Live Abundantly: A Study in the Book of Ephesians

Fresh Life Series

by Lenya Heitzig, Penny Pierce Rose

Twenty minutes a day to discover the abundance of God’s riches

 

In Live Abundantly, Bible teachers Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose challenge you to dig deep into the book of Ephesians to find the spiritual treasure God has for you. Covering topics such as living in God’s will and receiving peace no matter the circumstances, the book of Ephesians reveals the magnitude of every Christian’s inheritance, a gift “exceedingly abundantly above” what you could ever ask for.

 

Unearth the greatest treasure of life in this rich study. Each day’s lesson is structured in five
Lift up (prayer)
Look at (God’s Word)
Learn about (new insights )
Live out (application)
Listen to (quotes from other believers).

 

The Fresh Life series was created by women, for women—women who crave a profound experience of God’s Word without an overwhelming commitment of time. With each lesson, you will come to a deeper understanding of the truths of the Bible and develop a deeper intimacy with God.

Genres: Christian

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2011

About the author

Lenya Heitzig is an award-winning author and popular Bible teacher. She and her husband founded Calvary Church of Albuquerque—one of the fastest-growing churches worldwide. She is the author of Holy Moments: Recognizing God's Fingerprints on Your Life and also contributed to the best-selling New Women's Devotional Bible. Heitzig serves as Executive Director of She Ministries of Albuquerque, overseeing weekly Bible studies and yearly retreats. She and her husband Skip live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Sunflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Publisher's description of "Live Abundantly: A Study in Ephesians" by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose :

In Live Abundantly, Bible teachers Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose challenge you to dig deep into the book of Ephesians to find the spiritual treasure God has for you. Covering topics such as living in God’s will and receiving peace no matter the circumstances, the book of Ephesians reveals the magnitude of every Christian’s inheritance, a gift "exceedingly abundantly above" what you could ever ask for.

"Live Abundantly: A Study in Ephesians" does exactly that and more....using the formula of:

Lift up (prayer)
Look at (God's Word)
Learn about (new insights)
Live out (application)
Listen to (quotes from other believers)

The reader is presented with the "Fresh Life" series familiar breakdown, of 5 days of study for each study, ancedotes and interesting tidbits, that really livens up that days studies, occasional word studies that really eliminates the need of a Lexicon or Concordance, unless you have the time (or if you have an ipod, ipad or tablet) to use them.

Despite the fact that the book promises, 20 minutes of bible study, each day, the reader, like myself, will find themselves on a surprisingly deeper journey into the bible and in this case, Ephesians, than what one normally would expect from a "short bible study", so you will find yourself, really getting into a very deep, "meaty" bible study with each of the "Fresh Life" series and finding yourself, surprisingly getting more out of a short bible study, then other bible studies may provide.

I found myself not only hook, but thinking, this is a series that is worth investing in, not only for personal bible time, but makes for a great bible study for small groups, that often are short, not only on time, but you won't find yourself having to bring several books, or having to worry about intensive prep time.

It's all there, with engaging study questions, side notes that are informative, attention grabbing anecdotes and more that really livens up that day study and every so often, a brief word study.

With Ephesians, its probably a widely read book in the bible, but the authors of the "Fresh Life" series, really have brought Ephesians to life in a whole new way and along with it, a deeper look at the importance of Ephesians and the place it has, along with the message it holds, for the follower of Christ.

This is something I would recommend for a new believer, maybe a busy friend or mom that I know in my life, that is finding it difficult to find time for a quality bible study, and like myself, want something that is in depth but can accommodate a busy schedule, without sacrificing the quality of the study.


"Live Abundantly: A Study in Ephesians" really shows that its not about the quantity of time that is spent, but rather quality and this is a high quality bible study that will help not only encourage women to take a deeper look into the bible, but makes it understandable, accessible and accommodating for any schedule.

Be prepared for a bible study, that, although it appears to be short and simple, will take you on a deep journey into the Bible.

****Thank you to First Wild Card Tour and David Cook Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book****

[Vernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I have struggles reading the bible at times. That is why I like reading bible study guides as it enlightens me more and help me understand the scriptures.

In this bible study it focused more about the Book of Ephesians and it challenges you to keep a daily appointment with God. To spend time and have a life make over within just twenty minutes a day. The book of Ephesians starts with spiritual blessings and spiritual wisdom. It is actually the Paul letter to the Ephesians.


In order to benefit more of this bible study, you need a bible, a notebook and a pen in handy to make it a more enjoyable reading experience. What I like this book was the side bar located at the right and left of the page that will make it more an engaging and inspiring.

The book is divided by lessons and it contains the following:

• LIFT UP – prayers
• LOOK AT – inductive questions, facts, passages
• LEARN ABOUT – it explains some certain texts, insights and biblical commentary
• LIVE OUT- it points out how to practice what you read or learn. To put the biblical principles into action.
• LISTEN TO- its about inspiring quotes

I have nothing “negative” to say or find any “flaws” what so ever in this particular bible study. Matter of fact, this is a very good gift for Christmas. Living Abundantly is a bible study meant to bring us closer to God. To allot a certain time a day reading his word so we can renew our minds and uplift our spirits. This bible study offers fresh approach on how to study God’s word and especially created for women in all walks of life.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Live Reflectively: Lessons from the Watershed Moments of Moses by Lenya Heitzig . Live Abundantly: A Study in the Book of Ephesians by Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose.

Both books have the same basic outline or format as the other:

1. Lift Up…a prayer that pertains to that day’s reading/study
2. Look At…a description of the circumstances in those verses
3. Live Out…a personal introspection and application of the verses
4. Listen To…a quote(s) from well-known figures pertaining to that lesson
5. Learn About…definitions of words and background information

The weekly introduction and some of the specific days give additional information or examples to help us understand the passages for that week and/or day. The personal examples are a great addition in learning how to Live Out what we are learning.

Of the two books, I find the book, Live Abundantly, has more personal application questions than Live Reflectively, which appeals to me more personally. This may be due to the type of book being studied. Exodus tends to have more historical information, where as Ephesians tends to be more application-minded. You will learn much from both.

Before becoming a Christian, I thought the Old Testament was irrelevant. Shortly there after, I did a study on the Minor Prophets that included most of the Old Testament. Boy, was I ever wrong! It’s relevant!

Both books are excellent in format, questions, application, and prayer requests. Don’t be afraid to pick up both books and dig deep!

Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me these review copies. No monetary compensation was exchanged

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: LIVE ABUNDANTLY: A Study in the Book of Ephesians
Author: Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose
Publisher: David C. Cook
November 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4347-0330-9
Genre: Bible Study

LIVE ABUNDANTLY is a twenty-minutes-a-day study of the book of Ephesians.
Conveniently divided up into daily readings, each day begins with a “Lift Up” which is a prayer for God’s guidance as you start the days study.

Then the book goes into a “Look At” section which is a brief introduction to the scripture verse or passage that you’ll be reading. Following that is a series of questions for you to answer (with room to answer, if you want to write in the book) and more scripture verses for you to look up, read, and answer the questions about.

The “Live Out” section has some activities for you to follow, such as more verses to journal about, words for you tow journal about, prayers of thanksgiving to write, and activities “good deeds” for you to do.

It is followed by more thoughts about the lesion and an inspirational quote by someone.

There is also a “Learn About” section in the side margins that includes definitions, thoughts and explanations that deal with things in the lesson.

LIVE ABUNDANTLY is a book that you can use to study the Book of Ephesians on your own, or in a small group. If you are the leader of a small group there are suggestions for the leaders to follow.

I highly recommend this study as it is a deep detailed study of scripture and you’ll come out of it with a deeper understand of each verse or passage. This is not a quicky-devotion, but one with a bit more meat on it for the believer who wants to delve deeper into scripture. $17.99. 302 pages.

[Wyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are excellent bible studies written for women by women. Women have a difficult time finding extra time in their day to take part in extra study but this series promises that the lessons will take only 20 minutes, and they do, I timed them. In those 20 minutes the student learns about the person who wrote the biblical passage or is the subject of the biblical passage, as well as what God wants us to learn about how to live life as a Christian. Each chapter, five per week, is set out in the same manner Lift up, a prayer to God, Look at, what the passage is about who wrote it and why, Learn about, side bars that explain words or cultural meanings of the passage, Live out, ways in which the student can apply the lesson to her own life, and Listen to, quotes from famous people that apply to the lesson. I liked the aspect that the authors used other biblical references to dig deeper into the passage to clarify it's meaning. Although the study focused on one book of the Bible it wasn't restricted to just that book. These studies can be done by a single person or a small group. There is a section to help a small group leader involve her group in discussions. There is plenty of room on the pages to add your answers but I prefer to use a notebook. Definitely a great series of biblical studies.

I was provided a copy of these books by B & B Media Group Inc. I was not required or expected to write a positive review of this product. The review is my opinions only.

[Abbie Riddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Live Reflectively: A study of the book of Ephesians and Live Abundantly: Lessons from the Watershed (Moses) are both excellent devotions.

I like the fact that the books were a little wider than the average book allowing space for journaling and jotting down thoughts or additional scripture (or things that you might want to work on). Though they say that this is a 20 minute devotional I think most people will find that it can last a lot longer than that. The actual devotional is short however it is followed with questions for reflection and with additional scripture. I thought this was unique to this devotional as it really pushes the reader into the scriptures instead of taking the devotional as is. The format causes the reader to really take time on self-reflection and searching the scripture. I believe this type of study will help a Christian get the meat of the scripture instead of the milky watered down version of diluted scripture in devotional story telling style. Both of these studies will bring about growth and maturity as well as cause a reader to ask more questions and there by search the scriptures more. The questions make it easy to apply the scripture and devotion to ones self.

I have really enjoyed these and will be recommending them to the ladies of our church.

Thanks to B&B Communications for this review copy.

[Michelle Calderon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some solid faith-building questions in the studies. But I found this to be more of a topical study than an actual in depth study of Ephesians. Yes, the book is based around Ephesians, but it really wasn't much of a study on Ephesians and often depended much more on other Scripture than the daily Ephesians reading.

[Cheryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was a great study guide. The first few chapters were particularly thought provoking. However, after that I really felt it went downhill. It often seemed that the authors were needing extra content and therefore some of the questions were uninspired.