Most of us struggle (admittedly or not) with knowing how to study God’s Word. Jen Wilkin’s book Women of the Word is one of the most practical resources I’ve read to learn a method of diving deeper into Scripture. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and explains her method of Bible study in a very usable way. I love learning from the ways that other believers study the Bible, and Jen combines practicality and knowledge to challenge us to become women of the Word.
Biblical literacy is crucial to being a fully devoted follower of Christ. Call it Hermeneutics, or call it a Bible Study method, this book will help you to start a practical plan of reading to understand. Our hearts and minds both need to be engaged to gain a deeper understanding of what God has given us through Scripture. This book is a fantastic tool to do just that.
One of my favorite things that Jen recommends is to give ourselves time to wrestle with the Word. So often we run so quickly to a commentary (or let’s be real – the internet) and don’t ask God to show us what it means. It’s not a bad thing to wrestle or struggle with Scripture. The goal is a deeper understanding of the Bible as a whole. We have to be conscious to read Scripture in light of Scripture. It’s one big book, so we have to look at it that way.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“The heart cannot love what the mind does not know.”
“We must love God with our minds, allowing our intellect to inform our emotions, rather than the other way around.”
“We can’t fully appreciate the sweetness of the New Testament without the savory of the Old Testament. We need historical narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, law, prophecy, and parables all showing us the character of God from different angles. And we need to see the gospel story from Genesis to Revelation. A well-rounded approach to Bible study challenges us to learn the full counsel of God’s Word. It helps us to build a collective understanding of how the Bible as a whole speaks of God.”
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Have you read Women in the Word? What did you think? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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When Mary Margaret isn’t coordinating leadership events for women or hosting the {MARKED} podcast, you can find her watching Florida Gator football, cooking with friends, or reading a good book. She loves teaching God’s Word, Mexican food, a good pair of jeans, and calling Nashville home. Follow her on Twitter: @marymargaretc.
Jen’s book is great,but I find it to be a condensed version of Kay Arthur’s inductive study that has been around for a long time.
One of the best books on how we should view the Word of God. Do not be fooled by its small size because it is filled with truth. One of the biggest turnarounds for me was it is a book about God and not about Me. Women will receive some great tools on how to read the Scriptures on their own. I would highly recommend it to every women’s group. We need to teach women that they can comprehend, interpret and apply God’s Word themselves.
Our women are now taking it a step further and working through “Read the Bible for Life” by George Guthrie. We are preparing the way for some inductive study in the fall!
Love this! Thanks so much for your input, Chris.
Wow this is exactly what I need. As soon as I finish Open Your Bible this will be my next read.
Hope you enjoy it, Laverne!