Practice of Lament | November 5-11, 2023
Lesson: Practice of Lament | November 5-11, 2023
Conversation Starter
How do you respond to current crises in the world and or difficulties in your own life or those close to you?
Previous Week Review
Review the passages and practices from last week’s lesson. Don’t skip this step even if people are reluctant to respond as it’s vital to discuss how each week’s topic is being practiced during the week.
Leader reading and Discussion
Read the following to the group. This is from Adele Calhoun in the book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook.
“Learning what to do with our pain and grief is a large part of the Christian journey. Culture says, “Buck up. Get a grip. Control your emotions. Don’t feel. Don’t talk. Stuff the pain. Pretend or medicate if you have to—but get over it and move on. Christian culture can say, “If you are full of faith, you won’t get hurt, confused, and discouraged. You won’t feel hopeless or have a life filled with pain and loss.”
Discuss: What are your thoughts about the quote? In what ways do you relate? What ways do you not relate?
Read: The books of Psalms and Lamentations are full of laments where the authors lay out their pain. Sometimes the words are for the community they are a part of, which is emphasized in Lamentations and more individual concerns in Psalms. Review these passages and discuss the two types of prayers.
· Psalm 4: Individual prayer
· Lamentations 5: Community prayer
After discussing these passages, take some time to pray together about the crises in our world and if anyone has a crisis, pray in lament for them.
Handout: leader passes out the practices for this week and reviews them with the group.
Handout: Practice of Lament | November 5-11, 2023
Practice this week: These are ideas, the important thing is for you to practice what you are learning in some way.
· Read and reflect on one or more of these community and individual laments from the Psalms, and then offer your own prayer to God.
o Community: 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80
o Individual: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27
· Take time to write a personal lament that you may share with the group next week.
· Take a walk and talk to God about your disappointments, pain, grief sadness or anger.
· If you are currently in a time of sadness, try to feel and listen to your pain. Don’t ignore it or push it down, just accept it. After reflection, write down your thoughts and share them with God to see if you feel any relief.
· Find a few people who are struggling with current world events and together pray for the people involved and ask for Gods intervention in the situations. Be careful to look beyond divisive politics, instead focusing on the pain felt by people because of political decisions.
Preparation for next week: Come to the community next week ready to share something from your practice this week.