You Are Invited

This year marks my thirteenth year of teaching ladies bible study. It has become a great passion of mine to study the Word and then teach it to willing and open hearts. The Word of God is powerful and life-changing, and I thank the Lord for the front seat He has provided for me to watch His Word work through the lives of the women in His family.

For those of you who have come to my studies, you know that I love to teach through a book of the Bible. I love to finish up at the end of the year and feel like the women have taken ownership of a book because they have simmered in it all year.

This year is going to be a little different. We are going through the Book, not just a book. Does that make sense? Let me explain.

Over the past five years I have had a desire to teach a comprehensive overview of the Bible, but have not been able to find the resources that I felt made it tangible enough to teach effectively. This desire was born out of comments and input from the women at church:

"I am overwhelmed at the size of the Bible - I just don't know where to begin."

"Isn't the New Testament the book for the church? Does the Old Testament even really affect us now?"

"I don't understand some of the terminology of the church - I feel so stupid sometimes."

"I didn't go to Christian schools growing up - I'll never be able to learn all of this."

"I am a new believer and am embarrassed at how little I know."

If you've ever said or thought any of these things, I have to tell you, you are not alone. Most of the women I talk to are intimidated by the whole of scripture. So this year we are going back to the basics. We're starting at the very beginning and studying through to the end. As I have prepared the lessons, I have found that we will be talking through a lot of the old Sunday School stories that we grew up on - but this time, we will be connecting the thread of Jesus Christ throughout Old Testament history and carrying that through to the Church today.

You see, the Bible is His Story - it's all about Jesus. It reveals our Creator and His love for us. Just as Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples and explained how He was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, we will walk that path with Him and see the big picture.

So here's your invitation, ladies - we will meet on Tuesday mornings at Harvest Bible Chapel Spring Lake, from 9:30 until 11:30 a.m. We will have fellowship (treats and coffee!) as well as praise and prayer time, a time of meditation and memorization, and then teaching. We begin on September 13th and will wrap things up in April. It's going to be quite a journey - a survey, really, but when we're done, it is my prayer that the Bible will become much more tangible for you. I hope that you will be moved by the story and captivated by the Author. I trust that you will be inspired to dig deeper and enlarge your understanding of God and His great mercy for you.

Two more things you need to know: If you are a working gal and can't join us, we are offering an option for you. This year we are attempting to podcast and video cast the lessons. If you sign-up at church, we can get a student notebook for you and you can do the lessons at home - it will take about an hour or so of listening and filling out your notes. Then, once a month, I have a friend who has offered to meet with our working gals to pray with them and see how they're doing - basically love on them and let them know we care about them. At the end of the year, we will have a gathering for all of us to celebrate what we have learned throughout the year.

And finally, if you have preschool children - this year we are providing a structured learning time for your children that compliments what the mothers are studying. We have lessons that walk the children through the big picture of the Bible - with crafts and timeline building and bible verse memorization, plus stories, games and songs - your child will walk through the Bible in a year with you! I am grateful for the women who have volunteered to serve our children through this program.

Okay - that's enough. I went WAY TOO LONG, but hopefully you hear my heart for this study. If you are planning on coming, we need to hear from you so that we can have supplies for the women and children alike. You can comment here and let me know how many children you will bring with you, as well as their ages, or sign-up in the foyer at church.

May God bless you as you decide your fall plans!