Posts Tagged ‘Siesta Summer Bible Study’

Siesta Summer Bible Study 2014 Gathering 2!

As you will clearly see and loudly hear on the following video, Jackson, Annabeth and I were in the middle of Camp Bibby when it was time to tape my little video greeting for Summer Bible Study Gathering 2. SO, I brought the kids with me. Lindsee and I decided it would be sillier and better to just give you the unedited, woefully unrehearsed version of the taping. So, here you have it. Since I promised in the video to add a few pictures from our week, you’ll find those at the bottom of this post right after your discussion questions. So glad you’re participating! Thank you for coming along!

Siesta Summer Bible Study Session 2 – COTD from LPV on Vimeo.

In case you have trouble viewing the video greeting, here are the discussion points for your small group and for your comment content to this post:

1. From p.46, middle of the page: Did 1 Thessalonians 2:8 stir up a story of your own about a way you have shared not only the Gospel but also your very self because someone had become so dear to you? If so, please share a portion of it with us.

 

2. From p.50, in the margin toward the bottom of the page: Isaiah 38:15 records words from the pen of Hezekiah that poignantly describe bitterness: “I walk along slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.” I suggest in the lesson that bitterness makes our souls heavy and our feet like anchors and it ages us far beyond our years. Share something of the impact bitterness has had in your own life and, if God has delivered you from it, testify.

 

3. From p.51, mid page: Share a time when you experienced some form of persecution because of your belief in Jesus. This topic will only grow more relevant in a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity. We’re going to have to learn to expect it, deal with it, and not shrink back in our faith because of it. Our tendency will be to return insult for insult but Christ has called us instead to bless when we are cursed. (1 Peter 3:9) Nothing about it will be easy. We’ll have to be deliberate to be victorious.

 

Do Weeks Three and Four of your homework for our next gathering. If you are watching the optional video teaching sessions through LifeWay, watch Session 3 right away before you begin Week Three homework then, after Week Three homework is complete, watch Session 4. Follow up Session 4 with Week Four homework. Click here to access all of the teaching sessions. 

 

Week  Three Memory Verse:

“For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 3:8

 

Week Four Memory Verse:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

 

I love you guys so much! May God reveal Himself unmistakably and personally to you throughout these 8 weeks! I am honored beyond words to serve you. You can drop off here and say goodbye or, for those of you who like this kind of thing, you can scroll on down for a few pictures from last week’s Camp Bibby:

At the Aquarium in Houston. The whole complex was a total blast and God gave us perfect weather. We could easily have had a 3-digit temperature that day but it was dryer and cooler than a normal June day in our warm city.

 

My boy and me on the Ferris Wheel that looks right on downtown Houston:

 

Annabeth and Aunt Melissa (AB’s present obsession) on that same Ferris Wheel:

 

I love the above picture because Melissa looked so similar to Annabeth at that same age. Needless to say, Annabeth is the spitting image of her mother but her hair is much darker than Amanda’s was. Amanda stayed very blond through her young childhood. Below is the actual picture I promised in the video where all of us froze trying to figure out what creature Annabeth said we’d petted. She was right though and here’s the proof! Stingray-bonding with Aunt Melissa:

 

This picture is from the restaurant in the Aquarium. Our table was right next to it. We were all mesmerized by watching the fish in the enormous tank but Annabeth was totally lost in a world all her own. I’m sure she was Ariel swimming right among the fish in the ocean of her imagination.

 

This was our boating day on Lake Conroe about an hour from our home. We took Keith’s boat and he taught both kids how to steer it right at his side. It was so much fun. We took the boat all the way to the other side of the lake and docked it at a pier and ate at Papa’s Burgers right on the water. It was a magical day for the children. That modest sized lake would have seemed as large as the Gulf of Mexico through their young eyes.

 

 

Thank you for humoring me! I love them so much it hurts.

Happy homework and I’ll talk to you very soon!!!

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Optional Link for Session Two

Hey Bible Study Ladies!

It’s Tuesday and I’m sure some of you are wondering where our Children of the Day Session Two video might be! For those of you that have wondered this, I’m just here to remind you that Beth will greet us every other Tuesday with her own greeting on the blog, but, if you are keeping up with the teaching sessions, then today would be the day (or whatever day you’re choosing to do Bible study), to download session two through LifeWay.

As a gentle reminder, the teaching sessions are completely optional and are not required to do the study with us here on the blog. Like every other summer, they come at a very small cost for each session, which is why we leave it up to you to do with you group or not. We do apologize if that was unclear. We try our best to serve you ladies and are so honored you’d join us for the summer!

I’m embedding the link to LifeWay here again today so that you won’t have to go on a treasure hunt for it should you want to access the teaching sessions! Just click here! This week you would be watching session two.

We love y’all and pray this study is already bearing much fruit.

Happy Tuesday!

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Siesta Summer Bible Study 2014: Launch and Registration!

Welcome everybody! This is our first gathering for Children of the Day and we are incredibly blessed to have you along! If you’re just now hearing about it, we’d love for you to join us! You’ll find it most helpful to begin by reading this previous post that includes our approach, our summer Bible study schedule and many other specifics: (SSBS 2014 Info post) All you need to participate is the workbook entitled Children of the Day. We only officially “gather” here on the blog every two weeks because summers are so busy.  On each of those 5 Tuesdays (starting today), you’ll find a video I’ve prepared for you with instructions for that day. I’ll also remind you to do the next 2 weeks of Bible study before our next gathering. View it personally if you are going solo or, if you’re joining in with others, with your small group. I’ll always put the bare bones of that gathering’s instructions in print in the post as well (as you’ll see below) in case you have any trouble viewing the video. Here’s your first one!

 

 

Basic written instructions in case you have trouble with the video:

Register for our summer Bible study by simply leaving a comment to this post per instructions below. Of course, you can take part without registering but you’ll get much more out of it if you fully participate. It not only increases accountability. It stirs up a sense of belonging and fellowship which is so important to us here in this blog community. 

 

Here’s what we’d love for you to supply in your registration comment today: (Try to limit yourself to this information so it will be easy to read and count.)

 

1. Your NAME.

 

2. Your CITY.

 

3. Whether you’re going SOLO or in tandem with a small group. If you’re in a small group, share approximately how many are in your group and where you are planning to meet.

 

4. Share in a sentence or two why you could really stand to be in Bible study this summer. Maybe it’s that you’ve never been in one before. We would be elated! Or maybe it’s been a long time. If so, this is a great time and place to come back home to the heart of Jesus. Maybe you’re just hoping to get to know Christ a little better. Or, perhaps you’re interested in particular subject matter that appears on the pages of 1st or 2nd Thessalonians. On the other hand, maybe you especially need to be in the Scriptures because you have extenuating circumstances that could really challenge you this summer. What’s motivating you to get into the Scriptures with us this summer? There are no wrong answers!

 

5. BONUS question (optional):  WHAT IS A QUIRK OF YOURS?? Come on, now! Tell us!


If you’re meeting with a small group, share your answers to questions 4 and 5.

 

I will pitch out a memory verse each week for anybody who wants to participate:

 Week 1 Memory Verse:

 1 Thessalonians 1:4 The NET Bible: We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you.

 

Week 2 Memory Verse:

1 Thessalonians 2:8 The NET Bible: …with such affection for you we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

 

 

Do WEEKS ONE AND TWO of your homework before our next gathering in two weeks! If you’re watching the OPTIONAL video teaching sessions, you will want to watch Session 1 this week before you start your homework and Session 2 before you start your second week of homework. Here is the link: Children Of The Day Sessions

 

Don’t feel pressured to go to the added expense. All you need to participate in the summer study is the workbook. 

 

I am so honored to serve you and study with you this summer! Can’t wait to see your names and locations! So much love to you, Sisters! We joyfully embrace each one of you. 

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Siesta Summer 2014 Bible Study: Anybody Game for “Children of the Day”?

Hey, Everybody!

It’s almost May and, around here, that means it’s time to announce our Siesta Summer Bible Study for those who are itching to take a journey together. In all these years of doing summer Bible study together here on the blog, we’ve never gone through one I’ve authored. The biggest reason is that I really love to go through other authors’ courses with our blog community. That’s a refreshing blast of Holy Spirit-breath to me and you can count on us doing that again next summer.  The other reason is that the launch date of one of mine never coincided well with the beginning of summer.  With Children of the Day (an in-depth study of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians) coming out in May, the timing works out perfectly. I ask you to trust my heart on this and know that we’re not doing the study this summer so that I can drive up sales. I can’t prove my motives to you but I give you my word. That’s all I know to do. Any of you who still find it uncomfortable can, by all means, choose another Bible study by a different author and feel completely welcome to formulate your group right here in the comment section to this post. Just start your comment with the words in all caps “ANOTHER OPTION” and get together on line and choose which Bible study you’d like to do. There are so many fabulous ones available. You have my complete and joyful blessing to use this community to put your group together. Any way we can serve you is a tremendous honor to us.

 

For those of you who would like to do Children of the Day with our community this summer, here are a few important facts:

 

* We’ll start Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Around here at Living Proof, we formed the habit of Tuesday Bible study over the years so that’s why we choose it as our gathering day but you are welcome to commit to any day of the week that works for you. Simply adapt the instructions to that particular day.

 

* Children of the Day is an 8-week study so we will wrap it up on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.

 

* As we’ve done in past summers, we’re only asking you to commit to “gather” with us and/or with your group every other week since summers are so busy. We will still stay on schedule for each week’s homework but you’ll only need to check in once every 2 weeks.

 

* I will put up a short video greeting here on the blog by 8:00 AM every other week on our gathering days, starting with Tuesday, June 3rd. The greeting will include instructions for discussion in your small groups or with the blog community at large. Your “discussion” with the blog community will take place through your response-comment to that post.

 

* We strongly recommend forming small groups for the pure camaraderie and accountability of it but you are also very welcome to go solo. The best small groups of all meet face-to-face but, if that’s not possible, try to formulate one on line. You might even Skype. Do whatever would benefit you the most and offer you the fellowship we all need so desperately.

 

* You only need the Children of the Day workbook to participate in the summer study. You don’t need to download the video sessions. All discussion questions will be based on the written work alone, as we’ve done in past summers, so that no one is forced into the extra expense. Each week we will put up a link to that week’s COTD video session for those who also want to include those but I will leave that option entirely to you. There will be no pressure whatsoever. People often ask if the video sessions and homework portions are the same lessons. They are not. They are designed to complement one another for a comprehensive approach to 1st and 2nd Thessalonians but they are not redundant. They are on different segments and concepts found in the 2 letters.

 

Does that answer many of your questions?  OK, now for the schedule:

Between release date (first week of May) and June 3rd, acquire a workbook of Children of the Day but don’t start it yet! No homework needs to be done before our first gathering. The workbook looks like this:

 

 

You can find it at your local LifeWay Christian bookstore by the first week of May, or click here to order online at any time:  COTD workbook

 

GATHERING ONE: June 3, 2014 – Our summer Bible study launches! By 8:00 AM that morning, God willing, you will find a brief video greeting from me and instructions for that day’s participation/discussion. Again, you can do it any day that week. We’re just choosing Tuesday as our official gathering day. You will “register” for summer Bible study by leaving a comment on the June 3rd post with your name and city and whether or not you are participating in a group or going solo. I will give you the specific instructions at that time. At the bottom of the post will be a link for that weeks’ full-hour Session 1 video if you choose to add on that option.

 

Do Weeks 1 and 2 of homework for Gathering Two.

 

(June 10th – link will go up for COTD Session 2 video for anyone going for that option.)

 

GATHERING TWO: Tuesday June 17, 2014. Brief video greeting from me and instructions for that day’s gathering or discussion. (Link for COTD Session 3 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

Do Weeks 3 and 4 of homework for Gathering 3.

 

(June 24th – Link will go up for COTD Session 4 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

GATHERING THREE: July 1, 2014. Brief video greeting from me and instructions for that day’s gathering or discussion. (Link for COTD Session 5 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

Do Weeks 5 and 6 of homework for Gathering Four.

 

(July 8th – Link will go up for COTD Session 6 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

GATHERING FOUR: July 15, 2014. Brief video greeting from me and instructions for that day’s gathering or discussion. (Link for COTD Session 7 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

Do Weeks 7 and 8 of homework for Gathering Five.

 

(July 22 – Link will go up for COTD Session 8 video for anyone taking that option.)

 

GATHERING FIVE CONCLUSION: July 29, 2014. Brief video greeting from me and instructions for that day’s gathering and closing. (Link for COTD Session 9 video conclusion for anyone taking that option.)

 

 

Here is the above schedule in diagram form thanks to my beloved assistant, K-Mac. You can enlarge it to see it better or copy and paste it to a document and print it out if you’re that kind of weird person…because I am, too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound fun??!? Yep, it also sounds like a bit of work but not a single word of Scripture will drop to the ground. We can  have confidence in advance that the pursuit of Christ through His Word will completely alter the summer of 2014. I’m ecstatic to have the privilege of spending these 8 weeks with you in Bible study. You are a tremendous joy to me. Our God-given emphasis right now at Living Proof is on stirring up women who are less-discipled in Scripture to come to love Christ through His powerful, living, relevant Word. We would be thrilled for you to help us by inviting some women along who have never before done this kind of thing. Take the chance and ask them! So many women have a hunger for God. They just don’t know exactly how to identify it. Bring them along if God opens that door!

 

Can’t wait to get started! Dearest love to you all!

 

Beth

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