Perhaps you made a New Year’s Resolution to study God’s Word this year. Or maybe you chose a word, a characteristic of God, you would like to study in 2015. We have several Bible studies that would be perfect for the New Year. In no particular order, here are seven we recommend for starting off 2015.
1. Fight Back With Joy by Margaret Feinberg.
This 6-session Bible study will help you embrace a life that’s richer and fuller than you’ve ever known before, a life radiant with joy. Sooner or later, we find ourselves on the battlefield of life and struggle to know how to respond. Margaret shows us how to respond with joy.
Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest Fears. Don’t those sound like perfect New Year’s Resolutions?
2. Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida.
Ordinary is not a call to be more radical. If anything, it is a call to the contrary. The kingdom of God isn’t coming with light shows and shock and awe, but with lowly acts of service performed during the normal rhythms of life. This 6-session Bible study encourages participants to move into a life of mission and justice. We think the new year is the perfect time to turn the world upside down.
3. Jesus>Religion by Jefferson Bethke.
Jesus>Religion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. The study unpacks and highlights the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope.
We like this 6-session study for the new year because it’s all about changing our perspectives and therefore our relationship with Jesus.
4. The Sermon on the Mount by Jen Wilkin.
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew features some of the most familiar verses and teachings of Jesus in Scripture. In this 9-session Bible study, Jen Wilkin walks through these chapters as one cohesive, well-ordered message, intended to challenge us to think differently about repentance, salvation, and sanctification. This is a great study to help us become more grounded in God’s Word as we start the year.
5. Seven Realities for Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby.
This 8-session Bible study examines seven scriptural realities—those Moses experienced in Exodus 3—that teach believers how to develop an obedient love relationship with God. It explores truths like “God is always at work around you” to introduce a biblical pattern by which God reveals His will so that believers can join His activity in the world. What better time to change the patterns of your life than in the new year?
6. Recovering Redemption: How Christ Changes Everything by Matt Chandler.
We love this study for the new year because it gets to the root of our bad habits, brokenness, and destructive patterns of behavior. With relentless grace, Matt unpacks true repentance and the doctrines of justification, adoption, and sanctification. This 12-session Bible study teaches how to start living like we believe in the power of redemption.
7. Freefall to Fly by Rebekah Lyons.
In this 6-session Bible study, women learn to discover true meaning and purpose, both as individuals and in community. Rebekah challenges us to breathe deeply and take steps of faith and trust in their personal journey of surrender. We love it for the new year, because it’s all about finding the best fit for your life. We also love it because we’re offering an online Bible study with Rebekah beginning January 15. Sign up here.