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April 2007 ETC Corner
Reaching Out to Your Community
How to Start an Inspirational Book Club
By Martha Cimmarrusti
“She would never come to a Bible Study. It’s just not something she’d feel comfortable joining.”
Do you have friends with whom you long to share your faith? Do you wish you had a frame of reference from which you could start a spiritual discussion? Do you long to communicate the joy of knowing Jesus, but don’t know where to begin? Here’s one idea that our Neighborhood Bible Study members used to reach out.
After asking numerous people to join us (with little success), we decided to change our format for a season, and invite our friends. Instead of doing a Bible Study for the next couple of months, we would become an Inspirational Book Group.
Everyone loved the idea. The typical response to our invitation was, “An Inspirational Book Group? I’ve wanted to join a book group but never got around to it…and I’m interested in learning more about my faith. What books will we be reading?” We were amazed by the fact that people, who wouldn’t think about coming to Bible study, were intrigued with the idea of reading inspirational books that would motivate them in their faith.
We started with five short books by Francine Rivers, on the women in Jesus’ lineage, called the Lineage of Grace series. Each book dealt with a woman in the Old Testament who had struggled with some major life issues, and had a story to tell. The topic appealed to the women, no matter where they were on the spiritual spectrum. Friends joined us who knew nothing about the Bible, people who had attended parochial school, and felt knowledgeable about their faith, and women who just thought it sounded interesting.
The books were perfect because they were short, easy to read and told a fictionalized version of the Biblical narrative. Everyone could read the book in an hour or two, so there was tremendous group participation. We all loved learning about Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary and their various struggles that parallel our issues today. At our meeting, we discussed the fictionalized story for fifteen minutes giving people plenty of time to share their thoughts. For the next hour we read the scriptural account printed in the back of the book, and answered the discussion questions listed there. Since we didn’t have to open a Bible, all the new people felt comfortable comparing the two accounts. No one needed to have a degree in theology to get the message. The fictionalized version added details from history that flushed out cultural norms that the Biblical women faced. The scripture study in the back of the book was powerful because the group observed that Biblical women had the same battles with sin we encounter today. “I can’t believe we can learn so much, from women who lived thousands of years ago,” was their response. Through the inspirational book group, they discovered that in spite of our past, God loves us, redeems us and sets us free.
After our fifth meeting, no one wanted to stop so we offered a seminar called “How to Study the Bible.” Twenty-five women attended and learned that God’s Word is easy to read and practical for everyday living.
Were our friends interested in Bible Study after that? You bet they were! They had a tasted the life-changing truth of God’s Word and wanted more.
Is the Lord speaking to you about people in your life who would benefit from something like this? Trust Him. Did you read Capture His Heart, by Lysa TerKeurst, and think that some of your non-believing friends might appreciate reading a book like that on marriage? Do you have neighbors who are feeling overwhelmed with family responsibilities? People are desperate for truth. Someone who would never come to a Bible study might attend a book group that is reading A Woman’s Secret to a Balanced Life by Lysa TerKeurst and Sharon Jaynes.
If God is tugging at your heart to do this, step out in faith and see Him show up. Start with one book. You won’t regret it, and neither will your friends.
Editors Note: Visit our online bookstore to find out more about the books referenced in this article, or other inspirational books appropriate for group study. http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/resourceBooks.htm
Never Abandoned in the Smoke
By Mindy Ferguson
Ever felt like God has abandoned you? Read on for a biblical insight from author Mindy Ferguson.
An interesting passage caught my eye during my study time this week. Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees (Psalm 119:83 NIV). I immediately began searching my commentaries and Bible dictionaries to understand what this vivid imagery was intended to communicate.
I discovered that in ancient times when goat skin bottles were used to carry wine, the leather vessels could be destroyed if they were carelessly hung near a smoky fire. A smoke exposed wineskin would not only become blackened by soot, but dried up, parched, and shriveled – rendered useless from its time near the fire.
Wondering what circumstances might have stirred such despair, I read the surrounding verses of the psalm. I particularly like the New Living Translation:
I faint with longing for your salvation; but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me? I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, exhausted with waiting. But I cling to your principles and obey them. How long must I wait? When will you punish those who persecute me? -Psalm 119:81-84 NLT
I felt instant kinship with the psalmist as I read of his determination to cling to the promise of God’s faithfulness throughout a long period of persecution and trial. I too have experienced a few difficult seasons when I felt exhausted and shriveled from the fires of life. Prolonged periods of affliction or hardship can sometimes make us feel like God has left us hanging too long in the smoke. There are days when our eyes burn from searching His Word for a promise to which we can cling. And yes, we often become weary in our wait. But like the psalmist, our hope is in God’s Word.
As believers in Christ, we are promised that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Ecclesiastes 8:6 tells us there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. And 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Yes, the trials of life can sometimes tempt us to believe that God has carelessly abandoned us too close to the fire. But God is always working for the good of His children. He knows the proper time to act and even though our burdens weigh heavily upon us, we have to trust that He will never leave us hanging so long in the smoke that we’re destroyed and rendered useless for His service.
Are circumstances in your life causing you to feel like a smoky wineskin? Put your hope in God’s Word. Though your eyes may strain and burn as you watch for God’s promises to come true, hold unswervingly to the hope [you] profess, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
Mindy Ferguson – Copyright © 2006 Fruitful Word Ministries, Inc. All Right Reserved.
About the Author…
Mindy founded Fruitful Word Ministries in April of 2003. She has been involved in women's ministry for years, teaching Bible studies, facilitating small groups, and coordinating special events. Mindy served on the praise team for Beth Moore Bible studies for five years and was on staff for three years at her home church as Director of Curriculum Development. Mindy's writings have appeared in LifeLine Journal, the P31 Woman magazine, Just Between Us magazine, and Chicken Soup for the Mother of Preschoolers' Soul. She is the author of Walking with God, an in-depth women's Bible study released in January of 2007. Mindy currently lives in a suburb of Houston, Texas with her husband and two children. Visit her website at
www.fruitfulword.org.
The Story before Once Upon a Time
By Courtney Hilbert
Are you single and anxiously awaiting your prince in shining armor? Read about Courtney Hilbert’s experience as she waits for “Once Upon a Time” to begin.
“Once upon a time…”, why do those four little words fill our hearts with longing and expectation as we turn the page of a favorite children’s story or watch memorized scenes from a beloved romantic movie? Pretty simple - we want the fairy tale.
We envision Prince Charming slaying the dragon and rescuing each of us from peril. Once saved, we ride into the sunset on his steady white stead with our long locks flowing behind us. Who doesn’t have a fantasy or two (or two hundred) about such a daydream becoming reality?
Okay, so maybe your fantasy Prince Charming is not a prince but a cowboy or a firefighter or a Marine. Regardless of his occupation, we each see the moment after the prince of our fantasy rescues us as the pinnacle of romantic moments as we hear the narrator in our heads say, “…and they lived happily ever after”. As girls, and girls at heart, we live most of our lives in anticipation for such a moment, but what about before, “Once upon a time…”?
Did you ever wonder who Cinderella, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty was before the story started? Where did they live? Who were their friends? Did they have day jobs before they were princesses in training? Or did they simply wait in anticipation, singing, “Someday my prince will come…”?
I spent most of my teen years and early twenties anticipating my own prince riding into my life. The majority of my anticipation was not an active pursuit, but rather a passive longing for my heart’s desire. My quest for my prince switched gears my junior year in college when I traveled to England for a semester abroad.
I was so excited to go to England, as I knew that God had waited until this dramatic turning point in my life to lead me to my prince. I was so convinced that he would be in England that I was rather disappointed when I stepped off the plane in Heathrow Airport and I did not hear the thundering hoof beats of my prince’s steady stead.
My discontentment grew in the next few weeks as I waited for God to lead my prince to me. God did not make a move, so I knew I had no choice but to start the ball rolling. Obviously, God was just too busy to bring the two of us together. I was just going to have to do it for Him.
In a grand reversal of roles, I started trying Cinderella’s slipper on potential princes, but the slipper did not fit any of the boys I tried. The process was akin to trying to sell stilettos to die-hard Birkenstocks fans. Talk about frustrating. What could God be thinking? Clearly, England was the perfect place for my fairy tale to come true, so why was He not sending my prince?
At the end of my term, I left England for Paris to travel Europe. Upon boarding the plane, I was overwhelmed with the disappointment my time in England had become. I was perturbed with myself and the choices I made in an effort to pursue my “happily ever after” dream, but mostly I was disenchanted with God. “Where was He? Why hadn’t He come through for me?” I wondered.
I spent most of the plane flight replaying the events and unfulfilled expectations of the previous months. The scenes played in the personal theater of my head like a trailer for a bad movie. The images were convicting and the Holy Spirit used the confined space of the airplane to begin to awaken to me how I had turned my back on God’s plan by fervently seeking my own. By the time I said good-bye to my friend and stepped onto the train bound for Marseilles, two days later, I was completely broken and ready to listen to God.
The next few weeks became the ultimate turning point in my life. Throughout the journey through Southern Europe, God began to reveal to me the special person He created me to be. Through several train trips, hostel stays, and meanderings through historic cities, God showed me my natural independence and need only for Him. While touring the Vatican City and several days in Rome, He reminded me of the glories of the Christian faith and how I was a unique piece of the Body of Christ, intended for this specific time in history. He allowed me to experience the freedom of simply being in His presence and to gain an appreciation for the uniqueness of being alone with my true Beloved. After three weeks of travels, my spirit began to feel a new comfort in my skin. The desire to find my earthly prince was not gone, but rather the desire to know my Heavenly Prince had become more important. My discontentment had dissipated and a peace had settled in my bones. I knew it was time to return home. It was time to begin passionately living my life before my, “Once upon a time…”
I wish I could say my life over the last decade has run as beautifully as those few weeks in Europe. I wish I could say that I have not doubted God or I have not willfully disobeyed Him by choosing my timing over His. I wish I could say that I have relished every moment spent as a single person. I wish I could say I had a perfect body too, but I can’t. What I can say is that over the last decade God has shown me how awesome a gift the time before my “Once upon a time” is. He has shown me that the single life is where I can best serve Him today.
Singleness is often seen as a disease from which we, the single girls, must be cured. Our time as singles is often translated into a time of “waiting” – waiting until we can begin our “once upon a time”; waiting for our own “happily ever after”. Actually, singleness is not a disease nor is it simply a time of waiting. Singleness is a time for the single to grow into the person she is intended to be and to develop a deep and abiding relationship with her one true love, her beloved – Christ (1 Corinthians 7:34).
God has a purpose for our time as singles. He does not intend for us to sit and wait for the fairy tale. He wants us to live the life He called us to today, even if it does not meet our expectations. God’s timing is always perfect, so how can we ever imagine that His timing for our singleness, our before “once upon a time…,” is anything less than His perfect timing?
I have not yet started my earthly “once upon a time”, but I do have my “…and they lived happily ever after”. My “happily ever after” is about my ever growing relationship with Christ – my Beloved. The earthly romance of “once upon a time…” is exciting and full of hope, but it should not be what we center our lives around. Rather our lives are to be lived with Christ as the center in anticipation of our heavenly “once upon a time”. A story written with the anticipation of a “once upon a time” with our Heavenly Prince is guaranteed to have a “happily ever after.”
So, how are you writing your story before “Once upon a time”?
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