Recommended Books and Bible Studies for Women

The Old Testament offers us “shadows” of Christ, but too often we miss those references because we don’t understand the Old Testament worship forms. This book offers the reader a path to better understanding of the yearly cycle of sacrifices and festivals that God commanded to his people through Moses. It explains the various offerings and feasts in an easily understood manner. The authors also offer brief historical fiction scenarios to give the reader a sense of what life was like in Old Testament families living under God’s laws. Authors: Daniel and Sarah Habben. Available: NPH, Barnes & Noble & Amazon

Public worship forms generate a lot of discussion and debate. Few other topics can generate as much passion as a new hymnal or new worship form. In Christian Worship, Pastor Strey takes the reader through the history of public worship. He starts with the basics – what is the purpose of worship, what is the Gospel in worship, and what are principles for worship. Then he walks the reader through the liturgy, the church year, symbolism, and music in worship. He closes by addressing some common misconceptions about Lutheran worship and provides a helpful glossary of worship terms. Author: Johnold J. Strey. Available: NPH 

Sometimes we find that the Old Testament is just hard to understand – the culture, the physical environment, the worship styles can seem so foreign to us. Connecting Sinai to Calvary takes us through the daily life of God’s Old Testament people. It then shows us how God promised the Messiah and, despite repeated unfaithfulness of his people, preserved his people until that promise was fulfilled. The author emphasizes that the Old Testament isn’t only about recalcitrant sinners and Sunday School storybook characters. The Old Testament is, as Jesus proclaimed in John 5:39, the Scriptures that “testify about me!” A free discussion guide to use with this book is also available Author: John C. Jeske. Available: NPH, Barnes & Noble & Amazon

How does a Christian live in the joy of Christ while going through this world of sin and sorrow? This book written in Bible study format delves into God’s truths from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Paul leads us away from relying on our feelings and back to where we belong – firmly rooted in the rock of Jesus Christ our Savior. This book offers several methods for use – as personal Bible study; as an in-depth group Bible study with all members reading through the book (questions and answers provided in the back of the book); or as 8 one-hour group Bible study lessons (free PDF download of the lessons available). It also gives suggestions for using the book of Philippians as the theme for a workshop or retreat. Author: Naomi Schmidt. Available: NPH & Amazon

This book’s unexpected title is explained at the beginning of Chapter 1. Charles Dickens suppos-edly said that Americans are backward in our thought about giving thanks. He said we should be thankful to God 364 days of the year for all his many blessings and then spend just 1 day for complaining and griping. This book is not much reading – only about 20 pages. The rest is devoted to space for the reader to keep a daily Thanksgiving Journal. The text, however, points out why we should be overwhelmingly grateful and generous in our thanks to God. The book also lends itself well to use as a group Bible study of 2 or 3 one-hour lessons Author: Andrew C. Schroer. Available: NPH, Barnes & Noble & Amazon