Showing titles in Death & Grief

The promises of the Christian gospel are never more precious or more beautiful than in the context of death and burial. And yet current burial practices in Western society are archaic and impersonal. They fail to confront us with the reality of death, and they make it harder to process death or to grieve properly.

What do we do when we have prayed, but it seems like God is not answering? What do we do if we are believing God for a loved one’s healing, but their condition is only getting worse? Or worse yet, what do we do when tragedy strikes? The loss of a loved one, a failed marriage or business. We may begin to wonder, was it my fault? I prayed but haven’t received an answer. There are times in life when we don’t know for sure why something has happened, but God has promised He will answer. He simply tells us to return to what we know. God has not brought us this far to abandon us. In this ...

Coping with grief and loss is a part of being human, but far too often, people who allow themselves to grieve are shamed for doing so and rushed into rejoicing that their loved one is in heaven. It is time for a better way. You can struggle with grief and still love God.

Everyone has friends or family who suffer from sickness, disability, depression, or the death of a loved one. Oftentimes, the people who love the hurting also struggle in their own unique ways. Writing from the unique perspective of one who needs extra help on a daily basis, Dave Furman offers insight into the support, encouragement, and wisdom that people need when helping others. Furman draws on his own life experiences, examples from the Bible, and wisdom from Christians throughout history to address the heart and ministry of those who are called to serve others.

When a bullet pierced a calm August evening, it forced one family into tragedy and fractured lives in the small Oklahoma community. In this powerful memoir, a mom recounts her family's grief, which was ignited by one seemingly harmless decision, resulting in the senseless and violent death of her five-year-old child. Full of haunting foreshadowing and ethereal experiences, this story traverses the barbed and foreign landscape of loss and the quest for justice.It entrenches the power and impact of one choice and of one life. Ultimately, this story is one of human resiliency that is rooted in...

Life can change in an instant. “He died at the scene.” “It’s malignant.” “I want a divorce.” Certain words, whether whispered or shouted, once uttered, severs us from the life we once knew. Such words can send us into a spiritual free fall, descending into a world we never wanted to enter. Often times, words meant to comfort can feel empty. Hope seems out of our reach when loss, grief, and depression tries to smother our faith. Freefall reminds us the God we serve gave us the tools to survive our darkest hours.

You may have experienced the death of loved ones. Now you have questions: • Are they okay? • Are they themselves? • What are they doing? • Will they know you when you get to heaven? • Do you share a connection between heaven and earth? • How can you be sure to join them? And what about Judgment Day--and hell? What Happens When You Die seeks God's answers to those important questions. Does the Bible help you to understand the afterlife? Did Jesus offer any information about this crucial topic? Read and discover answers to your most important questions about the afterlife in "What...

Join David Faust as he helps answer questions such as: How should I deal with my fears about aging? What should I do when I retire? How can I enjoy a fruitful relationship with God as I grow older? How should I deal with grief when friends and family members pass away?

Resurrection Disruptions: When Death Gets Interrupted Death thinks it gets the last word. It seals tombs and locks doors. It takes prophets into the wilderness and leaves them under broom trees asking to die. It throws men into furnaces and posts guards at the door. And then it gets interrupted. Resurrection Disruptions is a complete Easter season resource for pastoral preaching, congregational worship, and small group Bible study. Eight Sundays, Easter through Pentecost. Everything a pastor, worship leader, or Christian educator needs to lead a congregation through the fifty days of ...

In this short work, G.K. Chesterton writes with characteristic vivacity as he explores the compelling paradoxes of the book of Job, as found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Armed with keen precision and incisive wit, Chesterton revels in the reversions of expectation found in this story, particularly regarding the character of God. Indeed Chesterton names the God of Job a blasphemer, an atheist...and identifies the loneliness of God as the central idea of the Hebrew Scriptures. Listeners will delight in the twists and turns of Chesterton's thought.

Your cancer diagnosis comes as a surprise and not a pleasant surprise. It is a hard and threatening jolt. Perhaps you are still in shock. Still trying to wrap your mind around the new reality of your diagnosis and what it means for your present and future. Is it possible to walk by faith on this difficult journey? David Powlison, speaking both as a counselor and as someone who has been diagnosed with cancer four times, describes the uncertainty, the physical pain, and the emotional and spiritual struggles that come with a cancer diagnosis.

In this gritty and grace-filled memoir, author Eric M. Schumacher opens his heart about his journey through loss. With honesty, humility, and hope, he puts words to a sorrow many men silently carry yet rarely name. Whether you are a grieving dad, a family member, a friend, or a church leader who wants to care well for fathers after miscarriage, Dads Hurt Too is a compassionate guide. It points beyond clichés to the lasting comfort of Christ, who entered our suffering, bore our sorrows, and promises to make all things new.

After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing and Hope is a book about grief, healing, and hope after miscarriage. Not afraid to examine the raw emotions that accompany such an experience, the author tells women that they are not alone in reacting strongly, even frighteningly, to their loss and reassures them that hope and healing will come. Having experienced multiple miscarriages herself, Karen shares excerpts from her personal journals, as well as other women’s stories, rich quotes about grieving and the healing process, and practical advice.

In the Bible, God set Ezekiel down in the middle of a valley full of bones. If reviewed on a travel website, that valley wouldn’t get more than a single star. But many of us don’t stop at a visit. We pitch a tent and buy a tract of that desolate land for ourselves—before passing it on to our children and grandchildren. Generations become mired in the valley of dry bones.

Maybe it was the sting of remarks from a relative or friend. Maybe a miscarriage ended your hopes for a family. For all of your heartbreaks, maybe you wished there was someone to help you through. For Wilma Derksen, letting go of the 15 misconceptions about grief led her back to hope. In this...

Times of disaster are unavoidable. We don’t get to choose whether or not to live in such times. We can only choose what to do with the time that we live. Will we let fear and darkness overwhelm us, or will we choose to shine the light of hope? In Hope in Any Crisis, pastor and best-selling author Bill Johnson reveals the powerful divine protection offered to you as a believer, three responses you can experience in times of uncertainty, and your responsibility to have hope in all things.

Love, Grit and Grace "You're a pearl that's been formed from the grit and grime of hardship and pain." You are the purpose of this book, my friend. Yes, you. You who are lonely. Afraid. Worried. Anxious. Sad. Hopeless. Suffering in silence. Struggling financially, mentally, emotionally or physically.

How do we walk a journey of faith while holding the earth-shattering pain of this world? Our Western culture has taught us that busy lives, more stuff, filtered reels, and inspirational quotes will relieve the pain that cuts deep into our souls. Yet, none of these soothe our agonizing questions of “Why?” to God.

Caleb Wilde, author of the acclaimed memoir Confessions of a Funeral Director, was a skeptic. The baffling stories people told him—deathbed visions of long-dead parents, visits from the other side—must be hallucinations or wishful thinking, he thought. But the more stories he heard, and the more he learned about non-Western understandings of body and spirit, the less sure he was. 

My church was struggling, and I was hurt about that. Why wasn’t God giving me growth? My son was sick, and every seizure was a gut punch. I was hurt about that. Our personal finances were being pummeled by doctor bills, I was physically exhausted from working long hours with too little recovery time, and my most reliable source of replenishment had been taken away. When a person is behind the curve on multiple fronts, it is nearly impossible to be spiritually, physically, or emotionally replenished.