A Sacred Sorrow Experience Guide: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament [Paperback]

Michael Card (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2005

With this Bible study, you and your small group can fully grasp the importance of voicing your heart's joys and pains to the Father. Job, David, Jeremiah, and Jesus Himself understood the necessity of lament.

Also available: A Sacred Sorrow

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Card, a singer and songwriter, maintains that Christians have forgotten the language of weeping and so are "robbed of our true identity before God"; he prescribes an antidote through paradigms of lament found in Scripture. When sin and dire circumstances cause us to doubt God's hesed, or loving-kindness, lament is a proper response to despair. Without lament, Card claims, we cannot adequately confess sin, worship or experience another's pain. With this in mind, Card illustrates the hows and whys of sorrowful prayer in the lives of Job, David, Jeremiah and Jesus. Long on exposition (what does it mean that "the Word became flesh?") with a touch of speculation (David's personality is attributed in part to his being a youngest child), these chapters chart terrain that will seem foreign to proponents of easy, feel-good Christianity. Especially jarring are sections about imprecatory Psalms ("The righteous will be glad... when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked") and the book of Lamentations, which describes compassionate women boiling their own children. Card illuminates a neglected, difficult doctrine, in the process accomplishing his goal of providing "assurance that we can lament... and a fuller understanding of what that can mean." Appendixes summarize biblical and extra-biblical laments. (Feb. 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Expand your definition of worship. Have you ever thought God didn't want to hear your prayers of complaint? Did you know it is okay to voice your concerns, your heartache-even your disappointment? The Bible gives hundreds of examples of godly men and women who cried out to Him. And God was moved by their tears. On your own or with a group, study the lost language of lament. Go even deeper into the eye-opening message of A Sacred Sorrow and discover what's been missing in your prayers and worship. With this Bible study, you and your small group can fully grasp the importance of voicing your heart's joys and pains to the Father. Job, David, Jeremiah, and Jesus Himself understood the necessity of lament. Learn why it's still a vital part of the worship experience.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (February 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576836681
• ISBN-13: 978-1576836682
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have asked God, "Why?" look for help here, April 29, 2005

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Ms. Kathryn Houseman Lobert (Arlington, TX USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Paperback)

I have loved Michael Card's music for years.His songs are not just musically interesting, but spiritually challenging. They make me think about who God is, who I am in Him,what does He want from my life, and how do I respond to the gift of salvation through Christ? I should have known that his books would be the same. He is not just a singer, not just an author, he is a scholar - and, fortunately, an eminently readable one. I came to this book through a recent personal tragedy. I thought I had long gotten past asking God "why" but this time, I asked, I cried, I accused - and reading this book, I find I am in good company. Card takes the lives of Job, David, Jeremiah, and Jesus and shows how desperately they use lament when communicating with God during times of great suffering. Each of these men had times in their lives when they asked either "why, God?" or "where are you, God?" I was challenged to see these men's lives, their faith and God's love for them and for me in ways I could never have imagined. In today's modern world of Christianity we have shortchanged God and Scripture by leaving out crying to the Lord from the very depths of our pain and souls. We instead settle for shallow answers such as "well, it must have just been God's will," "God must really love you to allow you to experience such a tragedy" and other really (in my opinion) stupid responses. When a child dies, for example, the family does not want to hear that "God needed an extra special angel," they want to cry out to God in the pain - why did you take our child? where were you when this happened? When we take the time to give voice to our pain through the lost language of lament, only then are we open enough to God for Him to reveal Himself to us and teach us how to worship Him. Life as a Christian was never promised to be easy, we are guaranteed to suffer - and we have to go to the author of life with the full force of our pain to ever find any peace. By our definitions, it was not fair for Saul to want to kill David, for Job to suffer his horrific losses, for Jeremiah to see the destruction of that which he loved, and especially, for Jesus to go to the cross. It is through lament and reaching out for God's grace and loving kindness THROUGH their pain that God could reach them, teach them who he is,allow them to return to worship and accept His will instead of theirs.It is through our lament that God can reach us and teach us more of who He is and remind us that we cannot see enough of what He sees to begin to define "fair." Some of these concepts are hard and need prayerful study, but the time invested is worth every second. Besides the Bible, there are three books which should be on every Christian's reading list - What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, and A Sacred Sorrow by Michael Card. There are other WONDERFUL books and I can't stop reading, but these books can teach us to reach new, higher, and deeper levels in faith and love for God.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Faith-Building Experience, March 30, 2005

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Robert Rahrle (Jonesboro, AR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Paperback)

Michael Card has written another excellent book that can strengthen your faith. He always has insights that first, make you think, "Where did he get that?" and then, after you check with the scriptural text, cause you to understand the concept better. He points out that some of the most towering figures of the Bible, notably Job, David, Jeremiah, and even Jesus poured out their laments before the Father. These laments often included feelings that even 21st century Americans have. It is comforting to know that these natural feelings can be expressed and have the potential to make a person stronger. How does my faith compare to these Biblical giants? I think I know now.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book you didn't know you needed, October 8, 2005

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DC (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Paperback)

Mike has crafted a work on an issue of critical importance that nevertheless is largely ignored by the church. "Sacred Sorrow" is not so much a theological treatise as an intimate study of the vital place of lament in the lives of God's people in the past and today.

True lament always leads toward worship, turning one's focus from self to God. A way to true healing of soul and spirit.

In addition to the core material the author has included extensive resources giving insight and direction in learning the art of biblical lament.

His investment in careful study, meditation and writing make this book most worthwhile.