A Word from Bob: I’ve taken today’s blog post from The Annual Guide to Biblical Counseling Resources—which includes 100s of resources on scores of biblical counseling and Christian living topics. The entire 115-page resource document is available here.
Cancer Support
Help! Someone I Love Has Cancer, by Deborah Howard
If you’ve just heard that someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer, you may be feeling numb. Maybe you can’t believe the diagnosis. Where do you turn for help? This mini-book provides practical information on cancer and the choices you’ll face. It points you to Jesus Christ, the only One who can give you real comfort at this time.
Help! I Have Breast Cancer, by Brenda Frields
The sense of shock at receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer is very real. Once the shock wears off, your mind seems to explode with questions. “Am I going to need chemotherapy and radiation? Am I going to be disfigured by a surgical procedure? Who will take care of my family while I’m ill? Am I going to die? Is God punishing me?” This honest account of a personal battle with breast cancer gently helps you to confront your fears, doubts, and worries, and points you toward the solid hope that is in Jesus Christ, who alone can provide peace and strength to face the future.
When Cancer Interrupts, by David Powlison
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. 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. There are no easy answers or quick fixes when you have cancer. But the presence and purposes of Christ make a decisive difference.
Don’t Waste Your Cancer, by John Piper
How are Christians called to respond when cancer invades our lives, whether our own bodies or those of our friends and family? On the eve of his own cancer surgery, John Piper writes about cancer as an opportunity to glorify God. With pastoral sensitivity, compassion, and strength, Piper gently but firmly acknowledges that we can indeed waste our cancer when we don’t see how it is God’s good plan for us and a hope-filled path for making much of Jesus. Don’t Waste Your Cancer is for anyone touched by a life-threatening illness.
End of Life Counsel
Facing Death with Hope: Living for What Lasts, by David Powlison
Is a life-threatening illness, a major life change, or just plain old age forcing you to face your own mortality? Probably, like most of us, you’d rather not think or talk about your own death. But ignoring your death won’t stop it from happening—the mortality rate is still 100%. David Powlison explains why you don’t have to take this journey alone. Jesus faced death for you, and He promises to be with you as you pass through the valley of the shadow of death. This booklet is written to help you face death honestly and know Jesus intimately.
The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come, by Rob Moll
Death will come to us all, but most of us live our lives as if death does not exist. People are living longer than ever, and medicine has made dying more complicated, more drawn out, and more removed from the experience of most people. Death is partitioned off to hospital rooms, separated from our daily lives. Most of us find ourselves at a loss when death approaches. We don’t know how to die well. Rob Moll recovers the deeply Christian practice of dying well. For centuries Christians have prepared for the “good death” with particular rituals and spiritual disciplines that have directed the actions of both the living and the dying. In this well-researched and pastorally sensitive book, Moll provides insight into death and dying issues with in-person reporting and interviews with hospice workers, doctors, nurses, bioethicists, family members and spiritual caregivers.
Departing in Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life, by Bill Davis
As an elder and hospital ethics consultant, Bill Davis has talked, walked, and prayed with scores of people through end-of-life situations. Providing a variety of case studies and biblical, ethical insight, Davis guides readers on making difficult decisions for themselves and others.
Terminal Illness Support
Help! I’m Living with Terminal Illness, by Reggie Weems
We don’t find it easy to face death, and the diagnosis of a terminal illness can be devastating. Yet every life has an expiration date. Written with a pastor’s heart for those suffering with a terminal diagnosis and for their family and friends, this mini-book conveys practical advice, spiritual consolation, and, most importantly, an eternal hope which the dying process cannot diminish and death cannot extinguish.
Join the Conversation
What additional biblical counseling resources would you recommend for cancer support, end of life counsel, and terminal illness support?
My son Paul Brug wrote a book on his spiritual battle with brain cancer Nothing Can Separate. It is available as an ebook Kindle on Amazon