PREACHING HOPE IN DARKNESS

Help for Pastors in Addressing Suicide from the Pulpit

SCOTT M. GIBSON & KAREN MASON

Preaching Hope in Darkness: Help for Pastors in Addressing Suicide from the Pulpit

Copyright 2020 Scott M. Gibson and Karen Mason

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at permissions@lexhampress.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Print ISBN 9781683594116

Digital ISBN 9781683594123

Library of Congress Control Number 2020943018

Lexham Editorial: Elliot Ritzema, Matthew Boffey, Kelsey Matthews

Cover Design: Christine Christophersen

To our dear friends, colleagues, and mentors

For Scott: Kenneth L. Swetland

For Karen: Raymond Pendleton

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 Understanding Suicide

CHAPTER 2 Preaching to Your Culture

CHAPTER 3 Preventing Suicide

CHAPTER 4 Preaching to Protect Against Suicide

CHAPTER 5 Pastoral Care After a Suicide Crisis

CHAPTER 6 The Funeral Sermon and Post-Suicide Care

CHAPTER 7 Young Adult and Youth Group Preaching and Teaching

CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

APPENDIX A Two Sermons That Deal with Suicide

APPENDIX B Sample Liturgy for World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10)

APPENDIX C Sample Handout for Survivors Following a Suicide

APPENDIX D Sample Response Protocol Following a Suicide

APPENDIX E Four Funeral Sermons Following a Suicide

APPENDIX F Sample Funeral Liturgy Following a Suicide

APPENDIX G Sample Letter to Youth Group Parents about the Suicide Prevention Bible Studies Series

APPENDIX H Bible Studies for Youth and Young Adults

APPENDIX I Help for Parents in Supporting Their Students Following a Suicide

INTRODUCTION

Pastors are spiritual medics. We take the phone call, then we grab our jackets and Bibles and head into the crisis. On the way our hearts ache and pound at the same time.

Lee Eclov, Pastoral Graces*

This book is a conversation between Scott and Karen, between a preacher and a suicide preventionist, and we invite you, the reader, to join the conversation. We invite you to join because of our conviction that preaching the hope of the gospel is key to protecting against suicide.

The gospel is the hope given by the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This gospel is good news, providing forgiveness of sin and a new, changed, hope-filled life and perspective found in people’s turning to Christ from their old way of life. Yet few clergy prioritize ...