This week we begin our Advent series for 2017 by beginning to venture into the opening chapter of the book. After a brief introduction about the what, why, and how of Lamentations, we will focus on the two features of chapter 1. It is (1) a funeral dirge with (2) a feminine voice that is lamenting the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. Often times we either avoid lament or don't know how to do it well because we feel uncomfortable expressing our hurts, frustrations, and disappointments to God. Yet, to be a healthy church, we need to re-discover the balance of both praise and lament. This question that guides us this week is: "What painful events do we need to name and give voice to? Without our honest expression, we lose the true longing for God's Messiah Son and His healing.