An amazing study! Truly!

Jun 28, 2011Kingdom Uncaged, Write!

I’ve been really blessed by Sandra Glahn‘s Coffee Cup Bible studies. They’re amazing! I’ve walked through them by myself (and was deeply moved). And I’ve led high school girls through them. I always learn something brand new with each study. That’s saying a lot, since often Bible studies seem like a rehash of all the same information. Not so with these studies.

Here’s some information about Glahn’s latest study, Sumatra with the Seven Churches

Sumatra with the Seven Churches (book nine in the series):

Most books in the Coffee Cup Bible Study series are four- to six-week studies. Sumatra is the first eight-week study in the series. It explores the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation–a section of the Bible that contains letters to seven churches in Asia (ancient Turkey). The focus is on Christ’s messages to those seven churches and how His words are relevant to all believers today.

While most of the Book of Revelation is apocalyptic, its first few chapters contain letters or messages to seven churches. So grab a cup of your favorite brew and gather some friends or study alone. (The book is designed for both group and individual study.)

This and all the Coffee Cup Bible Study series books contain Monday-through-Friday Bible study with devotional thoughts for light reading on the weekends.

(For this study I teamed with a former student, Crickett Keeth. I love her Bible studies, and wanted to introduce her to a broader audience. So I coauthored this one.)

 

Short excerpt:

Do you ever turn on your faucet mid-summer only to find that the water is too warm to refresh you? Eh.

Because water had to travel so far through an underground aqueduct, water piped into ancient Laodicea arrived brackish, foul, and tepid—lukewarm. Nobody ever got to guzzle cold water on a hot day. Ever.

I spent one blistering July day there—a day on which I accidentally left my water bottle on the bus. After a hike up the steps in the best-preserved ancient theater I’ve ever seen, followed by a trek up to the site where history says Philip was martyred, I panted for some liquid refreshment. So when I got back to the bus, I grabbed my water bottle and took a big swig. Ble-e-e-e-ech! Was that ever a mistake. After sitting in that hot bus all afternoon, my water was lukewarm. Gross.

I wanted to spew it out.

And in that moment I realized something of what Jesus meant when he told the Christians in Laodicea that their lukewarm temperature made him want to vomit.

The Coffee Cup Bible Studies include

· Probing questions

· Accessible stories

· Life-changing application

· Interesting sidebars with movie and historical tie-ins

· Intentional design for active weekday study with passive devotional reading on weekends

· Convenient inclusion of the entire text of the book of the Bible (or chapters) being studied

· Handy size, small enough to fit in a purse, diaper bag, briefcase, or gym bag

Super Cool Thing!

Sandra is holding a “silent” giveaway for her readers who “like” her new Facebook page, Aspire2. She’s giving away a red coffee mug along with some Starbucks coffee and a copy of Sumatra with the Seven Churches. Those who “like” her page within a week of the time this post runs will be eligible to win.

Sandra Glahn, ThM, serves on the adjunct faculty at her alma mater, Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), where she is editor-in-chief of the award-winning magazine, Kindred Spirit. A native Oregonian transplanted in Texas, the author of the Coffee Cup Bible Study series describes herself as the wife of one husband and the mother of one daughter.

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