Leading the Way through Ephesians review

Book Description:

Throughout the book of Ephesians, Paul refers to "the riches of God's grace," "our riches in Christ," and "the riches of His glory" as he reminds believers of the spiritual treasures they already possess in Christ.

Leading the Way Through Ephesians applies these great truths in such practical areas of the Christian life as

• enduring trials, suffering, and persecution
• maintaining the unity of the church through Christian love
• living out the gospel in our marriages and family relationships
• praying with power
• maintaining our armor against the attacks of Satan

Through sound teaching, vibrant illustrations, and a brisk conversational style that applies God's truth to the realities of the twenty-first century, Leading the Way Through Ephesians will show readers the way to a stronger, more active, more dynamic faith.

My Review:

I used this book as a resource for my women's Bible study group when we were studying Ephesians and absolutely loved it.  Youssef does a phenomenal job of incorporating modern day examples with Bible text and storytelling.  I found myself engaged and digger deeper into the Bible than I might have otherwise.  I began preparing using a different Ephesians study and found myself referring more and more to Youseff's book as I went along.

This book takes you through Ephesians not only chapter by chapter, but subject by subject.  This means the 6 chapters of Ephesians translates into 14 chapters in this book with titles such as "you have all you need" and "from darkness to light", "God's plan for marriage", "God's plan for raising children", and "God's plan for your workplace".  

I found that the chapters were a bit long to be considered a devotional reading, and they would have benefited from some review/reflection questions at the end of each chapter to be a better devotional.  However it was a great commentary.  

You can purchase Leading the Way Through Ephesians (Leading the Way Through the Bible) on Amazon as well as at your local Christian bookstore.

Learn more about Michael Youssef and his ministry at Leading the Way.  

Stuck DVD study review

This review took longer to put together than I had thought it would.  I wanted to do more than just glance at the material and watch the DVD, I wanted to do the study, and I wanted some of my girlfriends to see it too. 

This is unlike any other group Bible study I have done.  Sure you watch the DVD and you get a personal workbook, but the neat touch to this one is that there really isn't a group leader.  A facillitator maybe, but not a leader.  You see, rather than someone standing at the front of the class after watching the DVD and asking questions, you break off into small groups (or in my groups case you just gather together since we are already small) and there are some business size cards scattered on the table.  You take turns drawing cards and discussing them.  It leads to more honest conversation and a much more relaxed atmosphere.  The questions are thought provoking and the discussion gets deep at times.

Another thing I like is the honesty that comes across from Jennie during the video presentations.  She doesn't come across as judgemental, but as someone who has been there, suffered through it too, and found a way to overcome that she just HAS to share with you.  This is only the second DVD study I have ever done (the first being one by Lyssa Terkeurst) and so far I find them very enjoyable as well as thought provoking.  The cinematography was beautiful and I felt at home with Jennie.

Then there are the workbooks.  They are set up with the busy woman in mind.  No pressure to finish on a certain day or to even finish before the group meets again.  You get out of it what you put in it so it is entirely up to you as to how much to do and when to do it.  No more guilt.  The down side to that is that for the unmotivated you may find yourself completing the study without ever having opened the book which would be awful considering how much it helps you to delve deeper into the subject material, to examine yourself, and to apply scripture.

So if you are looking for a good group study in the coming year, you should definitely consider this one.  It would be well worth the time!

Desiring God dvd study review

Description:
In this DVD version of Desiring God—the classic description of Christian hedonism—John Piper explains how the supreme calling of life is to "glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
Drawing upon Scripture after Scripture, Piper shows why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God and, in what may be surprising to some, how God is ready to pursue with all His might our pleasure in Him! The implications of this truth are discussed in regard to conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering.

   In ten sessions Piper teaches on:

• One Great Mission and Motivation
• A Summary of Christian Hedonism
• The Foundation of Christian Hedonism
• The Essence of Christian Hedonism
• The Grand Obligation
• How Then Shall We Fight for Joy?


Recorded in HD with subtitles in English, these video sessions are ideal for use in adult and youth Sunday-school classes, small groups, retreats, classrooms, and families. To get the most from this resource, use it along with the Desiring God DVD Study Guide.

My Review:
Let me begin with this, I AM college educated.  I am 2 semesters away from a BA in education.  I am an avid reader and I have a pretty extensive vocabulary.  That being said, I found this study to be entirely to intellectual, taking for granted that the everyday person viewing has an understanding, or at least knowledge of, many things I did not.  This made parts of the study difficult to follow.

I at first thought that perhaps it was just me, however I had my husband, who is also a pretty intelligent guy, view several sessions with me.  He quit watching them becuase he just couldn't follow them.  My 11 and 13 year old children watched the first session and asked to be excused because they had no idea what was going on or being said.

The sessions appear to be recorded classes and reminded me of college lectures.  Piper stands at the front, uses an overhead projector as a visual aid, and proceeds to talk, sometimes rambling, and at the end I really wasn't sure what his point had been.  I was also reminded of the Truth Project only this wasn't as visually appealing, didn't include as much as far as online resources goes, and wasn't as appealing.

I did not have the companin study guide, which may have helped me to better grasp or identify the point of each session.  However, if I need a study guide to understand the DVD I would rather just buy the study guide and save the money for the DVD.  I would hope that the book this study is based upon is better than this.

Kid's Bible Handbook review

Help your kids understand scripture’s big picture with Kids’ Bible Handbook. This fully-illustrated guide for 8-to-12-year-olds provides age-appropriate, faith-building details on the greatest Book of all! Featuring a Genesis through Revelation tour, Kids’ Bible Handbook breaks the 66 books down into memorable segments: “In the Beginning” (Genesis through Deuteronomy), “His Story and Their Story” (Joshua through Esther), “Wise Words to Live By” (Job through Song of Solomon), and so on. “How Did We Get This Book, Anyway?” describes the Bible’s history, while kid-friendly sidebars feature important verses, places, and applications. Intriguing trivia adds to the fun, and it’s all wrapped up in a bright, colorful package that kids will love.
My Review:

Think of this as a children's Cliff Notes version of the Bible.  With simple descriptions of main events and ideas in the Bible, illustrations, Did you Know sections, fun facts etc this is a great way to get your child interested in what the Good Book is all about.  While this is by no means a Bible substitute (which the author or publisher NEVER suggested), it is a wonderful companion.  It includes scripture references and even tells the reader where in the Bible they can find each story that is mentioned.  It also does a good job of connecting OT and NT stories.  (While Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac in the OT, Hebrews in the NT suggests what his thoughts were at the time and this book directs you there!)

I like that this includes "what you'll find in..." headings which give an overview of the story or events in a particular book.  This would be great to use as part of family Bible study, reading it either before studying the chapter(s) to get children excited about what is going to happen, or after as a review tool.  I also like that the important characters are listed as well as who the author of the book is. 

The language is simple enough that a young reader can easily read on their own (2nd or 3rd grader) and yet the writing is interesting enough that preteens won't get bored or think it is a "baby" book.  The pictures and illustrations included spice up the text and help the reader to visualize the topic. 

A good companion book for young Bible readers.   If you are interested in puchasing Kids' Bible Handbook: Who, What, When, Where, Why-and What It All Means to You (Kids' Guide to the Bible) you can click here.

Live Loved

Live Loved: Experiencing God's Presence in Everyday Life

Publisher's description:
Imagine how your life would change if you were sure God loves you!

Using the same popular format as Grace for the Moment, Live Loved brings fresh, new devotionals based on the writings of Max Lucado. Included is a broad range of topics such as facing your fears, accepting His grace, and truly knowing God’s omnipresent love. Each devotional is accompanied by an ending prayer to nurture a stronger prayer life for new believers, as well as long-standing Christ followers. It’s a new devotional from one of America's leading Christian writers that will help men and women experience life from a whole new perspective.

My Review:
Another great Max Lucado gift book!    Fair warning to Max Lucado readers though, this is a compilation of excerpts from other books.  Those titles include It's Not About Me, Facing Your Giants, 3:16: Numbers of Home, Every Day Deserves a Chance, Fearless, and Outlive Your Life.  If you have read these books you will not find anything new, despite the organization of topics into the categories of Loved with a Steadfast Love, Loved with a Perfect Love, Loved with a Wise Love, and Loved to Love Others.

I originally agreed to review this book because my heart longed to be loved and while my head knew that God loved me, my heart just wasn't feeling it.  Lucado does and excellent job of organizing Bible verses and connecting them with his commentary to show just how much we truly are loved by the God of the universe.  He shows us how we are loved when we feel depressed as Jeremiah was, when we are experiencing problems, or when we are unsure of the future.  We see how God is unchanging and always with us.

Each subsection begins with a bible verse, goes on with an illustration by Lucado, followed by a prayer and more scripture references to reinforce the point.  Lucado seems to have a gift with bringing scripture references from thousands of years ago into today's situations and making us realize that God is the same yesterday and today and will continue to be the same tomorrow.  We can trust his promises.

If you haven't read all of the above mentioned books, this would be a great one to add to your library for pick me ups on days when you really need a hug from God.  It would also be a great gift book.

This book was received free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

God's Wisdom for Mothers review

God's Wisdom for Mothers

Book description from the publisher:

God’s Wisdom for Mothers was created to give timeless wisdom and guidance for Scripture meditation and application with 11 categories (62 subjects) pertaining to motherhood. Topics include God’s Wisdom with Children, God Delights in Mothers Who . . . , God Walks with Mothers Through Heartache, Adversity, Worry, and many, many more. Included are pages at the back for prayer lists and personal study notes.
This book is a spiritual pathway to help every mother become all she can be in the eyes of God and her family.

My Review:

Not a lot to say on this one as it is primarily scripture, and who can argue with that?  The compiler has gathered 5-10 verses for each topic and then organized them in such a way that you can quickly find the perfect spiritual pick me up that you need.  Scriptures are organized into broad themes such as God's Wisdom, The Crown of an Excellent Mother, God's Wisdom with Children, God Teaches a Mother to Walk in His Word by, and 5 more such themes.  Within each theme are sub-themes as seen in the publisher's description.  (God walks with mothers is the primary theme and then He walks with them through heartache, adversity etc)

I have the Kindle version of the book and was glad to see that each Theme and sub-theme listed in the table of contents is clickable, allowing me to go exactly where I need to go depending on what kind of encouragement I need.

I will say that I would have liked for there to be more verses for each subject as some of my go to verses were not included, but there is room in the back of the print version to include your own verses and you can always add  note to a section to include them on the kindle version.

This would probably be a good Mother's Day gift or a gift for new mothers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”