SHORT TOPICAL STUDIES

We normally do a 4- to 6-week study in the summer which is topical in nature and limited to 5-8 questions per week, so that the ladies are getting in the Word, but with busy summer and vacation schedules, they can join when they are available. Sometimes we do two lessons a week, since the lessons are so easy. Our summer sessions provide more opportunity for fun and fellowship. Often we decorate, add fun snacks, and many of our studies have free downloadable skits that accompany them. (See the description of each book to see if skits are available.)

We currently have 11 of these short studies available. Check out our offerings at https://www.retreatinabag.net/available-womens-bible-studies/ . 

VERSE-BY-VERSE WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDIES

Today, we would like to introduce you to some of our verse-by-verse and in-depth studies. We love studying the Bible verse-by-verse! We have 12 in-depth studies available. 

• Our experience over the years is that women do not normally like to join in the middle of the study. Because of that, we have only limited studies that last the entire Sept-May school year. Those are verse-by-verse studies:
• The ACTS of the Apostles; 
• The Gospel of John; and 
• Isaiah:God’s Prophecy, Promises and Unfailing Hope.  

• We have also written verse-by-verse studies on some shorter books of the Bible. These are short enough to complete in one semester (fall or winter/spring). Those books are:
• Haggai:Consider Your Ways; and 
• Habakkuk: The Comfort of God’s Sovereignty.

• We have several verse-by-verse studies which focus on just a chapter or shorter section of the Bible. These are short enough to complete in one semester (fall or winter/spring). These are: 
• Psalm 91: Safe in God’s Protective Custody; 
• Psalm 119: Seeking Him with our Whole Heart; 
• The Glorious Truths of Romans 8;
• Lessons on Prayer from the Heart of Jesus (the Lord’s Prayer); and 
• God’s Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11).

• Finally, we two topical studies that are short enough to complete in one semester (fall or winter/spring). These are:
• A Few Good Men (a study of the eight good kings of Judah, from II Kings and II Chronicles); and 
• The Holy Spirit: An 8-Week Study of His Person, His Promise and His Power.

If you are like us, we are always planning for our next women’s study. Check out our offerings at https://www.retreatinabag.net/available-womens-bible-studies/. 

BIG NEWS

BIG NEWS! We are excited to announce a new addition to the resources now available at the Retreat-in-a-Bag website. Up until now, resources on the website have focused on everything retreat (including themed events) and skits. As of May 1, 2024, we now offer women’s Bible studies that we have written through our church women’s ministry.

We have found that purchasing studies from retail outlets is not only expensive, but the options are limited: 

• Very few had the right number of lessons to correspond to the length of time scheduled for our study; 
• Many were geared to either the serious Bible student or the casual learner–but not both;
• Some were simply books which had a chapter to read with questions at the end, so that our women were getting someone else’s opinion before digging into the Word for themselves; 
• Many were geared toward their accompanying video teachings.

Our desire was to focus on a book of the Bible, a chapter of the Bible or a specific section of scripture and do a verse-by-verse study. We wanted something that would challenge our experienced Bible study women and yet keep the interest of those not as acquainted with doing regular Bible homework. For those reasons, we began to write some of our own studies. 

This month, you will get a weekly blog detailing some of what we have to offer. If you are like us, we are alway planning for our next women’s study. Check out our offerings for yourselves at https://www.retreatinabag.net/available-womens-bible-studies. 

Elasticity

I often hear talk about the need for flexibility in leadership–flexibility being defined as being adaptable and responsive to change as opposed to being rigid. Elasticity has a similar but slightly definition: it describes a quality that enables a substance to change its length, volume, or shape in direct response to a force effecting such a change and to recover its original form upon the removal of the force.

If God has called you into leadership, you can pretty much count on the truth that He wants to stretch you.  He wants to stretch your faith muscles.

There are those times when God puts us under pressure. It is as if we are the silly putty and God is the one doing the stretching. Sometimes He stretches us by putting us in situations that require love and patience. Sometimes He stretches us by allowing us to be irritated by some individual. Sometimes God stretches us through some temptation that comes our way. Or we find ourselves in a situation that really causes a lot of frustration, which in turn stretches us.

But here is the question. If God is stretching us, what is His end game? Is He just allowing us to get stretched out of shape so we will be some distorted Christian? I see a lot of distorted Christians. These are Christians who actions and words do not appear to be Christian at all. To be honest God is not trying to cause distortion in our lives. He purpose is to make us more Christ-like. When He stretches us, He is showing us areas of our life that are not like Christ. He is chiseling on us and pulling on us to make us look more like Christ.