Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy

Author: Mark Vroegop
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433561514
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 138

Book Description
Lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting God’s goodness. Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God—but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust. Exploring how the Bible—through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations—gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.

Weep with Me

Author: Mark Vroegop
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433567628
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 187

Book Description
Today, racial wounds from three hundred years of slavery and a history of Jim Crow laws continue to impact the church in America. Martin Luther King Jr. captured this reality when he said: “The most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday.” Equipped with the gospel, the evangelical church should be the catalyst for reconciliation, yet it continues to cultivate immense pain and division. Weep with Me by Mark Vroegop is a timely resource that presents lament as a bridge to racial reconciliation in the world today. In the Bible, lament is a prayer that leads to trust, which can be a starting point for the church to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). As Vroegop writes: “Reconciliation in the church starts with tears and ends in trust.”

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy Devotional Journal

Author: Mark Vroegop
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781433583087
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
This devotional journal is an ideal companion for anyone wanting to apply the knowledge they learned about lament from Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy and practice it in their own life.

God's Light on Dark Clouds

Author: Theodore Ledyard Cuyler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Christian life
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description

Suffering Wisely and Well

Author: Eric Ortlund
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433576511
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Why Suffering Exists: God's Purpose for Pain in the Life of Job and throughout Scripture Why does God allow suffering? The pain of suffering can be overwhelmingly mysterious, but the Bible does provide answers. Throughout Scripture, God allows trials in order to accomplish specific purposes in the lives of his people. When faced with suffering they experience spiritual growth; repentance from sin; or, as in the Old Testament story of Job, the chance to demonstrate devotion to God in the face of inexplicable agony. In Suffering Wisely and Well, Eric Ortlund explores different types of trials throughout Scripture, revealing the spiritual purpose for each and reassuring readers with God's promise of restoration. The majority of the book focuses on Job, one of the most well-known yet misunderstood stories of suffering. Ortlund thoughtfully analyzes the text chapter by chapter, including the doubt of Job's friends, God's response to Job's questions, and the meaning behind important imagery including references to Leviathan and Behemoth. Suffering Wisely and Well shows readers how to deepen their relationship with God during painful experiences in their own lives and how to comfort others who are hurting. Explores Lament and Redemption in Scripture: Helps readers understand how to interpret suffering from a Christian perspective Applicable: Each chapter ends with a "What Have We Learned?" summary Biblical Advice on Grief and Support: Teaches Christians how to avoid blame or legalism when addressing the suffering of others

Overcoming Bitterness

Author: Stephen Viars
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493428837
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Bitterness is a destructive poison, yet we all struggle with it sometimes due to circumstances our sovereign God has allowed. In a world full of struggle, we must take care that difficult circumstances do not feed a bitter spirit within us. In this honest and hopeful book, pastor and counselor Stephen Viars shows you how to avoid the pitfalls of a bitter heart as you walk through our fallen world. When we learn to process bitterness biblically and effectively, we can move from life's greatest hurts to a life filled with joy.

Chaos and Grace

Author: Mark Galli
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441234306
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Book Description
It's no secret that we are addicted to control. We work to control our time, our TVs, our weight, and even our faith lives. We strive for efficiency and quantifiable results. But all that control, we soon find out, is exhausting. And it is contrary to God's plan for us. In Chaos and Grace, Mark Galli offers readers freedom from the need for control and order by reintroducing them to the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit. In this insightful book, Galli exposes our individual mistakes and the church's foibles and points the way to grace--which, as it happens, usually lies through chaos and crisis. Through Scripture he shows us that this problem is not unique to modern believers and helps us learn from the stories of God's people through the ages as they gave up and gave in to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Hurting with God

Author: Glenn Pemberton
Publisher: ACU Press
ISBN: 9780891124009
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A persuasive case for restoring the biblical language of lament in the church and in the lives of believers How do believers live out faith in prolonged seasons of pain and loss? How can we live with God when it hurts-and continues to hurt? Drawing from his own daily struggle with, chronic pain and years of reading and teaching the Psalms, Pemberton leads readers on a quest to recover a lost ancient resource for people of faith-the language of lament. This rich volume calls attention to the loss of lament in our churches, what this loss is costing us, and what might happen if we spoke and prayed the full spectrum of biblical faith languages. Book jacket.

The Care of Souls

Author: Harold L. Senkbeil
Publisher: Lexham Press
ISBN: 1683593022
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Drawing on a lifetime of pastoral experience, The Care of Souls is a beautifully written treasury of proven wisdom which pastors will find themselves turning to again and again. Harold Senkbeil helps remind pastors of the essential calling of the ministry: preaching and living out the Word of God while orienting others in the same direction. And he offers practical and fruitful adviceâ€"born out of his five decades as a pastorâ€"that will benefit both new pastors and those with years in the pulpit. In a time when many churches have lost sight of the real purpose of the church, The Care of Souls invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.

The Louder Song

Author: Aubrey Sampson
Publisher: NavPress
ISBN: 1631469037
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
Lament helps us hear God’s louder song. When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. You want to tie up pain in a pretty little package and hide it under the bed, taking it out only when you feel strong enough to face it. But grief won’t be contained. Grief disobeys. Grief explodes. In one breath, you may be able to say that God’s got this and all will be well. In the next, you might descend into fatalism. No pretending. Here, you are raw before God, an open wound. There is a pathway through this suffering. It’s not easy, but God will use it to lead you toward healing. This path is called lament. Lament leads us between the Already and the Not Yet. Lament minds the gap between current hopelessness and coming hope. Lament anticipates new creation but also acknowledges the painful reality of now. Lament recognizes the existence of evil and suffering—without any sugarcoating—while simultaneously declaring that suffering will not have the final say. In the midst of your darkest times, you will discover that lament leads you back to a place of hope—not because lamenting does anything magical, but because God sings a louder song than suffering ever could, a song of renewal and restoration.