One of the most difficult tasks that may confront a pastor is the preaching of a funeral homily. What are the words that will provide comfort and encouragement to the family and friends of the deceased? What words will be faithful to the message of the gospel and the community of faith? William Powell Tuck, author of the practical guide to preaching, Overcoming Sermon Block and Holidays, Holy Days, and Special Daysdraws on his years of experience, training, and teaching to provide some examples of funeral homilies that can help young pastors to prepare for everything from joyful celebrations of a long life well lived to the memory of life tragically shortened. But this book is not just useful for pastors. Reading these homilies will provide you with insight into understand grief. Whether you are dealing with loss yourself, or looking for ways to help friends or family, you will find insights and encouragement in the homilies in this book.

One of the most difficult tasks that may confront a pastor is the preaching of a funeral homily. What are the words that will provide comfort and encouragement to the family and friends of the deceased? What words will be faithful to the message of the gospel and the community of faith? William Powell Tuck, author of the practical guide to preaching, Overcoming Sermon Block and Holidays, Holy Days, and Special Days draws on his years of experience, training, and teaching to provide some examples of funeral homilies that can help young pastors to prepare for everything from joyful celebrations of a long life well lived to the memory of life tragically shortened. But this book is not just useful for pastors. Reading these homilies will provide you with insight into understand grief. Whether you are dealing with loss yourself, or looking for ways to help friends or family, you will find insights and encouragement in the homilies in this book.

The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future.

Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

Six scholars trace the role of lamentation in the Old and New Testaments in A Time for Sorrow: Recovering the Practice of Lament in the Life of the Church, reflecting on the theological significance of lament, affirming the ongoing relevance of lamentation in the life of the church, and exploring its biblical roots and application in church practice. In a church era dominated by positive thinking and slick, upbeat worship, even mentioning the word lamentation is apt to cause a dismissive, disinterested shrug. But Christians still suffer, and this suffering is left mute when the church fails to integrate biblical lament in contemporary church practice. A Time for Sorrow looks to address this by recovering the biblical practice of bringing our pain before God in an honest and faithful manner. In this multiauthor work, learn about the role of lamentation in the Old and New Testaments, reflect on the theological significance of lament, and finish with thoughts on lament and pastoral practice today.

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.

At the age of thirty-nine, Christian theologian Todd Billings was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable cancer. In the wake of that diagnosis, he began grappling with the hard theological questions we face in the midst of crisis: Why me? Why now? Where is God in all of this? This eloquently written book shares Billings's journey, struggle, and reflections on providence, lament, and life in Christ in light of his illness, moving beyond pat answers toward hope in God's promises. Theologically robust yet eminently practical, it engages the open questions, areas of mystery, and times of disorientation in the Christian life. Billings offers concrete examples through autobiography, cultural commentary, and stories from others, showing how our human stories of joy and grief can be incorporated into the larger biblical story of God's saving work in Christ.