May 19, 2026
Mad at Death
David Faust reflects on the sorrow and anger death brings, pointing readers to Jesus’ indignation at death and the promised glory that awaits believers.
Grief & Suffering
Grief & Suffering gathers Christian Standard articles that offer comfort, perspective, and practical help for seasons of loss and pain. Here you’ll find biblical encouragement for mourning, guidance for walking through hardship, and resources for supporting others with compassion—grounded in the hope of Christ’s presence, resurrection, and final restoration. These articles aim to help readers lament honestly, endure faithfully, and cling to God’s promises when life hurts.
February 23, 2026
A Guide to Grief, Remembrance, and Love in Action
A reflection on grief, love, and legacy—through a father’s restored classics and a mother’s handmade kindness after loss. With Scripture and practical ideas, it offers tangible ways to honor a loved one while taking small steps forward.
September 22, 2025
Notable Deaths
Coroners sometimes perform a post-mortem to determine the cause of death. It might be wise to conduct our own “pre-mortems” to make sure death doesn’t catch us unprepared. Only Christ Jesus can keep us secure when we arrive at life’s final deadline.
May 19, 2025
Pausing to Remember
Communion provides a pause each Lord’s Day to refresh us and to encourage us to run our race faithfully for Jesus “until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
March 4, 2025
Recalling Sam Lilley, Church Member and Victim of January 29 Air Tragedy at Reagan National Airport
Sam Lilley was the co-pilot on American Eagle Flight 5342, which collided with a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The tragedy left no survivors.
March 2, 2025
Never the Same Again: How a Personal Encounter with the Resurrected Christ Changes Us
Because of the resurrection, the dark clouds of every sinner’s guilt, shame, and regret part making way for the bright rays of reconciliation, renewal, and restoration to burst through.
December 21, 2024
The Last and the First
Matt Branum, a church planter and minister, tells the story of a Christmas that turned out to be both a last and a first.
The Gift of Pain
Micah Odor writes, "Every meaningful period of growth in my life has been a time of tremendous pain" . . .
March 8, 2024
About Suicide: I’m Still Learning from My Son’s
LeRoy Lawson writes that his book about his son's suicide "contains both sides of a conversation three decades long; [Lane] talks first in his final communication to us. Then I answer him. He writes with confidence, at peace with his decision and comfortable with his reasons for it. I am not so sure of myself, either as father or as minister . . ."
December 5, 2023
Oh, for Five More Minutes with Grandma Pat
Six months after her great-grandmother's death, Elizabeth Merold remembers "Grandma Pat's" unique ways and loving notes. . . . "What I wouldn’t do for five more minutes with that woman." . . .
November 1, 2023
The Best Next Step in a Crisis
By Megan Rawlings When I was in my twenties, I experienced what I now refer to as my “quarter life crisis.” Looking back, I suspect that many of my friends who had recently graduated college or just started their lives as adults in the workforce were also going through this existential crisis. The pressure of knowing what I would do for the rest of my life was one of the heaviest pressures I have experienced to date. MY ‘CALLING’ I started college with the “calling” to be a medical missionary. I was under the impression that my purpose in God’s
October 9, 2023
Identity Loss
Satan has attempted to rob us of our standing as people created in the image of God, but Jesus . . .
October 6, 2023
Healing Strategies for Your Crushed Pastor
Alan Scott says he's aware of many ministers who are "struggling . . . tired . . . weary . . . perhaps even crushed." He offers several "healing strategies" to help and encourage your pastor.
September 10, 2023
How to Help a Friend Grieving a Suicide Loss
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 48,183 Americans ended their lives by suicide in 2021, a figure that has increased by about 35 percent since 2000. . . . Here are seven ways to help those grieving a suicide death. . . .
July 10, 2023
Football, Church Help Sustain Higgins Family after Tragedy
Trevor and Jeri Ann Higgins lost their son, Evan, in 2019. In the time since, Trevor's bond with his Pana (Ill.) High School football squad and his service as worship pastor with First Christian Church (Moweaqua, Ill.) have helped sustain the family. . . .
July 1, 2023
God’s Answer in My Distress
My Cancer Battle Has Made Me a Better Preacher and Leader
July 1, 2023
Learning About Alzheimer’s, Myself, and God
(And Determined to Remember the Forgetting) By Mark A. Taylor I sat with my friend Joan, a gentle, pretty 83-year-old, who is the picture of Southern grace and charm. She was her husband’s caregiver for the seven years he suffered with Alzheimer’s disease, until he died in April 2021. I was interviewing Joan for my website, Unchosen Journey: A Caregiver’s Walk with Alzheimer’s (www.unchosenjourney.com). “How did you cope with his death?” I asked her. “Our 59 years were good years,” she said. “But today I want to remember the hard times.” “Why?” I responded. I wasn’t expecting this—or her reaction
Pushing Back Darkness
How the Lord Has Shaped and Refined Me Through My Wife’s Tragic Death
November 14, 2022
Thanksgiving in All Circumstances
This time of year is always festive. Spirits seem a little brighter and thanksgiving flows freely in our hearts. Or does it?
January 26, 2022
Charlie and Faith Russell Share Their COVID-19 Journey
Not long after Charlie and Faith Russell celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, and only days before the birth of their first child, Charlie came down with COVID-19. That was in late July 2021. Charlie was hospitalized for weeks; he calls his recovery "a miracle."
