Encouragement

“1. Give your pastor and his family a weekend getaway…. 3. Catalog his books…. 7. Make a personal commitment to speak well of him—and choose not to listen to those who speak otherwise.” - The Baptist Paper

“I cannot tell you how often I’ve turned to these biblical texts to strengthen my faith in a battle. Maybe they’ll help you, too” - Chuck Lawless

“As one who greatly benefited from those in this role following the untimely death of my wife of 50 years in December 2021, here are a few suggestions based on what was most helpful to me.” - Lifeway

“A pastor’s work is never done…. Sermon preparation is difficult work…. Seldom is a pastor not at least ‘on call.’… A word of encouragement is often unexpected and surprising.” - Chuck Lawless

“ ‘I offer two pieces of wisdom… Never be discouraged and never be a discourager.’ I have thought deeply about this counsel and have decided it is good—mostly good.” - Challies

“intellectual solutions weren’t what Lewis needed in those moments. His arguments hadn’t lost their rationality; they’d lost their emotional weight. In the face of his wife’s death, they now felt hollow.” - TGC

“someone… whose faith is under fire from great trials or a particular attack from the tempter. How would you minister to this person? Paul gives us a model in his letter to the church in Thessalonica.” - Colin Smith

“Think about words…We tend to recall the painful ones more than the affirming ones—so we must work harder to encourage others with regularity.” - Chuck Lawless

“ ‘comfort’ is not the normal way that verb gets translated in the New Testament. Most often, this extremely common verb, parakaleō, gets translated [as] ‘encourage,’ ‘exhort,’ or ‘urge,’ but only rarely as ‘comfort.’” - Kenneth Berding