A Word from Bob: I’ve taken today’s blog post on 12 Biblical Counseling Resources on Grieving with Hope from The Annual Guide to Biblical Counseling Resources—2019 Edition which includes 690 resources on scores of biblical counseling and Christian living topics. The entire 160-page resource document is available here.
Grief: Grieving with Hope
Eyrich, Howard. Grief: Learning to Live with Loss
Many Christians do not handle grief well. Howard Eyrich shares counsel from God’s Word to show you how to work through your grief, emerging on the other side growing and maturing.
Groves, Elizabeth. Becoming a Widow: The Ache of Missing Your Other Half
No matter whether your husband’s death was expected or sudden, your loss is a shock. Your world will never again be the same. You wonder how you can go on without him. How will you manage the details of a life you built together? How do you get through each day? Through the lens of her own experience of losing her husband, Elizabeth Groves helps connect you to the rich tenderness of Christ’s love and daily provision for you in Becoming a Widow. Firmly grounding you in His constant presence, she carefully guides you through the process of grieving and beginning to move forward with your life.
Guthrie, Nancy. Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow
Nancy Guthrie gently invites readers to lean in along with her to hear Jesus speak understanding and insight into the lingering questions we all have about the hurts of life: What was God’s involvement in this, and why did he let it happen? Why hasn’t God answered my prayers for a miracle? Can I expect God to protect me? Does God even care? This questioning is not a bad, but instead an opportunity. It’s a chance to hear with fresh ears the truth in the promises of the gospel we may have misapplied. It lets us retune our souls to the purposes of God we may have misunderstood.
Kellemen, Bob. God’s Healing for Life’s Losses: How to Find Hope When You’re Hurting
Are you ready for real, raw, honest, and hopeful conversation about suffering, loss, and grief—from a Christian perspective? When life’s losses invade your world, learn how to face suffering face-to-face with God. God’s Healing for Life’s Losses is the perfect gift book for those dealing with any type of loss and suffering. Biblical and relevant, each chapter includes personal reflection questions and small group discussion questions.
Kellemen, Bob. Grief: Walking with Jesus
This thirty-one-day devotional booklet guides you on a journey through the gospels. Page-by-page and day-by-day, you’ll walk with Jesus as He models how to cling to the Father as He faces suffering, loss, grief, and death. Jesus is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and He is your sympathetic High Priest. So, He not only models godly grieving, Jesus also grieves with you. Grief: Walking with Jesus is ideal for the person who wants to grow closer to Christ while facing life’s most excruciating losses.
Martin, Albert. Grieving, Hope, and Solace: When a Loved One Dies in Christ
Here is a tender blending of memoir and theology, a joining of heart and mind, a sober yet joyful consideration of Scripture in the face of one of life’s deepest and most grievous trials. What happens to those who die as Christians? What do they immediately experience? What is their existence like right now? What will happen to them when Christ returns to earth? These are the questions and concerns that faced Pastor Albert Martin following the death of his wife. He knew that if he were to grieve in a way that glorified God, he needed to know the answers to those questions, as clearly as possible, directly from Scripture.
Showalter, Ryan. Grieving the Loss of Your Child: Comfort for Your Broken Heart
The unthinkable has happened. Your child is gone, and you are left with a gaping hole in your heart and in your life. How could this have happened? How is it possible that you have outlived your child? Ryan Showalter understands the magnitude of grief and pain that has entered your life. With compassion, grace, and a pastor’s heart, he walks with you through the valley of the shadow of death and leads you toward the comfort only God can provide.
Tripp, Paul. Grief: Finding Hope Again
No matter what the circumstances, death shakes us to the core. It seems so wrong, and it is! We long for comfort, but we don’t know where to look. Can God really help when we are overwhelmed with grief? With compassion and biblical wisdom, Paul Tripp shows us how to think and what to do when death enters our door. He reminds us that we have a Savior who knows our sorrows, hears our cries, and promises to one day wipe away all tears.
Weems, Reggie. Help! My Baby Has Died
The greatest grief any parent can endure is the death of a child. No other human experience compares to it. Words are insufficient to describe the emotion. This booklet is offered as encouragement from one fellow sufferer to another. It is brief and will not answer every question about your experience or your baby. But it does answer one very important question. There is indeed a God, and He is faithful and worthy of your trust, even now—especially now. He is the eternal, inextinguishable hope for grieving families.
Grief: Comforting the Grieving
Croft, Brian, and Phil Newton. Conduct Gospel-Centered Funerals: Applying the Gospel at the Unique Challenges of Death
The phone rings: “Pastor, can you do my mother’s funeral?” Or, “Please help us―our baby just died.” Death comes unexpectedly, giving you two-to-three days to prepare a sermon―in the midst of caring for a grieving family. This book walks a pastor through the logistics of memorial services, burials, and working with funeral homes―using the four P’s: Plan, Prepare, Preach, and Perform. It shows how to magnify Christ and the gospel in the midst of all the details, demands, and sorrow that surrounds the death of a loved one.
Guthrie, Nancy. What Grieving People Wish You Knew About What Really Helps (and What Really Hurts)
When someone we know is grieving, we want to help. But sometimes we stay away or stay silent, afraid that we will do or say the wrong thing, that we will hurt instead of help. In this straightforward and practical book, Nancy Guthrie provides us with the insight we need to confidently interact with grieving people. Drawing upon the input of hundreds of grieving people, as well as her own experience of grief, Nancy offers specifics on what to say and what not to say, and what to do and what to avoid. Tackling touchy topics like talking about heaven, navigating interactions on social media, and more, this book will equip readers to support those who are grieving with wisdom and love.
Tautges, Paul. Comfort Those Who Grieve: Ministering God’s Grace in Times of Loss
Death is not foreign territory that ministers of grace walk upon. As a result, “Death,” writes Paul Tautges, “provides a natural opportunity not only for ministry to others, but also for personal growth in ministers.” Church shepherds must not waste these precious and painful occasions that God provides for the demonstration of mercy and the advantage of the gospel. This book is a treasure chest of pastoral theology that equips ministers to reach out to those who grieve with the Christ-centered comfort of God.
Join the Conversation
What additional biblical counseling resources would you recommend for grief, grieving with hope, and comforting the grieving?
