This study!!
Stupendous!
It's a tough one due to mature content...mature meaning spiritual maturity....I lead a small group Bible study through my church. We meet here in my home....all women....8 originally joined this study but after a month only 5 were faithful to continue. I think part of it was that a couple of the women are "seekers"...people who don't yet have a solid relationship with the Lord and so the material was just too difficult for them. If I had known just how deep this study was, and that I was getting a couple of women who were seekers, I probably would have told them to wait on it or join another study that was more appropriate for where they are spiritually. It's a lot of reading, homework and deep reflection. That's the one downside to this whole online sign-up that our church does to get small group members. I much prefer that I do it by word of mouth and a kick off party to introduce the book and then let people decide if they want to join. That's how I'll do my study for September. I've emailed a bunch of former members and have let them know what I'll be doing and then they can decide if they want to join. I will wait to see if I get 8 ladies and if I don't, THEN I will open up the registration online.
STUDY SUMMARY
John Piper makes a request....a plea...for our generation and the next to NOT waste our lives. He calls us to take a risk for the gospel of Jesus Christ...and to make sacrifices that will matter in eternity. He charges us to have a passion for God...for the glory of God that looks to make much of Him in every part of our lives.
The book has 10 chapters and the study guide has 9 lessons. (the last chapter doesn't have homework questions). The book's chapters are long, some being longer than others, but all doable if you meet every other week (which my group does). Getting all the reading done plus the study guide questions completed, with good thought and reflection, could be challenging for those of us who work outside the home and meet weekly. It's best done at a slower pace, in my opinion. Every other week meeting seemed to work for my group.
The titles of the chapters were as follows:
- My Search for a Single Passion to Live By
- Breakthrough---The Beauty of Christ, My Joy
- Boasting Only in the Cross, the Blazing Center of the Glory of God
- Magnifying Christ through Pain and Death
- Risk is Right...Better to Lose Your Life than to Waste It (one of my fave chapters)
- The Goal of Life--Gladly Making Others Glad in God
- Living to Prove He is more Precious than Life (another fave of mine)
- Make Much of Christ from 8 to 5 (a fave)
- the Majesty of Christ in Missions and Mercy: A Plea to This Generation (my very fave chapter)
- My Prayer---Let None Say in the End "I've Wasted It"
There's also a Preface where he discusses Bob Dylan "inspiring" him.
In the back of the book there is a General Index as well as a Scripture Index and a Note on the author's resources.
The study guide has lessons for each chapter and a leader's guides and tips at the back.
The book would be ok to read without doing the study.
John Piper also has many resources on his blog/website Desiring God.
In my opinion, this book and study guide are appropriate for a Christian who is close to Christ or Christ-centered (on the MOVE discipleship line).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this Bible study book a 10.
1 comment:
That looks like a good study. I will have to try to gather a few people to do a study with since we still don't have a church yet :(
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