Ladies Ministry Fall Bible Studies

Here is a list of our upcoming Fall Ladies Ministry Bible Studies!  We wanted to put this list out now so that you can be praying about which one to take.  Sign-ups will be at our Fall EXPO, “Designed By God” on September 18, 2012 at 7 p.m.  Mark your calendars now and if you have any questions, please call our church office at 704-289-4674.

A Woman’s Heart God’s Dwelling Place (A great follow-up to the Patriarchs)

A Woman’s Heart explores the building of the Old Testament tabernacle. It looks at the significance of its intricate design, its pivotal role in God's eternal plan, the grand fulfillment of its purpose by Jesus Christ, and its variety of meanings for your walk with God today. This is a video driven study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Believing God by Beth Moore(The Bible study that we believe everyone should do)

Originating from a concept introduced in Isaiah 43:10, Believing God examines what it means to believe God rather than only believe in Him. Participants study the lives of Abraham and others from Hebrews 11 as examples of people who believed God. This study parallels a personal journey Beth took in coming to understand what it means to believe God.  This is a video driven study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Breaking Free by Beth Moore (Offered each year and great for first-time in-depth study)

Breaking Free leads you through Scripture to discover the transforming power of freedom in Jesus Christ. Themes for this study come from Isaiah, a book about the captivity of God's children, the faithfulness of God, and the road to freedom. It draws parallels between the captive Israelites of the Old Testament and New Testament believers in Jesus as the Promised Messiah. This is a video driven study. (Offered in the PM)

Brave by Angela Thomas

This study speaks to us about deep feelings that all women have at one time or another. Angela looks boldly at some of the fears and struggles of being a woman and she helps us see how we can be brave in the face of those challenges. It takes a brave woman to ask these questions and dig into these topics alongside other believers. We've all got insecurities, flaws and struggles that we're afraid to address but if we can be brave enough to raise the questions, God will answer us. You've got questions. God's got answers. Be brave.  This is a video driven study. (Offered in the AM)

Cookies on the Lower Shelf by Kay Arthur (Flexible levels, great for anyone!)

A Precept Inductive Bible Study Series that covers the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation in three, 10-week segments. This series is designed to help you see the Big Picture and give you the context needed to get the most understanding from future studies!  This particular study will be Genesis through Ruth and then we pick in the Spring with I Samuel through Malachi and then again in the fall with the New Testament. This is book study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Daniel by Beth Moore  (For those looking for more in-depth study)

Join Beth in a faith-building study of prophecy and learn how to live with integrity in today's self-absorbed society resembling Babylon. The prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and to confront temptations and threats. Today, believers in Jesus Christ face many of the same trials.  This is a video driven study. (Offered in the PM)

David: Seeking a Heart Like His by Beth Moore

A compelling women's Bible study of David. In this examination of the "man after God's own heart," David will delight and disappoint you. If you've ever experienced doubt, temptation, loss, family problems or personal inconsistencies, this study is for you!  This is a video driven study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas

This study is about how proper eating and an active lifestyle can affect how we serve God. Gary Thomas reaches all the way back to the apostle Paul, who wrote that we need to prime our bodies to become, 'an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. In every instance, Thomas makes a direct connection between the physical challenge and its spiritual consequence. This book is a must read for anyone seeking new and compelling motivation for strengthening their bodies and fortifying their souls.  This is a book study. (Offered in the PM)

Faithful, Abundant and True by Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer

God is faithful.  His provision is abundant.  His promises are true!  Join these three amazing women from live recordings at a Deeper Still event as they share How God is faithful, how we can live an abundant life even when we are in the middle of an impossible situation and to live by every Word that God says. This study is taught similar to their previous study--Anointed, Transformed and Redeemed. This is a video driven study.  (Offered in both the AM and PM)

God’s Story by Anne Graham Lotz  

God's Story begins in Genesis with Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the ark.  Join Anne as she thoughtfully illuminates each moment of Creation with inspiring insights and probing reflections, leading you to know God, the Creator of us all.  
This is a video driven study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Nehemiah by Kelly Minter  

Nehemiah's heart was so broken for those in need that he left the comfort of his Persian palace to help them. This study challenges women to let God break their hearts for a hurting, lost world and move them in compassion to lead people to Jesus. This is a video driven study. (Offered in the AM for all and PM for Youth)

Return to the Garden by Kay Arthur

This interactive Bible study is an honest, redemptive call to recognize and return to God's standards for purity. Kay's straightforward lessons from Scripture focus on love, sex in marriage, purity, modesty, and examples of how men and women should relate to each other. These timely messages are for women, whether married or single, mother or daughter.  Kay writes from the perspective of one who has experienced God's grace and voices heartfelt concern for a sex-saturated society that has forgotten how to blush. From the beginning of time, our sexuality and distinctiveness as women has been front and center with God. We are designer goods, designed by God, no less! And when it comes to our sexuality, He has much to say to us.  This is a video driven study. (Offered in the AM for all and in the PM for College/Young Singles)

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore  

Beth speaks truth into the lives of readers, showing them how to deal with their innermost fears, rediscover their God-given dignity, and develop a whole new perspective. Women of all ages and backgrounds will resonate with this message of security and discover truths that will free them emotionally and spiritually and lead them to a better life as they walk with God. This is a book study. (Offered in the AM)

The Patriarchs by Beth Moore (For those looking for a deeper understanding of the Old Testament)  Discover God's pursuit of a relationship with man, and marvel as His plan to bless all people unfolds. Full of twists and turns, ruin and redemption, revelation and mystery this Bible study keeps participants captivated by the God who stars in it! Explore concepts such as blessing, covenant, and promise, and the bearing each has on a New Testament believer's life today.  A wonderful picture of how God keeps His covenant with His people. This is a video driven study. (Offered in both the AM and PM)

Peace in the Storm

We are just back from a two-week family vacation.  We had such a great time with our dear friends, the Pressley’s.  Clint and Connie (Mac and Nate) have been our friends for many years and we typically go with them to an Island in Florida around this time of year.  This year, as we headed down to Florida after Sunday morning church, we learned that the island had been closed due to a Tropical Storm.  The island was without power for about a week and we were searching for new vacation plans. 

We met our friends in Tifton, GA and made it our ‘new vacation’ place for the week.  Tifton isn’t generally considered a vacation destination but we didn’t spend much time complaining.  Family time and good friends made the location insignificant.  God blessed our time and our small town vacation was actually pretty fun.  We went to the Tifton bowling alley – the Tifton movie theatre – the Tifton Waffle House (actually there are two Tifton Waffle Houses)– and the Tifton Chick-fil-A. 

In our time there, we also walked the downtown area.  On one particular walk, we crossed a railroad track and Clint remarked that he and his oldest son were thinking of running the railroad tracks on one of our afternoons.  That thought is probably harmless for most people, but standing on those railroad tracks sent my mind to thoughts of my brother, Tommy -- thoughts that stayed with me the whole two weeks.

Tommy was my great-looking oldest brother.  He was 25 and I was in the third grade when he died.  In fact, I was in Mrs. Nelson’s class at Darby Elementary in Ohio when I was told about Tommy.  (I love Mrs. Nelson so much to this day.  She was a comfort to me then and still cheerleads me and Chris via Facebook.)  Tommy was hit by a train in the middle of the night.  He and his girlfriend were laying on the tracks hanging out late at night right behind her parent’s home.  She went inside, he stayed outside a little longer and fell asleep on the tracks.  The train came through and Tommy tried to escape, but his clothes got caught in the tracks. 

My parents were in the thick of raising kids at that time.  My brother, Steve, was in college; my sister, Cathy, had just given birth to her first child; my sister, Karen, was ready to start her first day at Ohio State and my brothers, Mitch and Johnny, were in Middle School.  My dad was an over the road truck driver and out on a run in another state.  My mom was working as a supervisor for the State of Ohio.  The police came by that morning to have someone identify the body and my sister, Karen, was the only one home.  She is the sweetest girl, my heart breaks knowing she was asked to do this at such a young age. 

How could any family be prepared for what my parents would have to deal with?  My parents, who were saved as adults and started a church in their home (that would later become Southwest Community Church of the Nazarene – and still stands today) would be forced into a situation in which their faith would be on display like they couldn’t possibly have prepared for.   But the way they displayed their faith has been a remarkable testimony to the peace that can only come from the Lord. 

I love time to reflect.  Bedtime is the best time for me to reflect.  I go over the day -- repent for feelings, thoughts and behaviors.  I ask the Lord to purify my heart and draw me close to Him.  These two weeks away allowed for great reflection time.  I would start reading something and then my mind would wonder and I would think of my extended family.  I love them all so much.  However, there are many things we have done as a family without Tommy.  For me the list includes: the day I got married, the day I had my first child and the day we bought our first home.  Every big event and even some simple ones, quickly make my heart remember that Tommy did not get to experience those things.  He was so much older than me.  He was really more like an uncle.  He went into the military and I have no memory of us living in the house together. 

I have just one memory of him.  Breaks my heart – but it is the truth.  He and his girlfriend came out to the house one evening and took Johnny and me to the drive-in movies.  It was an incredible night.  I enjoyed it so much and he was so handsome like my father.  I loved every minute of being his kid sister that night.  He reeked of cool!  Once I got my license, I would drive over to that same drive-in by myself just to remember him and then go to his graveside.

My parents put “First One Home” on his gravestone.  I love that.  That one act from my parents brought great peace to their children.  My parent’s resolve to honor God and trust Him sealed any doubt I had.  I kept looking, for years, for a chink in that resolve -- I never saw it.  Their kindness to the conductor of that train will be an incredible testimony I will tout for the Lord for all my days.  The man feared facing my parents and he desperately needed them to relieve some of his grief.  My parents quickly did.  They prayed for his relief when they prayed for their own.  Faith in the midst of a trial, faith in the midst of lasting heartache -- my parents found a very faithful God.  He sustained them, kept them, pursued them and rewarded them with peace and comfort. 

I remember finding my mom, yearly, on Tommy’s birthday and the date of his death, seeking time alone with the Lord to calm her sad heart. 

Teach your kids this kind of faith.  Someday they may be called to serve Him and your faithfulness might be what keeps their faith on track.  My parent’s undeniable faith has encouraged me on countless days. 

I love the Lord.  His peace is real and true. 

I will serve Him all my days.

Praying for my siblings who don’t confess a faith in Jesus.  Praying they repent and believe His promises – and remember the undeniable testimony of our parents. 

I love you all!!!

It is so good to be home and in love with Lee Park.

Becky ;)