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When pain is real, why is God silent? Frederick Buechner has grappled with the nature of pain, grief, and grace ever since his father committed suicide when Buechner was a young boy. He continued that search as a father when his daughter struggled with anorexia. In this essential collection of essays, including one never before published, Frederick Buechner finds that the God who might seem so silent is ever near. He writes about what it means to be a steward of our pain, and about this grace from God that seems arbitrary and yet draws us to his holiness and care. Finally he writes about the magic of memory and how it can close up the old wounds with the memories of past goodnesses and graces from God. Here now are the best of Buechner’s writings on pain and loss, covering such topics as the power of hidden secrets, loss of a dearly beloved, letting go, resurrection from the ruins, peace, and listening for the quiet voice of God. And he reveals that pain and sorrow can be a treasure—an amazing grace. Buechner says that loss will come to all of us, but he writes that we are not alone. Crazy and unreal as it may sometimes seem, God’s holy, healing grace is always present and available if we are still enough to receive it.
A Crazy, Holy Grace Leader Guide by Frederick Buechner Pdf
When pain is real, why is God silent? This brand new collection is the best of acclaimed author Frederick Buechner's essays on pain, loss, and the healing power of memories that explores God's tender grace and how to be stewards of the pain in our lives. Here now are the best of Buechner's writings on pain and loss, covering such topics as the power of hidden secrets, loss of a dearly beloved, letting go, resurrection from the ruins, peace, and listening for the quiet voice of God. And he reveals that pain and sorrow can be a treasure—an amazing grace. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the four-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
Struggle--of both the small and staggering sort--is woven throughout all our lives. It can erode our faith, strip us of hope, rob us of joy, extinguish our vitality, and diminish our capacity to love. But because God is always present and at work, seeds of redemption lie as hidden treasure buried in the ground of struggle. By taking a deeply human look at various figures in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1, Andy White shows us that the people we once may have considered unlike us because of thousands of years of separation suddenly come close in their pain, loss, and failures. He, too, comes close as a man who has faced hardships, to offer others a hand when their feet are unsteady. By digging into the lives of these biblical sojourners, White unearths hidden treasures, guides readers on a journey of self-discovery, and points the way forward, showing us ways to cultivate tenacious hope, stronger faith, and greater capacity to live and love as participants in God's ongoing redemption story.
Daily meditations taken from the works of an acclaimed novelist, essayist, and preacher who has articulated what he sees with a freshness and clarity and energy that hails our stultified imaginations.
This practical book is for people who are grieving, for people who want to support them as they undertake the painful journey of grief, and for anyone who wants to reflect on their own experiences of loss. When Alister asked Isobel, whose husband had died a few years before, what would have helped her most then, her response was immediate. ‘Someone who would walk with me. Not people who would talk at me and give me answers, but simply listen to me and walk with me.’ The grief walk. Grieving and loss are universal experiences, but how you experience grief is unique to you. In his ministry, Alister has found that models of the stages of grief are unhelpful, as is the idea of closure. Instead, he gives you permission to work through your grief in the ways, and at the times, that are helpful to you. Alister explores disenfranchised grief that occurs when we are denied the right to grieve and our loss isn’t recognised. Our lives are marked by countless losses and we all carry grief about many losses in our life. If we embrace our grief, we can journey on to something new and find fresh hope. Praise for The Grief Walk “The Grief Walk has a freshness and honesty about grief, beginning with its imaginative title and sustained until the final affirmation of hope. We all experience loss and grief in our lives. But, as Hendery writes, until we name and acknowledge a loss and recognise that we have a right to grieve, we are unable to come to terms with it. He emphasises that grief doesn’t follow a predetermined path and nor can we close it off like a tap. He describes a perceived end process of “closure” as psychobabble. While grief may not be permanently disabling, we learn to encompass it. This is not the same as closure. Grief may find expression in different physical and emotional symptoms and we can’t expect religious faith to provide a magical answer. Finding someone who listens and understands, who in a sense personifies the presence of God, can help us with the grief journey. The Grief Walk confronts the idea that grief is momentary or experienced in clearly-defined stages and points to a hope. This book is a gift for all who grieve or who walk with those who grieve.” John Meredith in Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 253 October 2020: 27 “…Far too often, people present grieving as a one-way process with well-defined stages, concluding with something they call “closure”. I strongly reject such an extremely unhelpful model. Alister does also; he is clear that your grieving is unique to you…” Rev’d Bosco Peters on Liturgy.co.nz “This book will read you as you are reading it. It is a book you will pick up and put down and pick up and put down as you find yourself walking again through parts of your life, maybe unexpectedly rediscovering boggy patches you had forgotten, or not realised are still painful… There is ancient wisdom here alongside modern psychology. There is gentleness, and there is a reality faced that grief is universal, painful, and not always an easy walk… But beware. As I read Alister’s words I found myself thinking, lamenting, crying, and laughing… I surprised myself with the depth of some of what rose to the surface for me. Ancient griefs, recent disappointments, and the ambivalent feelings that came, like fish to breathe the air again.” From the Foreword by The Rev’d Rob Ferguson Contents Title and Copyright Foreword Preface Acknowledgements How I use certain Words Authors who have Influenced Me 1 – Introduction 2 – Our Lives are Laden with Losses Acknowledging our Losses Disenfranchised Losses and Griefs 3 – Experiences of Disenfranchised Loss and Grief Grieving for Those Still Living Living Loss and Disability Relational Loss – Divorce and Dissolution Relational Loss – Ending of a Romantic Relationship Unrecognised Relationships The Loss of a Companion Animal Material Losses Infertility and Childlessness Grief in Foster Care The Losses of Miscarriage and Stillbirth Loss from Medical Termination Loss of Employment Discovering Disenfranchisement 4 – Understandings and Misunderstandings about Grief Our Loss and Grief is Unique – so Forget the Rules There’s No ‘One Size Fits All’ – so Forget Stages in Grief We Wax and Wane – so it’s Okay to Retreat from Time to Time A Continual Presence Which can Ambush us – so Forget the Timeline Continuing Bonds – So Forget about Having to Let Go Grief Doesn’t get Closed Off – so Forget about Closure Our Life has Changed – so Forget the idea of Returning to Normal We Grieve in Our Own Way – so Forget the Stereotypes 5 – Experiencing Grief More than Sadness Grief Isolates Experiencing Grief in our Body Experiencing Grief in our Emotions Experiencing Grief in our Thinking and Mental processes Experiencing Grief in our Behaviour Experiencing Grief in our Spirituality Secondary Losses and Loss of Identity When do we Need Professional Interventions? 6 – What do I say? What can I do? Sit Beside me on my Mourning Bench Some Dos and Don’ts Do Talk About the Loss It’s about Relationships Caring Companionship Silence, Tears, and Empathy 7 – Grief is about Love and Attachment Grief – the Price of Love Love as Attachment A Secure Base 8 – God and our Grief – But what Kind of God? Our Vulnerable God Good News Stories of Vulnerability, Loss, and Grief Becoming Vulnerable – Becoming like God Suffering Love that is With Us Discarding the Great Vacuum Cleaner in the Sky Jesus Began to Weep 9 – Words for our Grief – A Gift from the Psalms David’s Dirge Faith Incorporating Grief My One Companion is Darkness Challenging a Cover-up 10 – Walking with Job – A Story of Losing and Grieving The Scene is Set – Job 1:1 – 2:10 Job’s Friends – Job 2:11–13 What the Friends got Right Sitting Shiva What the Friends got Wrong Job’s Wife What Job Needed – Giving Voice to his Grief Anger and the Need to Blame Job’s Questioning Faith Containing Tensions The Climax – Job 38–41 Our Faith may be Challenged and Changed 11 – The Easter Walk Waiting in the Darkness and the Absence Gradual, Imperceptible Resurrection 12 – A Choice – Do we go Through the Pain or Around it? Stewards of our Pain A Great Freedom – How do we Respond? 13 – Our Search for Meaning after Loss Moving Grief from a Noun to a Verb What is Meaning? Reconstructing our Meaning after Loss Meaning in Love Living in a Changed World 14 – Hope Emerges Hopes and Goals Hope Isn’t a Magic Potion Our Sustaining Hope: If God is for us Selected Bibliography Also by Alister G. Hendery from Philip Garside Publishing Ltd Index About the Author Alister Hendery is an Anglican priest in Aotearoa New Zealand. Loss and grief have been a special focus of his ministry for the past 40 years. He has served as a parish priest, educator, counsellor, and funeral celebrant. These days, as well as exploring with others what loss and grief can mean for us, he ministers with faith communities in times of change. He is the author of Earthed in Hope: Dying, Death and Funerals, also from Philip Garside Publishing Ltd.
With eloquence, candor, and simplicity, a celebrated author tells the story of his father's alcohol abuse and suicide and traces the influence of this secret on his life as a son, father, husband, minister, and writer.
You probably know that Jesus did miracles, but do you know why? Reading about Jesus’ miracles is like pointing at constellations in the sky. We look at the stars themselves, not the finger pointing at them. This constellation of seven miracles in John’s Gospel shows us who Jesus was and why it matters. It is the miracle worker we’re to see, not just the miracles. Why was his turning water into wine not a party trick? Why did he walk on water instead of staying on shore? Why did he cry when raising Lazarus back to life? Each miracle in John’s narration is a story that had to be told. The Jesus you meet in these pages is full of power and compassion, glory and approachability, grace and truth. Whether you’ve known Jesus a long time, are new to faith, or just curious about him, He Made the Stars Also draws upon John’s seven sign events to show you why Jesus remains so compelling.
A practical guidebook for the inquiring layperson seeking a holistic, intelligent look at the spiritual life, and for the pastor or religious professional seeking a systematic framework and spiritual practices to re-ignite the flame of faith. Groff explains what it means to believe and what to do after you say you believe-through a unique integration of spirituality and service, heart and mind, and various faith traditions. Explore five spiritual disciplines: community, solitude, learning, service, and vocation. Great for study groups.
This bridge-building work, about the roles of pastor and preacher and how they can be effectively integrated, quickly became a classic when it was first published and has never been duplicated. The author argues that while they sometimes seem to conflict, these ministry functions share a common process and a common goal and can be synchronized around the image of "restoration." Preserving both psychological awareness and theological integrity, the preacher is invited into the pulpit with an enhanced sense of the power and influence of preaching in people's living and growing. Challenging some of the most cherished assumptions of homiletics, Dr. Nichols invites preachers to restored confidence in the importance of preaching in the formation of Christian community, spiritual growth for hurting people, and the renewal of worship as a 'communitas' experience of the divine human encounter. 'The Restoring Word' grows out of the author's lifetime of experience as a preacher, psychotherapist, and teacher. It is a deeply involving story about how the person of the preacher becomes a tool for the enactment of grace in the always mysterious process of proclaiming the Word. Therapeutically accurate, pastorally sensitive, and theologically challenging, 'The Restoring Word' walks its readers through a long neglected garden slowly and lovingly coming to life.
Learn to see God's remarkable works in the everyday ordinary of your life. Your remarkable life is happening right here, right now. You may not be able to see it--your life may seem predictable and your work insignificant until you look at your life as Frederick Buechner does. Named "the father of today's spiritual memoir movement" by Christianity Today, Frederick Buechner reveals how to stop, look, and listen to your life. He reflects on how both art and faith teach us how to pay attention to the remarkableness right in front of us, to watch for the greatness in the ordinary, and to use our imaginations to see the greatness in others and love them well. Pay attention, says Buechner. Listen to the call of a bird or the rush of the wind, to the people who flow in and out of your life. The ordinary points you to the extraordinary God who created and loves all of creation, including you. Pay attention to these things as if your life depends upon it. Because, of course, it does. As you learn to pay attention to your life and what God is doing in it, you will uncover the plot of your life's story and the sacred opportunity to connect with the Divine in each moment.
No Wonder They Call Him the Savior - by Max Lucado Pdf
Have you ever wondered what the most important part of the Bible is? Among all the do's and don'ts and shoulds and shouldn'ts, do you know what's absolutely essential? Bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado teaches us that the answer lies at the foot of the cross. Come with Max as he guides you through the drama of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, bringing to life Peter's denial, Pilate's hesitancy, and John's loyalty. No Wonder They Call Him the Savior will lead you up the hill of mankind's highest hope and remind you why he deserves to be called our Savior. In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, you'll see Jesus' final acts in a new light: His final prayer of forgiveness His plea honored His request of love His question of suffering His confession of humanity His call of deliverance The cry of completion In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max invites you to relive the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion, from the foggy garden of Gethsemane to the incandescent room of the resurrection. Let's examine this hour in history. Let's look at the witnesses. Let's listen to the voices. Let's observe the one they call the Savior. And, most of all, let's see if we can find hope in the unlikeliest place: at the cross.
Chronicles of the Cross Collection by Max Lucado Pdf
This volume includes three of Max Lucado's best-loved works: No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Six Hours One Friday, and And the Angels Were Silent. In No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, best-selling author Max Lucado invites readers to meet the blue-collar Jew whose claim altered a world and whose promise has never been equaled. Readers will come to know Jesus the Christ in a brand new way as Lucado brings them full circle to the foot of the cross and the man who sacrificed His life on it. Then, in Six Hours One Friday, readers learn that they don't have to weather life's storms alone, but that God promises to be with them no matter what they are facing. He does this because of what happened in only six hours one Friday so many years ago. Finally, come face-to-face with the Savior during His final week on earth and learn about the loving purpose and deliberate intent that went into His every action, His every word in And the Angels Were Silent.
Frederick Buechner has long been a kindred spirit to those who find elements of doubt as constant companions on their journey of faith. He is a passionate writer and preacher who can alter lives with a simple phrase. Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to your life!" is his clarion call. This theme pervades this definitive collection of sermons, delivered throughout Buechner's lifetime. Presented chronologically, they provide a clear picture of the development of his theology and thinking. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling and his compassionate pastor's heart, Secrets in the Dark will inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. Turn the pages and rediscover what it means to be thoughtful about faith. See why this renowned writer has been quoted in countless pulpits and beloved by Americans for generations.
