Scripture is real about the depth of human experience and does not shy away from deep suffering. When preachers encounter such depths in a passage we are working on, how can we care well for our hearers? Bearing in mind that some may have experienced similar trauma or be triggered in some way by the events recorded. Here are five suggestions:

Be alert to trauma in the passage

Sometimes a passage will contain obviously traumatic accounts. The brutality of war, murder, rape, serious assault, banishment, and more. The Bible is real about such things – the brokenness of creation and the wickedness of human hearts. When we spot these, let’s be prepared to sit with them, to consider what the characters who suffer are really experiencing, and to feel the weight of the narrative as a result. This will help us to communicate the truth of the passage with appropriate care and compassion. 

Sometimes trauma is easy to miss. This could be particularly true in the gospel narratives. Our attention is rightly drawn to Jesus. But let’s not miss the stories of those he interacts with. For example, Luke 8 alone contains accounts of a life-threatening storm, a tormented man who cannot be restrained by his community and lives among the tombs, a powerless ruler unable to help his dying daughter, and a woman suffering the effects of bleeding and exclusion for the last 10 years. Paying attention to their stories only helps us in making much of the character and ministry of Christ himself.

Be alert to your own blind spots

We may not spot everything in a passage. And as we read our congregation’s lives, we definitely won’t spot every way in which they will meet this passage – what things they will find hard to hear, and how the word of God will touch their unique experiences. So, let’s reach out to others for help. 

You may have fellow leaders, or other mature believers in your congregation who are walking alongside those who have experienced deep suffering. You may also have that privilege yourself. Let’s involve others in our preparation. Let’s have those conversations with other staff or leaders where we ask, “What am I missing here? Which things are particularly hard for you or your friend from this passage? How can we help church understand these experiences better?”

Signpost lovingly

As we have those conversations, we are beginning to flag to others that these topics will be covered in an upcoming sermon. We’ll want to continue that signposting and preparation for our hearers as an expression of love for them. We can do this in those one-to-one conversations mentioned above, and more widely. If our church sends out a newsletter prior to a Sunday service, can we include something that flags up what we’ll be covering, and who people can talk to if they are concerned?  Are those who arrange children’s and youth groups aware of the theme, and is it appropriate for them to do what they normally do that week when it comes to the sermon? 

We can also do this signposting in the service itself. Here is an opportunity to care well for those who may have missed other communication, and to help prepare the whole congregation to engage with God’s word together. We might wish to cover the following: 

• What things we will read about in the passage
• What God’s heart is for those who suffer such things
• Why we are confident that God can be trusted with such things
• What options people have if this is too much for them on this occasion
• Who they can talk to afterwards

As an example, here is an introduction I gave before I preached on the final chapters of Judges, indeed before the passage was read for us:

Preach compassionately

By the time we stand up to preach such a passage, we will want our hearts to be full of compassion for our hearers. Which takes us back to our preparation. As we prepare, we will want to make especially sure that we work on our delivery as well as our content. Yes, we want to get the point of the passage right, but we also want to get our communication of it right. Spending a little more time on this aspect of your prep will be worth it.

Sit with the passage. Ask the Lord to fill you with compassion. Get some input from trusted brothers and sisters in the run-up to Sunday. Ask, “Am I coming across as compassionate here as I say this? Have I missed anything?” As we preach, we will want people to understand the truth of the passage and what it means for them. At the same time, we are communicating something in our delivery. We are demonstrating whether this church is a safe space to talk about such things, whether God truly is compassionate for sufferers, and whether this church and its leaders share his compassion.

Follow up with care

Such a compassionate sermon may well be the first time a person has heard the Bible and the church being real about such things, or applying them well to their own experiences. As a result, it may be that people are more able to speak of their own suffering and resulting struggles in life. So, let’s be prepared to listen, being alert both to those we were praying for in our prep and those who weren’t even on our radar. Again, let’s support and encourage other mature believers as they walk alongside others, aiming to foster a safe, compassionate community that listens, loves, and prays with those who have experienced trauma.

As we put these things into practice, we will want to cover all the above stages in prayer. Each is a reminder that our preaching should never be separate from our pastoral care, and is indeed central to it, as the God of all compassion speaks tenderly to his children.

The BCUK residential conference on Trauma takes place on 10-12 March. Visit the conference page for livestream information and resources as they are added.