Stages of Grief: Introduction - Job 1:1-2:10

Since we're approximately half way through with our preaching series through the book of Judges, we're going to take a short break and do a six-week mini-series on the topic of grief. We'll return to the book of Judges after the mini-series has been completed.

We're going to use the book of Job as the text for our mini-series on grief. If ever there was a man who grieved, it was Job. And there is much we can learn about grieving from studying Job.

According to secular (and way too many "Christian") psychologists,there are five stages to the grieving process. These stages are: (1) Denial, (2) Anger, (3) Bargaining, (4) Depression and (5) Acceptance. The psychologists tell us that the normal grieving process requires a person to go through all five of these stages, although not necessarily in that particular order. But is that really true? Did Job, a righteous man, experience all five stages of grieving? Must we, when we are faced with grief, experience all five of these stages?

Our sermon text for this coming Sunday is Job 1:1-2:10. We'll define what grief is and familiarize ourselves with the grievous losses that Job suffered. Then, in the five weeks that follow, we'll address each of the "Five Stages of Grief" and analyze them from the perspective of Job. In so doing, we should arrive at an understanding of what righteous grief look like.