Tag: Bible Study

Biblical Womanhood Bible Study

Imperishable Beauty: Lesson 8- Beautiful Biblical Obedience

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Read These Selected Scriptures

In lesson 7, we examined the concepts of loving God’s Word and being good students of God’s Word as important parts of biblical womanhood. But being a godly woman doesn’t stop there. We also have to obey God’s Word.

Questions to Consider

1. Briefly review lesson 7 and consider the significance to biblical womanhood of knowing and loving God’s Word. How does knowing and loving God’s Word lead to and impact obeying God’s Word? Is it necessary to know and love all parts of God’s Word before obeying any part of God’s Word? Why or why not?

2. Study the Luke, Philippians, and Hebrews passages. Who is our ultimate example of obedience to God? To what extent did Jesus obey God (until it was inconvenient, costly, etc.)? How would you describe Jesus’ obedience to God and His written Word during His life on earth? In what ways does Jesus’ obedience set an example for your obedience to God’s Word? To what extent do you obey God? Has there ever been an instance in your life in which you disobeyed God because obeying Him would have been too costly? Considering Jesus’ example, is it ever OK with God for you to disobey Him because it’s too difficult?

3. Examine the James passage. Make a two-column chart displaying the differences between hearers of the Word and doers of the Word. What does James mean when he says that mere hearers of the Word deceive themselves? How does being a doer of the Word grow your understanding of the Word and your trust in God? What is the “perfect…law of liberty”? How do we “persevere” in that law, and why/how does persevering in that law bring blessing?

4. According to the 1 John 2&5 passages, loving obedience to God’s commands indicates two things about Christians: that we ____ God (2:3) and that we ____ God (5:3). In what ways does obeying God’s commands indicate that we truly know God (i.e. we’re saved)? In what ways does obeying God’s commands indicate that we love God? Why are God’s commands not burdensome (5:3) for the Christian?

5. Contrast the 1 John 2&5 passages with the chapter 3 passage. Is John saying that committing a single sin means you aren’t saved, or is he comparing a generally obedient lifestyle with a generally sinful lifestyle as an indicator of a saved person vs. a lost person?

6. Read the story of Saul’s disobedience to God’s Word in 1 Samuel 15. What did God tell Saul to do? (2-3) How did Saul disobey God? (8-9) When Samuel came to confront Saul in his disobedience, how did Saul respond? (13,20) Why, in Saul’s mind, did he think, or try to justify, that He had obeyed God? (15,21) What was the consequence to Saul for disobeying God’s clear instruction? (23,26,28)

What is/are the key verse(s) in this chapter? Explain how verses 22-23a summarize the main point God is teaching us by including this story in the Bible. Is “doing great things for God” that you’ve dreamed up ever an excuse for disobeying His clear written Word?

Describe the blame-shifting Saul engaged in (15,21,24), and compare/contrast Saul’s use of the personal pronoun “I” (13,20) in connection with obedience with “they/the people” (15,21,24) in connection with disobedience. Considering that disobeying the king’s orders was punishable by death, describe how flimsy this excuse was. Does God allow us to blame others for our disobedience?

7. Why does God require that we obey Him? Explain how our obedience a) glorifies God, b) is a testimony of the gospel to the lost, and c) is best for us, personally. Why is obeying God an important component of biblical womanhood?

Homework

Jesus was our perfect example of obedience, but we can’t and shouldn’t obey every part of God’s Word He obeyed. Even though we read about Jesus in the New Testament, He lived His entire earthly life as an Old Testament Jew. (This is because, during His earthly life, He had not yet instituted the new covenant of grace {by His death, burial, and resurrection} that Christians are under today.) In order to live a perfect life of obedience as Israel’s Messiah, Jesus had to obey the civil, ceremonial, and moral laws of the Old Testament. Do you understand the differences between these types of biblical law and why Christians are no longer bound by the civil and ceremonial types? Give this article a read and explain why, for example, Christians may wear garments of mixed fabrics but may not commit adultery.

Suggested Memory Verse

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 
James 1:22

Bible Study, Mailbag

The Mailbag: “We need to stop relying on canned studies,” doesn’t mean, “We need to rely on doctrinally sound canned studies.”.

Michelle Lesley

 In my recent article, 4 Ways We’re Getting Women’s Discipleship Wrong, and How We Can Get it Right!, one of the points I mentioned is that we’ve equated women’s discipleship with purchasing a celebrity Bible teacher’s DVD/workbook package and parking women in front of a TV instead of training older women in the local church to teach younger women straight from the Bible.

The idea that we have to use pre-fab studies instead of teaching straight from the Bible is so deeply embedded in our evangelical DNA that nearly every time I write an article or social media post saying we need to kick this habit and get back to straight Bible teaching, what some readers seem to hear is that we need to use doctrinally sound pre-fab studies. (And they proceed to recommend materials by the handful of doctrinally sound women authors who are out there.)

That’s not what I’m saying. I know there are (a few) doctrinally sound pre-fab studies out there. I’m saying we need to totally revamp the way we do women’s Bible study and detox ourselves from our addiction to studies written by authors outside of your local church, who don’t know the women of your church, and who aren’t there for the women of your church – even if those authors are doctrinally sound.

A variation of this question came up again (from a very kind sister who genuinely cares about the ladies in her church and the teaching they receive) in response to the aforementioned article. I share it here, along with my response, to a) help continue to hammer on the idea that we do not have to use canned studies, there’s another, better way, and b) to give you a few ideas of how to stop being so dependent on canned studies in your own church.

I have found some good DVD’s that have been a real encouragement and have fostered true growth in our women. [List of doctrinally sound DVD studies.] While direct teaching is wonderful sometimes the women who teach in our church find themselves in limiting life circumstances…I would love to hear of some DVD’s that you’d recommend, not as a daycare/babysitter for women, but that contain good teaching for times when we want to be in the Word but cannot take the time to adequately prepare.

I’m glad there have been some doctrinally sound DVDs you’ve been encouraged by, and, just to clarify, I’m not saying every DVD on the market features a false teacher (but the vast majority of them do).

I’m not trying to sound harsh, but I think you might have missed the point of section 3 [of the article]. The whole point is that we need to stop relying on pre-fab studies and teach/study straight from the Bible, and you’ve responded by asking me which DVDs I recommend. I don’t. I recommend teaching/studying straight from the Bible. (I’ve explained more here, if it would be of interest.) Your question kind of proves my point about how deeply ingrained the “canned” Bible study mindset runs. It’s not a question of whether or not there are doctrinally sound DVDs on the market, the issue is that we need to study the Bible itself, and we need teachers in the local church who are trained to teach straight from the Bible.

…good teaching for times when we want to be in the Word but cannot take the time to adequately prepare.

I’m not sure whom you’re referring to regarding not having time to prepare. If you’re talking about a teacher, she should step down if she doesn’t have time to adequately prepare. That’s part of being a teacher (I address that at length in the first article linked below section 3). If she can’t commit to preparing, she shouldn’t be teaching.

If you’re talking about students in a Bible study class- if they have time to watch a DVD, they could spend that same time period reading and discussing a passage out of the Bible.

Again, I don’t mean to sound unkind or anything like that, and I do appreciate your question, but we really need to get away from the pre-packaged studies and simply pick up the Bible itself and study it.

Thanks for your response. I guess I didn’t clarify that I was wondering if there were studies that you’d recommend during times when the teachers we have don’t have time to properly develop a lesson. Your post just spurred that question in my mind though I know that wasn’t your intent. It takes me an average of six hours to prepare to teach a lesson and if I’m in a temporary place of not having time to adequately study for a couple of months we like to continue learning even if it is just from a sound teacher via DVD. Being from a smaller church in a depressed area where women are expected to work, it can be difficult to always have an available teacher. But the women do minister to each other in a word based way.

I definitely understand that women’s ministry is not done biblically in many cases. Your posts contain lots of good info. Thanks for what you do! 

Thanks for understanding. Here are a few things I’d recommend instead of falling back on a DVD.

1. Get one or two more women trained to teach, and have a rotation of teachers. That takes the burden off of one person and is also helpful if you get sick, go out of town, have an emergency, etc. It would also give each teacher a longer time period between lessons she has to teach, so she would have more time to prepare. It might not be the easiest thing in the world to get that in place, but prioritizing Christ and His ways rarely is. He never promised us easy, but He did promise to help us. Ask for His help and have your class pray about the situation, too.

2. If there’s some sort of out of the ordinary, rare emergency that has kept you from preparing, simply go in to class, read the passage together, and discuss it verse by verse.

3. If it’s been impossible to prepare, turn that class period into a prayer meeting. Frankly, it would be beneficial as we need far more small group prayer meetings in the church. You might even want to purposely schedule your class that way, say, lessons for three weeks, prayer meeting on the fourth week, or something like that.

4. Make use of my studies at the Bible Studies tab at the top of this page. If you need a “one and done” type of lesson in a pinch, look under “Wednesday’s Word” toward the bottom of the page. Read the passage with the class and use the questions for discussion. All of my studies are free to download, print out, and distribute.

These are the kinds of things teachers have done for centuries until DVD players were invented. There’s really no reason to ever have to fall back on a DVD. Like I said, if you can watch a DVD, you can read a passage of Scripture and discuss it.

Additional Resources

The Mailbag: Can you recommend a good Bible study for women/teens/kids?

McBible Study and the Famine of God’s Word

Bible Study

Bible Studies

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Biblical Womanhood Bible Study

Imperishable Beauty: Lesson 7- The Beauty of Knowing and Loving God’s Word

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Read These Selected Scriptures

In lesson 6, we took a look at membership in the Body of Christ – both the church catholic, and the local church – and how that membership is part of our identity in Christ. Today, we’ll examine loving and being good students of God’s Word as a component of biblical womanhood.

Questions to Consider

1. Examine the Mark 12 passage. Verses 29-30 are often called what, according to the section title above the passage? What are the two main verbs (the two things we’re told to do) in The Great Commandment? (29-30) What does God command His people to “hear”? Why does the command to “hear” come before the command to “love”? How do God’s people today “hear” about the one true God and learn how to “love” Him?

What does it mean to love God with all your mind? Compare and contrast loving God with your mind to loving God with your heart, your soul, and your strength. Respond to this statement: “Pursuing God with our minds – studying the Word, learning theology, etc., – is one of the ways we love God.

2. Read the 2 Peter passage, focusing on what it says about knowledge. How has God “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness”  – “through” what? (3) How do we get this knowledge? Where do we find God’s “precious and very great promises,” and what do we receive “through” these promises? (4) How does verse 8 sum up the goal of the knowledge of God in conjunction with the characteristics in verses 5-7? What does all of this teach us about the importance of pursuing the knowledge of God through His Word?

3. Who was 2 Timothy written to? By whom? For what purpose? (Choose a Bible Book Background, if needed, to refresh your memory.) Does that mean this passage is only applicable to pastors, or especially to pastors, but also to all Christians? Look closely at verse 15. Explain how you can “rightly handle the word of truth” in your own daily life and context. To whom does verse 15 say we either present ourselves as approved workers, rightly handling the word of truth, or present ourselves in shame if we are not? Is rightly handling the Word primarily for the glory of God, or for the good of man? What are the consequences for ourselves and others of not handling God’s Word correctly, according to 14,16-18?

4. Psalm 119 might be the perfect Scriptural example of the knowledge of God’s Word leading to a greater emotional affection for God. Instead of studying each verse of this psalm individually, read it as a whole unit, noting along the way the importance the psalmist places on the Word of God and what studying Scripture led to in his heart and his relationship with God. Notice also, his expression of emotion, and his love and affection for God.

As women, we’re sometimes prone to being ruled by our feelings, and we often rightly cite Jeremiah 17:9 as evidence that we should not trust our feelings over God’s word. What does Psalm 119 teach us about feelings, emotions, and affections that are fueled by God’s Word?

5. Explain why knowing and loving God’s Word is an integral part of biblical womanhood.

Homework

Many Christian women pit the idea of loving God with our minds (“head knowledge”) against the idea of loving God with our hearts/souls (“heart knowledge”), often leaving the impression that pursuing God intellectually is inferior to, different from, and sometimes even less feminine, than an affectionate, emotional love for God. According to the Mark 12 passage, is this a fair assessment or a false dichotomy? How can loving God with all your heart lead to loving God with all your mind, and vice versa? Evaluate your love for God in terms of how you love Him with your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. Write down any weaknesses in any of these areas and ask God to strengthen you. Write down any growth you’ve seen in any of these areas, and praise God for growing you.

Suggested Memory Verse

Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
Psalm 119:111

Biblical Womanhood Bible Study, Reformation Day

Imperishable Beauty: RefHERmation Day Bonus Lesson

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Happy Reformation Day!

For those of us working through this study in real time*, today is Reformation Day. I recently commended (again) to my readers Rebecca VanDoodewaard’s excellent book, Reformation Women, and I thought, “What better way to celebrate Reformation Day and biblical womanhood than to combine the two?”. So, today, we’re going to take a look at some women in Reformation history and in biblical history who exemplified biblical womanhood by influencing others toward godliness.

(*If you’re behind in your lessons, it’s OK to use this week as a catch up week and save today’s lesson for another day.

*If you’re working through this study or teaching it to a class at a later date you may want to skip this lesson, use it as supplementary or bonus material, or leave it for the end of the study.)

Choose any of the women below and read their stories (click on their names). Then consider the following questions:

1. In what ways did this woman exemplify biblical womanhood in her culture, context, circumstances, family situation, or church?

2. Which godly character traits or Fruit of the Spirit were especially obvious in her life, words, and actions?

3. Which Scripture passages come to mind as you read this woman’s story? In what ways did she live these Scriptures out (or fail to live them out)?

4. Are there any instances of sin in this woman’s story? If so, how can you learn from what she did wrong and avoid this sin in your own life?

5. How does this woman set a godly example that you can apply to your own life?

6. In what ways did this woman point someone to Jesus, serve the Kingdom, or help God’s people?

Women of the Bible

Esther

Ruth

Abigail

Deborah and Jael

Miriam

Mary

Priscilla

Lydia

Dorcas

Women of the Reformation

Catherine d’Bourbon

Jeanne D’Albret

Marguerite de Navarre

Katharina Schutz Zell

Anna Adlischweiler

Anna Reinhard

Katharina von Bora Luther

Homework

Think of some ways you can bloom where God has planted you to serve your family, your church, and the Kingdom as a woman of the modern day Reformation.

Biblical Womanhood Bible Study

Imperishable Beauty: Lesson 6- The Beauty of Membership Identity

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Read These Selected Scriptures

In lesson 5, we learned about finding our identity in Christ. To find our identity in anyone or anything else is idolatry. Today, we’re exploring membership in the Body as part of our identity in Christ.

Questions to Consider

1. In previous lessons (see links above) we learned that we were created by God, in the image of God. We also learned that, as Believers, our personal identity – who we are at the deepest inner level of our own being, and how we see ourselves – is found in Christ. But there’s no such thing as an isolated Christian individual. (1 Corinthians 12:14) Read 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Romans 12:5 from today’s passages. What is another aspect of our identity in Christ?

2. According to the Colossians passages, what is another name for the “body”? Look up the word “church” in a concordance. What is the first verse in the Bible to mention the word “church”? Who spoke this verse? In what ways does this verse demonstrate that Jesus is the founder, builder, owner, and sustainer of the church?

3. There are two different ways the term “church” is most frequently used in the Bible and by Christians today: a) the church catholic (small “c”, not Roman Catholic) or universal, and b) the local church. What is the difference between these terms? Describe your membership as a Believer in both the church catholic and the local church.

4. How do you become a member of the church catholic? (1 Corinthians 12:13) Is this baptism at the moment of salvation visible or invisible? Spiritual or tangible? How does visible water baptism into membership in the visible local church outwardly symbolize your invisible baptism in the Holy Spirit into the invisible church catholic? Have you been baptized as your first step into local church membership? Why were you baptized, or why haven’t you been baptized?

5. Consider the metaphor of individual Christians as “body parts” (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12) in terms of actual parts of a human body. Explain the metaphor in detail – how are the parts connected to the body? How/where do the parts get their nourishment? How do the parts know what to do and when to do it? How can the parts help or hinder other parts and the body as a whole? Who/what is the “command center” of the body?

6. What does 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 teach us about how we should view ourselves as a member of the body? What is God’s purpose in teaching us this view of ourselves – to build up our egos? Explain verse 18 as it applies to you and to other church members. What does 1 Corinthians 12:20-27 teach the church about how we should view individual members? What does it mean to be a church member who is “weaker” (22), “less honorable…unpresentable” (23)? What provisions does God – and do we – make for those members? (23-24) How does this contribute to unity in the church? (25-26)

7. Consider the 1 Corinthians passage and the Romans passage together with regard to how individual members contribute to the workings of the Body. Describe the heart attitude God wants us to have, and the approach He wants us to take as we serve the church. How do the concepts of unity, cooperation, and humility flesh themselves out as we work with fellow church members to serve the Body?

8. Sometimes we encounter a sister in Christ who is so passionate about her particular gifting or area of ministry that she pressures other church members to be as passionately involved in that ministry as she is, or she seems to look down on Christians who don’t have the same gifting she has. How would you use today’s passages to disciple her?

Homework

Is membership in the church catholic or the local church optional for Christians? If you answered yes to either, cite the Scriptures supporting your answer.

Give my article Basic Training: 7 Reasons Church is Not Optional and Non-Negotiable for Christians (and the articles in the “Additional Resources” section) a read. Explain in your own words why God wants Christians to be members of a doctrinally sound local church. Need to find a doctrinally sound church? Want to know what to look for in a healthy church? Explore the resources at the Searching for a new church? tab at the top of this page. (You can also recommend any doctrinally sound churches you have a personal connection with.)

Suggested Memory Verse

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 
1 Corinthians 12:27