Transformed by God's Word (Women of the Word Bible Study Series) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - A. Steele Sharon

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101 pages

English

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Change is inevitable, but changing in the right way--in the way God desires for His children--is a choice. Transformed by God's Word, an interactive study ideal for individuals or small groups, is a practical, insightful guide that will help women discover the Bible's strategies for overcoming rejection, guilt, fear, worry, and discouragement. Readers will also learn how to allow the Holy Spirit, working through Scripture, to renew them from the inside out, giving them power to make better choices in their thoughts, actions, and feelings. Transformed by God's Word features eight topical studies. Topics include "The Problem and the Potential," "Draw Near to God," "Think on Good Things," "Get Rid of Wrong Thoughts," and more. Each week's study examines a reality about change, digs into Scripture to find out what God's Word has to say about it, offers readers the opportunity to reflect on their personal struggles with change, and suggests practical action steps to help readers apply what they have learned.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	31 août 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441269263
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0288€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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© 2010 Aglow International
Published by Chosen Books 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Chosen edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6926-3
Previously published by Gospel Light
Originally published in 1998 in the Aglow Bible Study series as Choosing to Change.
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other version used is: NKJV —From the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aglow International is an interdenominational organization of Christian women. Our mission is to lead women to Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for Christian women to grow in their faith and minister to others. Our publications are used to help women find a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to enhance growth in their Christian experience, and to help them recognize their roles and relationships according to Scripture. For more information about our organization, please write to Aglow International, P.O. Box 1749, Edmonds, WA 98020-1749, U.S.A., or call (425) 775-7282. For ordering or information about the Aglow studies and other resources, visit the Aglow E-store at www.aglow.org .
C ONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
How to Start and Lead a Small Group
1. Renew Your Mind
2. Draw Near to God
3. Use God’s Word
4. Think on Good Things
5. Eliminate Wrong Thoughts
6. Overcome Rejection and Guilt
7. Overcome Fear and Worry
8. Overcome Discouragement and Disobedience
Transformed by God’s Word Leader’s Guide
F OREWORD
When the apostle Paul poured out his heart in letters to the young churches in Asia, he was responding to his apostolic call to shepherd those tender flocks. They needed encouragement in their new life in Jesus. They needed solid doctrine. They needed truth from someone who had an intimate relationship with God and with them.
Did Paul know as he was writing that these simple letters would form the bulk of the New Testament? We can be confident that the Holy Spirit did! How like God to use Paul’s relationship with these churches to cement His plan and purpose in their lives, and, generations later, in ours.
We in Aglow can relate to Paul’s desire to bond those young churches together in the faith. After 1967, when Aglow fellowships began bubbling up across the United States and in other countries, they needed encouragement. They needed to know the fullness of who they were in Christ. They needed relationship. Like Paul, our desire to reach out and nurture from far away birthed a series of Bible studies that have fed thousands since 1973 when our first study, Genesis, was published. Our studies share heart to heart, giving Christians new insights about themselves and their relationship with and in God.
In 1998, God’s generous nature provided us a rewarding new relationship with Gospel Light. Together we published our Aglow classics as well as a selection of exciting new studies. Gospel Light began as a publishing ministry much in the same way Aglow began publishing Bible studies. Henrietta Mears formed Gospel Light in response to requests from churches across America for the Sunday School materials she had written. Gospel Light remains a strong ministry-minded witness for the gospel around the world.
Our heart’s desire is that these studies will continue to kindle the minds of women and men, touch their hearts, and refresh their spirits with the light and life a loving Savior abundantly supplies.
This study, Transformed by God’s Word by Sharon A. Steele, shows you how to allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind by building the attitudes of Christ into your thinking and thus transforming your life. I know its contents will reward you richly.
Jane Hansen Hoyt International President Aglow International
I NTRODUCTION
A woman sits across the table from you. “I really want to see Christ’s character reproduced in my life,” she confides, “but I don’t know how to do it.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “Every day it’s the same old story, ‘Lord, I’ve failed again.’ Over and over, day after day. Can God really change my thoughts and transform my life? And if He can, what is my responsibility? I’d really like to know.”
If you can identify at all with this woman, this Bible study is for you. Even though you are given a new nature when you become a child of God, change is not automatic. You have to choose to let God change you into His likeness. Just as people have learned to use computers as tools to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently, so too can we learn to control our thoughts by allowing God to renew our minds. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can find the power to live godly lives.
When we do not allow God to transform our thought patterns, we experience confusion and frustration. Faulty thinking produces undesirable results in every area. Just as computers with defective programs must be reprogrammed before they can function effectively, so too must we allow God to reprogram our thinking and bring our thoughts under His control.
This study will show how you can allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind, build the attitudes of Christ into your thinking and thus transform your life.
A N O VERVIEW OF THE S TUDY
This Bible study is divided into four sections:
1. A Closer Look at the Problem defines the problem and the goal of the study.
2. A Closer Look at God’s Truth gets you into God’s Word. What does God have to say about what you are facing? How can you begin to apply His Word as you work through each lesson?
3. A Closer Look at My Own Heart will help you clarify and further apply Bible truth in your own life. It will also give guidance as you work toward change.
4. Action Steps I Can Take Today is designed to help you focus on immediate steps of action.
W HAT Y OU W ILL N EED A Bible —The main Bible version used in this study is the New International Version, but you can use whatever Bible translation you are used to reading. A Notebook —During this study you will want to keep a journal to record what God shows you personally. You may also want to journal additional thoughts or feelings that come up as you go through the lessons. Some questions may require more space than is given in this study book. Time to Meditate —Only through meditation on what you’re learning will you hear God’s Word and begin to experience a heart knowledge, as well as a head knowledge, of the subject of renewing your mind and transforming your life. Give the Holy Spirit time to personalize His Word to your heart so that you can know what your response should be to the knowledge you are gaining.
H OW TO START AND LEAD A SMALL GROUP
One key to leading a small group is to ask yourself, What would Jesus do and how would He do it? Jesus began His earthly ministry with a small group called the disciples, and the fact of His presence made wherever He was a safe place to be. Think of a small group as a safe place. It is a place that reflects God’s heart and His hands. The way in which Jesus lived and worked with His disciples is a basic small-group model that we are able to draw both direction and nurture from.
Paul exhorted us to “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2, NKJV ). We, as His earthly reflections, are privileged to walk in His footsteps, to help bind up the brokenhearted as He did or simply to listen with a compassionate heart. Whether you use this book as a Bible study, or as a focus point for a support group, a church group or a home group, walking in love means that we “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2, NKJV ). The loving atmosphere provided by a small group can nourish, sustain and lift us up as nothing else can.
Jesus walked in love and spoke from an honest heart. In His endless well of compassion He never misplaced truth. Rather, He surrounded it with mercy. Those who left His presence felt good about themselves because Jesus used truth to point them in the right direction for their lives. When He spoke about the sinful woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, He did not deny her sin. He said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7:47, NKJV ). That’s honesty without condemnation.
Jesus was a model of servant leadership (see Mark 10:43-44). One of the key skills a group leader possesses is the ability to be an encourager of the group’s members to grow spiritually. Keeping in personal contact with each member of the group, especially if one is absent, tells each one that he or she is important to the group. Other skills an effective group leader demonstrates include being a good listener, guiding the discussion, as well as guiding the group to deal with any conflicts that arise within it.
Whether you’re a veteran or brand new to small-group leadership, virtually every group you lead will be different in personality and dynamic. The constant is the presence of Jesus Christ, and when He is at the group’s center, everything else will come together.

Y OU’RE INVITED!
T O GROW …
To develop and reach maturity; thrive; to spring up; come into existence from a source;
WITH A GROUP …
An assembla