Following Tom and Larissa hosting the Bereavement Journey, we wanted to explore how bereavement affects our faith in the services on 14th and 28th April.

While some bereaved Christians report that God gets them through the difficult situation they find themselves in, others regularly report that they:

Find it difficult to pray;
Question God’s goodness;
Experience a barrier between themself and God;
Need to re-evaluate their faith following the test of their bereavement.

Others report finding church a difficult place to be after a loved one has died.

In the light of all this we wanted to explore two verses which are frequently heard unhelpfully in the light of bereavement and we wanted to look at this in our preaching.

Today I will be looking at Jeremiah 29: 4-14 and honing in on verse 11:

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

We haven’t set a date for bringing this to Emmanuel but we will do so asap!