Words of Comfort and Cheer


Book Description




Comfort for Christians


Book Description

The work unto which the servant of Christ is called is many sided. Not only is he to preach the Gospel to the unsaved, to feed God's people with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15), and to take up the stumbling stone out of their way (Isa. 57:14), but he is also charged to "cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression" (Isa. 58:1 and cf. 1 Tim. 4:2). While another important part of his commission is stated in, "Comfort ye, My people, said your God" (Isa. 40:1). What an honorable title, "My people!" What an assuring relationship: "your God!" What a pleasant task: "comfort ye My people!" A threefold reason may be suggested for the duplicating of the charge. First, because sometimes the souls of believers refuse to be comforted (Psa. 77:2), and the consolation needs to be repeated. Second, to press this duty the more emphatically upon the preacher's heart, that he need not be sparing in administering cheer. Third, to assure us how heartily desirous God himself is that His people should be of good cheer (Phil. 4:4). God has a "people," the objects of His special favor: a company whom He has taken into such intimate relationship unto Himself that He calls them "My people." Often they are disconsolate: because of their natural corruption's, the temptations of Satan, the cruel treatment of the world, the low state of Christ's cause upon earth. The "God of all comfort" (2 Cor. 1:3) is very tender of them, and it is His revealed will that His servants should bind up the brokenhearted and pour the balm of Gilead into their wounds. What cause have we to exclaim "Who is a God like unto Thee!" (Micah 7:18), who has provided for the comfort of those who were rebels against His government and transgressors of His Law. The contents of this little volume have appeared from time to time in our monthly magazine during the last thirty years. They were, previously, sermons which we preached long ago in the U.S.A. and Australia. Here and there is an expression (especially where Prophecy is touched upon) that we would not use today; but since the Lord was pleased to bless them in their original form to not a few of His distressed people, we have not revised them. May it please Him to speak peace by them to afflicted souls today, and the glory shall be His alone. Pink (1890-1953) was a Baptist Preacher in England, Australia, and the United States. He is most famous for his book The Sovereignty of God. After its advent, he, assisted by his editor Mr. I. Herendeen, launched his yearly publication, Studies in the Scriptures in 1921. These continued until his death, totaling altogether 33 volumes of 288 pp. each. Most of Pink's books are taken from these yearly volumes (written monthly in 24 page format).




The Art of Comforting


Book Description

We live in an increasingly "virtual" world in which it can be tempting to skip making that true, human connection with someone in pain. Even though our thoughts might be with them, we lack the confidence to reach out, worrying that we will say or do the "wrong" thing. In this practical, step-by-step guide to what she calls "the art of comforting," Val Walker draws on numerous interviews with "Master Comforters" to guide readers in gently and gracefully breaking through the walls that those who are suffering often erect around themselves. Interviewees include inspiring individuals such as Alicia Rasin, who, as a victim's advocate for the city of Richmond, Virginia, has devoted her life to comforting grieving families devastated by homicide, gang violence, and other traumatic experiences; or Patricia Ellen, who, as a grief counselor and outreach director at the Center for Grieving Children in Portland, Maine, appears on site to support and comfort children, staff, and parents when a school is facing a death, violence, or other crises. All of us will, at one time or the other, be called upon to offer warmth and support to another human being who is suffering-this book will show you how to answer the call with an open heart.




On Consolation


Book Description

Timely and profound philosophical meditations on how great figures in history, literature, music, and art searched for solace while facing tragedies and crises, from the internationally renowned historian of ideas and Booker Prize finalist Michael Ignatieff When we lose someone we love, when we suffer loss or defeat, when catastrophe strikes—war, famine, pandemic—we go in search of consolation. Once the province of priests and philosophers, the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary, and the places where it was offered, houses of religion, are often empty. Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts, humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science, ideology, and the therapeutic. How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief? In a series of lapidary meditations on writers, artists, musicians, and their works—from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus, Anna Akhmatova, and Primo Levi—esteemed writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience. Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid, On Consolation takes those stories into the present, movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of our precarious twenty-first century.




On Grief and Grieving


Book Description

Ten years after the death of Elisabeth K bler-Ross, this commemorative edition of her final book combines practical wisdom, case studies, and the authors' own experiences and spiritual insight to explain how the process of grieving helps us live with loss. Includes a new introduction and resources section. Elisabeth K bler-Ross's On Death and Dying changed the way we talk about the end of life. Before her own death in 2004, she and David Kessler completed On Grief and Grieving, which looks at the way we experience the process of grief. Just as On Death and Dying taught us the five stages of death--denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--On Grief and Grieving applies these stages to the grieving process and weaves together theory, inspiration, and practical advice, including sections on sadness, hauntings, dreams, isolation, and healing. This is "a fitting finale and tribute to the acknowledged expert on end-of-life matters" (Good Housekeeping).




Comfort for the Day


Book Description

Your heart is crushed. Finding it even difficult to breathe, you wake up to the reality that someone you treasure is gone. Death has stolen your loved one from your arms. Now the seemingly insurmountable difficult work of living through grief begins. Is there anything that can soothe this overwhelming ache? Is there a safe place for the anger? Will depression become a constant companion? Does the painful malaise last forever? How can I just get through the day? Comfort for the Day offers a personalized grief recovery experience, drawn from the source of all comfort– God. His Word will become a guide and friend as the reader lives through the confusing and painful seasons of grief. Comfort for the Day is what each grieving heart longs for. Used either as a gift for the bereaved or for your own personal needs, Comfort for the Day brings real help for really hurting people.




A GRIEF OBSERVED (Based on a Personal Journal)


Book Description

A Grief Observed is a collection of Lewis's reflections on the experience of bereavement following the death of his wife, Joy Davidman, in 1960. The book was first published under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk as Lewis wished to avoid identification as the author. Though republished in 1963 after his death under his own name, the text still refers to his wife as "H" (her first name, which she rarely used, was Helen). The book is compiled from the four notebooks which Lewis used to vent and explore his grief. He illustrates the everyday trials of his life without Joy and explores fundamental questions of faith and theodicy. Lewis's step-son (Joy's son) Douglas Gresham points out in his 1994 introduction that the indefinite article 'a' in the title makes it clear that Lewis's grief is not the quintessential grief experience at the loss of a loved one, but one individual's perspective among countless others. The book helped inspire a 1985 television movie Shadowlands, as well as a 1993 film of the same name. Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. He is best known for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.




Consolation


Book Description

For most of us, mourning is something to be endured. We are often merely passive spectators of our own pain, and we see our grief period as a grim mountain that we must climb over. But Maurice Lamm tells us it can be much more. Bereavement, he says, can often be an enriching experience, even as it is a sorrowful and often tragic one. Our faith in a higher power can move us to not only live through the present but also to stride into the future with renewed energy and a revitalized outlook on life. In this, his sequel to the best-selling The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning (over 350,000 copies sold), Rabbi Lamm helps mourners not just get through their grief, but also grow through it. He gently steers mourners on the path that allows their sorrow to teach them important lessons about life. And he shows consolers how to listen and speak with their hearts so that they can provide real comfort to others. His marvelous insights on the days of shiva, the year of kaddish, and the lovingkindness of others reveal the richness and true purpose of Jewish mourning rituals and customs. They prepare us to receive consolation and ready us for the journey that will take us beyond grief. His "Words for a Loss When at a Loss for Words" is a treasury of readings for finding and giving comfort by transforming the spiritual ideas of an ancient faith into contemporary language. Here there are stories and fables that illuminate our complicated lives, meditations from the depths of human experience, and a gallery of unforgettable images that speak to our souls during times of loss. Rabbi Lamm's words will help all who walk the path of grief to find their way to consolation--and then beyond, to an appreciation of the blessings and opportunities that present themselves to us when we confront loss. And they can even take us further, to discover the celebrated Jewish art--of wringing blessing out of tragedy.




Living with Grief


Book Description

Life will be rudely interrupted by death. There's no way around that truth; no one is immune from death. Christians, though comforted by the promise of the resurrection, still are vulnerable to the emotional and physical effects that come with grief. Those dealing with grief often just need permission to grieve, yet retain hope and comfort for the future. Often, they just want someone to hear their voice. Author Kristian Kincaid, a pastor for more than 30 years who has counseled countless griving people and who has experienced the grief of losing his sister on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, understands and will listen. He takes readers on a journey that acknowledges that pain is real and is hard, and that struggle can last years, but also that grievers do not grieve along and that there is hope: that Jesus lives and death has died.




The God of All Comfort


Book Description

God isn’t angry with you—He longs to give you peace and joy. That’s the message of Hannah Whitall Smith’s important and powerful book The God of All Comfort. Abridged and updated for today’s reader, this late nineteenth-century study holds a well-deserved spot among the Christian classics, reminding God’s children of His many promises of comfort, help, and love. Addressing God’s powerful names, His role as shepherd and dwelling place, and His complete sufficiency for human needs, The God of All Comfort will show you that anxiety, fear, and insecurity are unnecessary feelings for Christians.