Womens Bible Cafe™

Anonymous Online Bible Study Starts Today | Introduction Week

Posted: 22 Mar 2015 04:11 PM PDT

Welcome to our Spring Online Bible study! We’ve all felt invisible and anonymous during different seasons of our life, or perhaps you know someone who feels insignificant and you’re here to learn tools for helping a daughter or friend. In her book “Anonymous: Discovering the Somebody You Are to God,” Bible teacher Cindi Wood says “While the opinions of others may drag us down, the God who created us has an entirely different opinion God who we are.” During our time together, we will learn to see ourselves as His creation. Will you accept the invitation to discover you are somebody to God? If so, then sign the invitation on page eight in your “Anonymous” book. Let’s begin!

This week you’ll join a small group discussion via our private Facebook group. All small groups meet in the same place each week, so if you miss your regular group then you’re welcome to join another group discussion. This unique flexibility for Womens Bible Cafe online studies ensures you’ll have access to our group fellowship when your schedule is chaotic! Our leaders keep attendance lists to kelp you stay accountable and also to pray for you each week, so when possible choose one primary day and time for your meeting.

Your small group meeting will be a mixture of diverse women from different denominations around the world. We find a common ground of discussion, based on the workbooks we study. Another unique feature of the Womens Bible Cafe is that we remove barriers to spiritual growth because you will not be judged by your appearance, marital status, economic status, age, knowledge, health, etc. We don’t divide our small groups and all women are treated with equal respect. Your voice matters most and our ministry leaders are equipped to help you share your heart and grow in faith.

HOW to JOIN the CLOSED FACEBOOK GROUP (Chatroom) where the Small Groups Meet:
1. Login to your Facebook account first.
2. Click the link for the chatroom: http://www.facebook.com/groups/WBCSmallGroups/
3. Click "Join Group"
4. Please allow time for the leaders to approve your request to join the group.

When you join the chatroom you will see a SMALL GROUP schedule pinned to the top of the group. All groups are open attendance. Select the day and time that works best for your schedule. Look for the leader photo on the day and time, and then join the discussion which takes place right under that photo.

A FEW GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE BIBLE STUDY

IMPORTANT: During the first week of online Bible study, many women may be exploring different small groups. Some groups will be larger and move very fast, while others will be smaller and easier to read. This will all change during the second week as the women settle into the groups they have decided to join. Please be patient – the second week becomes much easier to follow!

CONFIDENTIALITY: Anything shared in the group is not to be repeated outside of the group. Please respect the women who are transparent with their testimonies.

SENSITIVITY: Please be sensitive to the discussion by not interrupting with Facebook symbols or links to outside videos or articles (these can be shared at the end of the chat if necessary). Please also remember that nothing discussed is about one individual; it's about the Holy Spirit, so please allow everyone a chance to share. Finally, we want this to be a place where women can tell what they are going through or feeling without being told how to 'fix' things. Sometimes we all simply long to be heard rather than be told what to do.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL: As a diverse group of women, we have different church doctrines, Bible translations and theologies. This is a place to respectfully disagree, rather than judging one another, so that you may grow and understand different viewpoints. It’s okay to question and see things differently; however, we ask you to be kind and sensitive to the feelings of others.

ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK

On the inside cover of your book, write the date you are starting this study. Journal a prayer about what you hope to learn through the study.
Sign the invitation on page eight of your book.
Join a small group this week
Read WEEK ONE in your book. You’ll read one lesson per day, each lesson is about 20 minutes.
Optional due to cost: AFTER you finish the reading assignment, watch video session One available from Amazon or publisher website.
If you have not yet registered and would still like to join us, please CLICK HERE.
Join us for a FREE live event with Bible teacher Cindi Wood Tuesday April 14 at 9PM Eastern, 6PM Pacific when you CLICK HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK

You will have the opportunity to share your answers to these questions during your small group time. You may also post them here. Consider also recording your answers in your spiritual journal.

Tell us where you are from and if God gave you a nickname, what would it be?
During our study we’ll be learning about women in the Bible who were Judged, Hurting, Ordinary and Shamed. All of these women encountered Jesus and their lives were changed through Grace. Pray for a moment, and then ask the Holy Spirit: Which woman do I need to study most? What is His answer: Judged, Hurting, Ordinary or Shamed? You answer may reflect someone close to you, or perhaps a sensitive place in your own heart.
Every human wants to be somebody, to have significance and purpose in life. What does significance look like to you? How would you define this?
Every woman has an identity. Some identities are influenced by family, media, education, religion, political party and race. Yet these are not identities from God, they are created by people. How do you think these identities influence our behavior and thinking?
If you met yourself as a 16-year old girl, what advice would you give her that you didn't have then?

With Love,

Experiencing God Online Bible Study Begins Today | Introduction Week

Posted: 22 Mar 2015 04:11 PM PDT

Welcome to the Womens Bible Cafe online Bible study of Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby. I hope you are as excited as I am to begin this journey together! If you have not registered and would still like to join us, CLICK HERE.

Are you ready to grow in your relationship with God? Do you want to that relationship to come alive as you join God in what He is doing around you? If so, this study will help you to accomplish this goal. Experiencing God has the potential to be a life-changing Bible study for you, as it has been for me.

Experiencing God has been around for a number of years and is a favorite of many of the WBC leaders and participants. We last studied Experiencing God as an online study in 2013 – it is back again this year by popular demand. This is a study you can do many times and continue to experience it anew each time. Working through Experiencing God is like peeling an onion – each time you do you will discover another layer to your growing relationship with our Lord.

I completed the Experiencing God study for the first time when it came out over 20 years ago. I have done it at least half a dozen times since then. It has changed the course of my life. I will tell you more about that over the coming weeks as we work our way through the 12 weeks of the study. For now, just let me encourage you to get ready for quite a ride!

My prayer is that God will use this Bible study to enable each of you to develop a deeper relationship with Him, one in which you clearly hear God when He is speaking, recognize His work in the world around you, boldly join Him in that work and experience Him as you work together to accomplish His purposes in your life and the world around you.

You will need a copy of the Experiencing God workbook (sometimes called “member book,” “participant book,” or “study guide”), which has five daily lessons to complete each week. You should expect to spend about 30 minutes a day, five days a week completing the individual study assignments in your workbook. We encourage you to begin and end each lesson with prayer. Try to complete only one lesson per day, using the weekends when there are no assignments to catch up if you must miss a day.

We also encourage you to keep spiritual journal during the Experiencing God Bible Study. You will find instructions on page 271 in your workbook on how to organize your spiritual journal. You can use a 3 ring binder with dividers and 100 sheets of loose leaf paper, a spiral bound notebook with 100 pages and dividers or a journal style book with tab dividers. Nothing complicated, just a way for you to record your thoughts on the important points God reveals to you throughout the study. This journal will be something you can go back to once the study is completed to review and remind yourself of how much you have grown. If you’d like to see spiritual journal ideas from our ministry leaders and guests, CLICK HERE or if you’d like to share your own journal ideas and photos, post them on our Facebook page!

On page 270 in your workbook you will find the Experiencing God Covenant. We encourage you to sign this and add the names of your small group leader and those in your small group.

There are 12 weeks in this study plus the introductory week which begins today. Small groups meet throughout the week. Simply pick a time that works for you and show up on our Facebook page at the meeting time for that group.

A FEW GUIDELINES FOR ONLINE BIBLE STUDY

CONFIDENTIALITY: Anything shared in small groups is not be repeated outside of the group. Please respect the transparency of your group member's testimonies.

SENSITIVITY: Please resist the temptation to interrupt by posting Facebook symbols or links to articles and videos. These disrupt the flow of the group discussion. Also please resist the temptation to draw attention to yourself instead of the Holy Spirit. We want all the women in the group to be heard.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL: As a diverse group of women, we have different church doctrines, use different Bible translations and have different theologies. This is a place to respectfully disagree, rather than judging one another. It is okay to question and see things differently, however we ask you to be kind and sensitive to the feelings of others.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS: The authors of this study primarily use the New International Version, 1984 edition for teaching. You are welcome to use any Bible translation of your choice. It may also be helpful to explore parallel (side-by-side) translations to get the most from this study. You may use an on-line program such as Bible Gateway, YouVersion or BlueLetterBible if you would like to see the Word in many translations.

ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK:

Write a letter to God on the inside cover of your Experiencing God workbook. Include today's date. Tell God where you are right in your relationship with Him and where you hope He will lead you over the next 12 weeks as you study Experiencing God.
Read Week One in your Experiencing God Workbook.
If you are using the OPTIONAL audio or videos for this study, listen to Session One.
Join a small group this week. These groups meet via Facebook. To find a group CLICK HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

In one sentence, describe your current season of life.
In just three words, describe your current relationship with God.
Why did you decide to join the Experiencing God study?
This study requires approximately 30 minutes of daily Bible study, five days per week. When do you plan to do your studying – morning, evening, another time? Do you have a particular place where you plan to do your studying? Describe it to us.
What do you hope to gain through your study of Experiencing God?
You will have the opportunity to share your answers to these questions during your small group time. You may also post them here. Consider also recording your answers in your spiritual journal.

Before you meet with your small group again next week, please complete WEEK ONE in your Experiencing God workbook. Be intentional about making the time each day to do your lessons. Make an appointment with God each day and do not stand Him up. Protect this time with Him. Spend time daily with the One you love and who loves you. Watch and see what happens! It will be worth the effort.

Welcome to WBC Online Bible Study. Get ready to Experience God!

Blessings,

femaleInside

Monday, March 23, 2015