What Women Need Most for Better Bible Study

I've learned a few important tips from Bible teacher Jen Wilkins that I would like to share with you.

She gives a few reasons to a better Bible study for women.

We need a better definition of Women's Bible study. We have a tendency, Jen says, to call everything a Bible study.  Not everything in a Christian bookstore is a Bible study.  Devotionals or topical studies (i.e. anxiety, fear etc) are not Bible studies. If we spend time on topical studies or devotional books, we'll only spend time in those few scriptures.  In doing a Bible study, she says, we are reading through scripture and allowing topics to present as they occur in the text.  These are not bad, but they're intended to be layered upon a foundational understanding of scripture.  We need to understand the difference between devotional, topical and those that are building a foundational base (building our Bible literacy and comprehension of scripture).

We need better resources.  We need resources that focus on God first and us second.  Many questions in the studies we do ask questions that reflect on "who I am" first rather than on "who God is". It's a good question, but shouldn't be the first question we ask. The first question should be "what does this passage teach me about God?" After we answer that question, we have the foundational base to ask ourselves "how can I adjust myself to what this passage is teaching?"  We also need resources that target our mind not just our emotions. Jen stated that a lot of books out there for women target only the emotions.  The thought card is never targeted.  We are to love our God with our mind, scripture says.  Our intellect should be engaged in our pursuit of knowing God. We shouldn't be spoon-fed with the answers.  We should be better students of the Bible and be more comfortable with our Bible at the end of a study. 

I found this very helpful.  If you desire to hear the 10 minute talk by Jen Wilkins, you can find it on youtube under "what women need most for Bible study, Jen Wilkins."

Review by Sharon Garner

Kelly Minter "All Things New" - Session 4

Session 4 of Kelly Minter's 2 Corinthians series is called "The New Has Come".  She teaches from 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1.  

In the workbook for the session 4 study, Kelly goes through chapter 5.  She begins the DVD study starting with chapter 6 verse 14.

"Fix on the unseen - eternal, not the temporary" was how Kelly started out session 4.

Because we are in this new covenant, Paul tells the Corinthian church to not be yoked to this world with unbelievers.  Don't be teamed up or mis-matched with an unbeliever.

What Yoke Does Mean
The definition of "yoke" is: teamed together, going in the same direction.  If you're not yoked together correctly or compatibly, you will be going in two different directions, two different mindsets.

This causes:

• Striving
• Fighting and tugging to go in a certain direction

What Yoke Does Not Mean

Look at 1 Corinthians 5:9-10:

• It does't mean to stop relating to the sinner.  If so, we'll just need to leave the world.  It does mean: relationship ties that compromise what God wants to do in our lives.
• It doesn't mean we don't have friendships with unbelievers.

What it does mean is that our values will be markedly different from the culture.

"We don't want to be tied in such a way where another person's direction in life holds power over God's calling in our life" - Kelly Minter

Think About This

Are we yoked to a person (not a marriage partner Kelly emphasized) whose direction is completely different than our direction in life?  Where are we unequally yoked?

Three Promises

Sometimes this verse (v. 14) can appear to be so negative.  It's not a negative at all.  Paul looks back to the OT and gives us three promises that God has given to us.

Look at 2 Corinthians 7:1 where it says "dear friends.....since we have these promises"....

God will dwell with us. Here in 2 Corinthians 6:16b Paul quotes Levitcus 26:11-13.  The context: the Israelites have just come out of Egypt - the land of slavery and bondage.  The Lord had brought them out and said these words to them (v.11-13)

He's making a dwelling place among the Israelites because He delivered them, brought them out, so they were no longer slaves.

Now we are the temple where God dwells. He broke the bars of our yoke.  Why would we want to re-yoke ourselves to bondage?  The reason we do is because of what the Israelites did or said "you know Egypt wasn't so bad."

Remember always the cost of Christ to break that yoke.

God will receive us. Look at 2 Corinthians 6:17.  It sounds conditional, but it's indicative - it's what is true.  As a result of that truth, we now have an imperative - a command.  Because the Lord dwells, we want to come out, be separate.  Because the Lord is going to recieve us, we don't want to touch the "unclean thing".

Verse 17 of 2 Corinthians is found in Isaiah 52:11.  Context: Israelites coming out of bondage from Babylon per King Cyrus. Paul didn't mention "you who carry the vessels of the Lord" which is mentioned in Isaiah but not in 2 Corinthians.  

Meaning: when the Israelites were coming out of Babylon back to Jerusalem, they got to take those vessels that were taken out of the temple with them back to Jerusalem - back to its rightful place.

"Do not touch the unclean things", Kelly said, made more sense: "why would we ever want to touch the unclean things when we are holding the vessels of the Lord? We cannot bear both the sacred and the sacrilegious at the same time.  The God who freed you has given you something very sacred to carry in this life."

He will be a Father to us. We looked at 2 Corinthians 6:18.  Paul is probably pulling from 2 Samuel 7:14 here, Kelly mentioned.  God is telling David He will be a Father to his son Solomon  - fulfilling a covenant with Israel.

Closing

When we unequally yoke, we get someone else's portion, somebody else's share.  It's not a share we want.

This is why we don't want to be unequally yoked because we are holy people under a new covenant.

Why live the old way when we can live new.

Session 5: "Rethinking Generosity"

Kelly Minter "All Things New" - Session 3

Session 3 of this series is called "A New Ministry."  Kelly will focus on 2 Corinthians chapter 3:1-18.

Kelly begins by saying that Paul had a lot of problems with the Corinthian church.  They wanted a letter of recommendation.  They didn't like it that Paul was poor, not popular, beaten up.  They wanted a successful, powerful man.  

• Tension
• Hardship
• Attack

Chapters 3-6 are about what Christian ministry should look like.

Old Versus New Covenant. Look at verse 6.  The old covenant was good but was powerless to change us (Law of Moses/10 commandments).  It showed us what we needed to do but the Law didn't help us get there.  The old law:

• Kills
• Brings death
• Condemns

Paul has a different kind of ministry, much more glorious than the law.  Look at Romans 8:3-4.  God fulfilled the law by sending Jesus Christ, who is the new covenant, and we are part of this new covenant ministry.

Five Characteristics

Kelly mentioned 5 characteristics of what it means to be a new covenant minister:

A ministry about people's hearts. If we've lost sight of people's hearts, we've lost sight of what it means to be in new covenant ministry.  We can be about people, numbers and masses but forget about their hearts. (see 2 Cor. 3:3).

A ministry for which God equips us. Equip: to render one fit, to equip one with adequate power to perform ones duties.  In order for the Lord to make you sufficient, He may have to take you through a season of breaking you down.  He's working out the sufficiency in you. (see 2 Cor. 3:6).

We also looked at 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 and Exodus chapter 34.  The story of the tablets and coming down from the moutain with Moses face shining.  He had to put a veil over his face.  That was glory that would fade.  How much more glorious is that which will last and not fade.  This new covenant ministry will last.

It's a ministry of boldness.  Why?  Because we have a hope (verse 12).  Read 2 Corinthians 3:12-16.  Paul uses the metaphor of a veil two different ways:

• Veil covers the hearts of unbelievers and removed when they come to the Lord
• The veil we put over our faces as believers (verses 12-13)

Kelly commented that the people in the world have a veil over their heart because they haven't turned to Christ.  We also can have a veil over our face because of not telling them the gospel. 

"Others may not get the veil off their heart until we get the veil off our face."

A ministry of freedom (verse 17).

A ministry of unfading glory.  "ever increasing glory" verse 18.

Kelly asked this question "why do we get to be ministers of the new covenant?"

Second Corinthians 5:21 gives us the answer "so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Session 4: "The New Has Come"

Kelly Minter "All Things New" - Session 1

These are my notes from Session 1 of "All Things New" by Bible teacher Kelly Minter.

To get the most out of this study, I would encourage you to purchase the workbook.  This workbook contains much more information and further study for each chapter of 2 Corinthians than in the actual teaching sessions.

In the introduction, Kelly says that all the things she didn't know about 2 Corinthians is what moved her and changed her.  She gives us a bit of history and context.

History
Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia in AD 54 or 55.  Approximately 80,000 people lived in ancient Corinth at the time of Paul's writing.  On the outskirts, about 20,000 more people lived.

Corinth sat on an isthmus, meaning there were two harbors.  You can imagine how busy this city was with ships, trade, buying and selling goods of every kind.

At this time, a lot of dark things were going on:

• Slavery
• Prostitution
• Corruption
• Immorality

Context

Paul wrote this letter to a group of believers who had great opposition towards Paul:

• They were judging him
• They were questioning his integrity
• They questioned his apostleship
• They found their own apostles (super apostles)
• They paid great attention to social status, wealth, power
• They compared themselves amongst themselves
• They judged according to the world's standards

The Corinth church was upset with Paul because he didn't come visit them when he said he would come.  They questioned, also, his integrity and his message about Christ.  Their hearts were withdrawing from him.

Second Corinthians was written out of great desperation and grief.  Everything in this book Paul writes out of a place of pain:

• Relational hardship
• Dissension

This is Kelly's introductory statement for 2 Corinthians:

Second Corinthians is a letter to a church in a city, written out of weakness, with an open heart about a new ministry that changes lives because Jesus has made all things new."

She starts with 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 (please read).  Notice: "to the church of God in Corinth." Kelly asks this question: "how can the church of God be thriving in Corinth?"  Her answer: Because the gospel of Christ is made for real life.  We need the power of the gospel.

She shares 5 points from this introductory statement:

We'll discover that the church of God is meant to thrive in real life. Thrive in hardships, difficulties, complexities of life, pain, struggles and messiness of life.

Second Corinthians was written out of weakness.  Paul has endured much suffering and much pain over the broken relationship of the Corinth church.  Kelly says this "we will come to love our weakness because of what Christ can do through our weakness."

Second Corinthians 4:7 says this "but we have this precious treasure (the good news of salvation) in earthen vessels (of human fraility), so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be (shown to be) from God (His sufficiency) and not from ourselves."

Notice: "jars of clay" (earthen vessels).  Paul didn't mean we were not valuable.  Possibly he was meaning jars of clay are fragile, weak.  The treasure inside that jar of clay (earthen vessel), when that comes shining through, it is glorious knowing that it comes from God and not ourselves.

Paul will talk a lot about our weakness.  In our weakness, the power of Christ shines through (2 Cor. 12:9).  Our weakness does not have to be our greatest consternation.  It will be our blessing.  Why? Because we will embrace and not resist it and know that's when the power of Christ rests upon us.

Written with an open heart. Chapter 6 of second Corinthians verses 11 and 12 speak of his open heart.  Admist all the attacks from the Corinth church, Paul is able to keep an open heart. This literally means for the heart to be stretched open.  

Do we keep our hearts open when we are attacked?  Do we withdrawal our heart or retaliate?

Paul has challenged us.  Let's be determined to keep our hearts stretched open as well.

A new ministry that changes lives.  The scripture used here chapter 3:6 He has qualified us (making us sufficient) as ministers of a new covenant (of salvation through Christ), not of the letter (of a written code) but of the Spirit; for the letter (of the law) kills (by revealing sin and demanding obedience), but the Spirit gives life.

Paul will take four chapters to explain what Christian ministry looks like and what it is - chapters 3-6.  In these chapters, Paul talks about:

• What the power of the gospel is
• What ministry looks like 

It's a new covenant of the Spirit, not of the Law.  Kelly mentioned some other points she will talk about because of the New Covenant.

We are more poised for ministry than we ever thought we were.

Our competency comes from God alone.  Why is that true?  Because Jesus Christ came to make all things new (2 Cor. 5:17).

This covers what Kelly will be talking about in this 8-week DVD series on 2 Corinthians.

Please see notes on "Session 2"

All Things New - Online Bible Study/Kelly Minter Session 2 "The God of all Comfort"

Welcome to session 2 of Kelly Minter's "All Things New."

These are my notes from this DVD-driven Bible study. A more in-depth study is provided in Kelly Minter's weekly workbook.  I would encourage you to purchase this workbook to dive deeper into the 2 Corinthians chapters.  Kelly gives amazing insight into 2 Corinthians in the workbook you will not want to miss.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-11.

Notice firstly, "Father of compassion."  The Greek word for this word "compassion" is oyktirmos - the seat of our emotions.  The bowels of our emotions.  This is how God feels about us.  He's the source of this compassion.

Secondly, notice the word "comfort." The Greek word for this is paraklesis. The God who helps you. It's like God is saying "you can do it."  

We tend to forget these two words in our suffering, in our troubles.

When we are suffering, Kelly says, "everything is below the clouds.  We've got to get the ice off of our wings for us to see above the clouds." (referring to an airplane story she told).

How do we get the "ice" off of our wings?

• Go to God's Word
• What does He say about suffering?

When we do this, we get to see what God sees.

What does Paul say about Christian suffering:

Suffering is never without purpose.

As believers, we don't suffer as the world suffers.  Verse 4 says "we comfort others with the comfort we've received.

It's not the suffering that makes you a good comforter, Kelly says, rather it's the comfort you receive from Jesus in the midst of your suffering that makes you a good comforter.

Verse 6 says "it creates in us a patient endurance."  This is not a valued quality in our culture, says Kelly.

Look at Romans 5:3-5 - there's a chain reaction here.  How about Hebrews 5:8.  Jesus learned obedience through suffering.  Have we?

In 2 Corinthians 1:9, we shift from relying on ourselves to relying on God.  Suffering can get us to the end of ourselves rather quickly.  We run out of our resources and must rely on God's resources.

Suffering never flows apart from God's comfort.

In verse 5, abundance in suffering but also abundance in comfort.

They flow together.  Are we receiving the comfort God offers?

Suffering connects us to others in ways no other experience can.

Verse 7 - we share in each others sufferings.  Look also at I Corinthians 12:26 "and if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering".  We have a deeper empathy with others.  When we've gone through similar sufferings, use that investment of suffering to reach out to someone else.

Suffering is the means to a unique sharing in relationship with Jesus.

Philippians 3:10 "so that I may know Him (becoming more thoroughly acquainted) with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings"....

Through Christ our comfort overflows (2 Corinthians 1:5):

• Sufferings flow over us into our lives
• Comfort of God flows through Jesus into our lives

Next Session 3: "A New Ministry"

Beth Moore Entrusted Session 6 "Face to Face

Welcome to the last session of this DVD series Entrusted.  We've had quite the journey through 2 Timothy with Beth Moore.

The Apostle Paul forthrightly encourages and inspires us about our future life in the chapters of 2 Timothy.  His earthly life is coming to a close in this second letter of Timothy.  We will read and reflect on some of those important encouragements he gives us in chapter 4.

Beth, firstly, encourages us to do something with the knowledge we have been acquiring during this study, and to ramp up our effectiveness as mighty servants of God.

Our theme chapter for this session was 2 Timothy chapter 4.  She gives us 6 reflection statements to ponder from 2 Timothy 4:6-8 written by Paul that tell us something to expect on the other side of this life:

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will aware to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing."

Paul had an unapologetic expectancy of reward
God is our reward; but He wants to also reward us.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us what it takes to please God - faith.  He wants us to walk in faith.  Those who do so will be rewarded.

Paul anticipated direct interaction with Christ
Notice in verse 8 this phrase "award to me" - direct interaction.

Paul anticipated exceedingly vivacious existence in a kingdom
We are a kingdom of priests of our God to serve our God.  We are going into a kingdom with a greater reality than we have ever experienced here on earth.

Paul never equated "heavenly" with translucent
This earth is the vapor.  Heaven is the reality.  James 4:14
"......what is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

To see that face would be to fully know as he'd been known
We will see Jesus face-to-face and be fully known.

Paul knew what we must know to thrive: not one ounce of our labor will ever be in vain.

What a tremendous session to end this study.  Our home isn't here on earth.  We have a future, permanent home.  The hope of a heavenly home to come.

Beth Moore "Entrusted" Session 5: Fulfill Your Ministry

Session 5 of the Entrusted series suspended us right between the third and fourth chapters of 2 Timothy.  We looked at the complexity and camaraderie of a servant's life.

What we talked about in this session was "something very special to the apostle Paul and very important to us ramping up our effectiveness as mighty servants of God."

Wouldn't sanctification be so much easier if there weren't a lot of people in our life?  Beth says, "we would do so much better under the steeple without some of those people."

We began chapter 3 of 2 Timothy with Paul telling us that not only will it be perilous times because of circumstances around us, but the last days would be perilous times because of people.

He talks about what people will be like.  Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

We're right in the middle of Paul telling us all the things that are going to go array and 2 Timothy chapter 4 tells us things that have gone array with people because of relationships.  He ends it up with such a tenderness and love.  You realize how much people have meant to apostle Paul.

We see something amazing about Paul - something that we must reflect in our own life, if we're going to have joy while here on this journey.

We read Romans 16:1-16 (which is a letter by Paul as well).  We see 27 names of associates of apostle Paul that he is sending greetings to.  These names reveal an "authentic holy networking."

Many women were mentioned in this list of names.

Beth reminded us that if we are going to ramp up our effectivness, we also need to ramp up our connectedness.  In these verses are revealed many connections with people.  Many of these people are also mentioned in other NT books.

We are so much stronger together.  We're meant to encourage one another across the generations.

Beth mentioned that "in our culture today, it's unfortunate that we tear each other down in a public place".  Facebook, twitter etc.

We must stand together as one body of believers - servants of Christ.  

In I Corinthians 4:1 the word "servant" in Greek means "under rower".  Servant: subordinate, servant, attendant, or assistant in general.  The subordinate official who waits to accomplish the commands of his superior. 

Beth went on to give us four points about the under rower:

1.  Rowers don't build up and maintain muscle by rowing downstream.

We can be spiritual steroids to one another.

2. Staying in rhythm and sync with a team takes concentrated effort.

We don't always get to choose our fellow rowers.  Iron sharpening iron.  Getting through conflict and reaching the other side can sharpen us and make us stronger.  Are we willing to work through conflict and not just walk away?

3.  Rowing also necessitates a certain amount of repetition.

Expect repetition.  It can be tedious, but we have "boat songs": every worship service we sing our "boat songs".

4. Rowers have each other's backs.

Satan know that if he can come between those rowers (us), he can get the boat off course.

Have we slandered our brothers and sisters in Christ?  Have we been faithful behind their backs?  Have we affirmed the slander of others by remaining silent?

We have been with "rowers" who are not safe with us behind their back.  We must repent.  

"Life is hard enough for our brothers and sisters - let's have their backs."

Next session: "Face to Face