rarely a popular topic in churches today, but Aaron Smith argues it is a vital part of every Christian's life and cannot be left out of our biblical thinking. Teaching through 1 Peter 4:1-4 alongside Romans 8, Aaron explains that 'suffering in the flesh' is not only enduring pain; it is telling your flesh no and choosing to walk in the Spirit, because 'the cross is the instrument of the death of our flesh.' He then breaks down the 'want to do' list...

Looking for Valentine's Day gift ideas for your spouse that are meaningful and actually useful? Aaron and Jennifer Smith share ten gifts they love and use often. Aaron's picks include an ESV Heirloom Study Bible, a Saddleback Leather wallet he has carried since 2014, Baron Fig Confidant hardcover notebooks, a Traeger smoker and an Ember self-heating coffee mug. Jennifer's picks include the Growth book from Growth Roots Co, Tao Tree fine liner color pens, an ESV journaling Bible, a stamped pendant from Made by Mary and a spa massage. They also share bonus gifts that bless you both, like the...

Why do New Year's resolutions so often fail, and what does it mean to be people of our word? Recorded on their 13th wedding anniversary, Aaron and Jennifer Smith look back on 2019, from the release of their book Marriage After God to planting a home church with a few couples and starting homeschool, before turning to Jesus' words in Matthew 5:33-37: let your yes be yes and your no be no. They explain why treating a date on the calendar as if it has authority sets us up to fail, why real change starts with belief that leads to...

In this Christian marriage Q&A, Aaron and Jennifer Smith answer ten questions from the Marriage After God community, recorded the day before Thanksgiving. They talk about what has challenged them most in doing ministry together, when to change your last name after marriage, and how much distance is appropriate with controlling in-laws. Answering how to keep your faith in hard times, Aaron shares that 'keeping your faith in the hard times will produce a hopeful mindset,' and they point to Hebrews 11:1 and James 1:2. They also cover the hardest part of becoming parents, two books that helped Aaron find...

Are you hiding your struggles from your spouse or your Christian community? In this episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith urge couples to stop hiding before it's too late. Inspired by their own early years of concealing relationship issues and by couples they knew whose marriages unraveled without anyone seeing it coming, they explain how you can hide in plain sight: close friends, but no one who truly knows you or your struggles. Using the picture of an arm cut off from the body, they show how isolation kills ministry and prevents healing. They share how their first years of marriage...

What does the Lord's Prayer teach us about how to pray? In this episode, Aaron and Jennifer Smith walk verse by verse through Matthew 6:5-13, the prayer Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. They explain that Jesus gave a template for how to pray, not just words to recite, and warn against hypocritical, wordy or show-off prayer, since 'your Father knows what you need before you ask him.' They unpack what it means to pray to God as Father, a comfort for anyone with a broken earthly dad, to hallow His name, and to seek His kingdom and...

Need encouragement as you and your spouse chase after God together? After sharing that they are expecting baby number five, Aaron and Jennifer Smith offer ten encouragements for couples pursuing God's will. Don't be afraid, starting with Jeremiah 17:7-8 and the picture of a tree planted by water that does not fear when heat comes. Don't grow weary. Remember you are not alone: you have Christ, the Holy Spirit, your spouse and the body of Christ. Lean on God's wisdom, stick to your financial plan, and make your plans public for accountability. Along the way they reflect on maturing fruit...

What practical boundaries with the opposite sex protect a marriage? In part two of this series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith share the specific boundaries they practice: never being alone in private settings like a house or car with someone of the opposite sex, copying each other on messages, Aaron unfollowing every woman on his personal social media, asking a doctor to leave the exam room door open, and no massages from the opposite sex. They then answer listener questions about close opposite-sex friendships, the Billy Graham rule for pastors, work relationships and praying with someone of the opposite sex, recommending...