Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament (Vroegop)

Author:

Vroegop, Mark

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SKU:

9781433561481

Publisher:

Crossway

Pages:

224

Binding:

Paperback

Description
Specifications

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.

Read Chapter 1

Table of Contents:

Foreword: Joni Eareckson Tada
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Life in a Minor Key | A Personal Journey

Part 1: Learning to Lament | Psalms of Lament

Keep Turning to Prayer | Psalm 77
Bring Your Complaints | Psalm 10
Ask Boldly | Psalm 22
Choose to Trust | Psalm 13

Part 2: Learning from Lament | Lamentations

A Broken World and a Holy God | Lamentations 1-2
Hope Springs from Truth Rehearsed | Lamentations 3
Unearthing Idols | Lamentations 4
A Roadmap to Grace | Lamentations 5

Part 3: Living with Lament | Personal and Community Applications

Making Lament Personal
Let Us Lament

Conclusion: Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy | The Journey Ahead
Appendix 1 Twenty Complaints
Appendix 2 Psalms of Lament
Appendix 3 Learning-to-Lament Worksheet Appendix 4 But, Yet, And
Bibliography
General Index
Scripture Index

Author

Mark Vroegop (MDiv, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a conference speaker, a council member with the Gospel Coalition, a trustee of Cedarville University, and the author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy. Mark blogs at markvroegop.com.

Endorsements

“I had never read a book like this before. If you are hurting or trying to help someone who is, or if you are attempting to lead your church to recover and experience what God’s Word teaches about lament, this is a book you will want to read.” -Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Born in a father’s grief and marked with a pastor’s wisdom, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercyteaches each of us and the church how to pray along the journey of loss and despair. Vroegop presents biblical guidelines for bringing honest complaint and bold petition before God and for choosing to steadfastly trust in the One whose mercies never end.”

-M. Daniel Carroll R., Blanchard Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College

“Too often Christians feel the pressure to pretend the gospel diminishes pain, while others lament their pain void of biblical truth and hope. I have longed for years for a book to demonstrate a balance on this issue. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy captures beautifully the unique and powerful grace of the gospel in Christian lament. The book is well written, winsome, and refreshingly transparent. I wept as I read it.”

-Brian Croft, Senior Pastor, Auburndale Baptist Church, Louisville; Founder, Practical Shepherding; Senior Fellow, Church Revitalization, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary