Author: Stephen Viars

Subtitle:

Moving from Life’s Greatest Hurts to a Life Filled with Joy

In a world full of struggle and disappointment, each one of us will wrestle with bitterness at one time or another. But left unchecked, bitterness is a destructive poison that steals our joy and the joy of those around us. We must take care not to feed a bitter spirit within us.

In this honest and hopeful book, pastor and counselor Stephen Viars shows us how to avoid the pitfalls of a bitter heart as we walk through our fallen world. He shows us how to process bitterness biblically and effectively, so that we can move from life's greatest hurts to a life filled with joy.

About the author:

Steve Viars is the Senior Pastor of Faith Church (Lafayette, IN);  ACBC Fellow and board member; Biblical Counseling Coalition board member; Vision Of Hope board member; instructor and counselor at Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries; married with three children; B.S., Bible, Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit, PA); M.Div., Grace Theological Seminary; D.Min., Biblical Counseling, Westminster Theological Seminary.

He is the author of Putting Your Past in Its Place; Loving Your Community; Overcoming Bitterness; Do You Believe What God Says about You? as well as several other works.

Endorsements:

"This book brims with hope." ~Randy Patten, Director of Training Emeritus, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; president, TEAM Focus Ministries

"This wonderful volume helpfully addresses an all too common heart issue by carefully and comprehensively walking us through biblical teaching and examples that show how the grace of God in Christ can enable us to overcome bitterness." ~Dr. Jim Newheiser, director of the Christian Counseling Program at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte; executive director of the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship

"With a pastor's heart and a counselor's skill, Viars brings biblical clarity and practical counsel for this common issue. Readers will be surprised, encouraged, and convicted." ~Jonathan D. Holmes, pastor of counseling, Parkside Church; executive director, Fieldstone Counseling

"In Overcoming Bitterness, Pastor Steve Viars provides practical biblical counsel for an issue that everyone faces at one time or another. Yet, few of us truly understand bitterness biblically. Steve artfully, compassionately, and comprehensively addresses bitterness both as a lament over suffering to be brought to our caring Father and as a heart issue of sin to be brought to our forgiving Savior. Overcoming Bitterness will be a wonderfully beneficial equipping tool for individuals and small groups, and for pastors and counselors."  ~Bob Kellemen, academic dean, Faith Bible Seminary; author of over twenty books, including God's Healing for Life's Losses

"Guiding people to see bitterness from behavioral, conditional, and heart perspectives is brilliant! Dr. Viars writes with the precision of a theologian and the practicality of a pastor. This is a great read and very helpful for people who truly want to address bitterness."  ~Dr. Nicolas Ellen, Senior Pastor of Community of Faith Bible Church, and Senior Professor of Biblical Counseling at the College of Biblical Studies, Houston, TX