At the beginning of this year, some of the women in our network began meeting with me (Michelle) and Liz Patton because they felt called to have the same gospel-centered conversations we have inside SWHW with the women in their communities and churches. It has been INCREDIBLE to see how God has moved as women simply got together to hear from Him through His Word and stir each other up.
And now – the same curriculum we’ve been using is available for YOU! Today is big, because we are announcing a new resource series that will have 1-2 new volumes each year: Conversational Commentary by She Works His Way!
This world is not lacking in good — yes, even gospel-centered — information. We also have more distribution channels to provide the information to more people in ways that are quick, cost-efficient, and convenient to access. I’m grateful for these outlets – any place the gospel can be proclaimed is reason to rejoice. But the good information and great distribution are not enough on their own. As believers, we’re all called to be disciples who make disciples — and that cannot be automated and distributed, delegated to some, or designed for the masses.
So that’s exactly what this is designed to be — a resource that helps you make disciples.
Three unique features:
Written by women for women.
While my being a woman does not change the truth written in God’s Word, it does affect my perspective, what obedience practically looks like, and the roles and experiences God has given me in my life. While these conversations and questions could absolutely be used in mixed-gender settings, I wanted to provide commentary and questions that specifically address God’s design for women as well as women’s roles as partners in the gospel, wives and moms — among many others.
Gospel-centered conversation.
In this series, the goal is to supply enough historical context and theological explanation for deep understanding without crossing over into so much head knowledge that it distracts from the main message of the gospel. Should you come across something “missing” in the commentary, that likely means we felt elaborating on it would divert the conversation into secondary issues that too often divide rather than unify.
Also, it’s called conversational commentary for a reason: because I want you to feel like you’re sitting in my living room with a cup of coffee and an open Bible. Whether you have been reading your Bible for decades or you’re new to Bible study, this resource is for you.
Group discussion questions.
Along with commentary for verse-by-verse study, each commentary includes group discussion questions, using a method where the questions require more thought and transparency the deeper into the discussion you go. Specifically, each discussion begins with an icebreaker that is based on personal experience. Next, there are 2-4 questions with answers that are relatively simple to find right there in the text. Finally, the discussion concludes with another 2-3 questions that require more personal reflection, accountability and application.
So…why start with Ecclesiastes?
Ecclesiastes typically gets a bad rap for being pessimistic, gloomy and cynical — but it really isn’t! In these 12 chapters, Solomon basically takes the filter off the world, exposing it and all it offers compared to God and what He freely gives us. It’s refreshingly honest — not merely words from a bitter old man. It’s Solomon’s desperate plea to proclaim the goodness, the fullness, and the satisfaction that is only found in God — after he has tried it all, been it all, and had it all.
Solomon saw first-hand that everything the world offers us is a counterfeit offer of what God has already given us. He is confident the world can’t deliver on its promises – but God can. He’s desperate for us to learn from his mistakes instead of having to make them on our own.
Sound like something you’d love to study? Grab your copy of Conversational Commentary on Ecclesiastes: Wisdom to Live for Heaven While on Earth on Amazon, get a few friends together, and dig in!
We love you, and we’re so excited to see how God moves!
