Catholic Women's Bible Study, Living In the Father's Love: A Study of God the Father from Walking with Purpose

by Lisa Brenninkmeyer

Discover your true worth and purpose while growing inability to see your life from God’s perspective.In a world where women are measured by their beauty, achievements, and possessions, wouldn’t it be nice to find a place where you could just be valued for who you are?Living in the Father’s A Study of God the Father will lead you to that safe place where you are unconditionally loved, baggage and all. This brief but powerful six-lesson Bible study from Walking with Purpose is the ideal way to revive and refresh yourself. Discover just how much God loves us and how the Gospels are deeply relevant to our relationship with God and with those we love. Living in the Father’s Love is ideal if you are...

●    Looking for a short but powerful bible study

●    Doubting whether God really loves you

●    Wondering how to improve your relationship with God and others

●    Searching for purpose

●    Only have time for a short study that has the power to transform your lifeLiving in the Father’s Love is perfect for the season of Advent or Lent. A series of video talks accompany this Bible study. Links to watch the online videos are included in the book.

Genres: Religion, Christian

120 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2015

About the author

Lisa Brenninkmeyer is the founder and chief purpose officer of Walking with Purpose. A convert to Catholicism, Lisa created her first Bible study in 2002 out of a desire to see Catholic women come to know Christ personally. In 2008, Walking with Purpose became a fully independent non-profit organization with 501c(3) status and a mission of helping every Catholic woman and girl in America to open her heart to Jesus Christ. Today, over 40,000 women, young women and middle school girls participate in WWP Bible studies in 44 states.

Lisa has authored 16 Walking with Purpose Bible studies which have received the Imprimatur through Archbishop Lori of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Her first book, Walking with Purpose: Seven Priorities that Make Life Work, is a popular title published by Beacon Publishing for the Dynamic Catholic Institute.

In 2012, Lisa was recognized by the Catholic Leadership Institute as a National Catholic Leader, and in 2014 and 2015, she was invited to present at the Amazing Parish Program’s national conferences. Lisa was also a presenter at the USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders in July 2017, and a speaker at two Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) national events in 2018 and 2019. Lisa has been a guest on a number of radio, television and podcast shows as well.

Lisa holds a B.A. in psychology from St. Olaf College. She and her husband Leo (pronounced Lay-o) have seven children and reside in St. Augustine, Florida.

Reviews

[Sally Labonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful bible study that I facilitated with a small group of women from my church. It was a beautiful introduction to Walking With Purpose and the importance of catholic women coming together to study and share their faith.

[Rebeca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a six week bible study course. I enjoyed the book, but had a really hard time getting through the video introduction. Once I got into the actual study I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading each week's lesson.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, short study. My only criticism is it seemed to not necessarily stick to topic. The last few chapters were about forgiveness, which is great. But for some reason, it didn’t feel like it fit with the first few chapters. Otherwise, a good study. I’m excited for the next one!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a terrific read/ bible study, with my soul sisters. I especially loved the prayers at the end of every chapter.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars !!!!

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially loved the saint stories!

[April Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in the Father's Love: A Study of God the Father meets the stated goals of Walking with Purpose: "Walking with Purpose... was never intended to facilitate the deepest of intellectual study of Scripture. Instead, the focus has been to help women know Christ... to speak to women's hearts no matter where they are in life, baggage and all, and gently introduce truths that can change their lives." In other words, it's not academically rigorous, it's about the personal relationship between you and God, so I think it would be accessible to anyone.

The book contains a variety of topics under the umbrella of Living in the Father's Love. It doesn't examine any one very closely, but gives an overview of each one. There are chapters on "What Kind of Father is God?" (with sections on Him being love; being faithful; being revealed by Jesus; and loving us but hating sin), "What is the Purpose of My Life?" (with sections on our common purpose and finding your unique purpose), "How Does God Define Beauty?" (with sections on our soul, cultivating more inner beauty, and God's desire for us), and "How Do I Work at Forgiving Myself and Others?" (with sections on being forgiven as we forgive, making excuses, the battle of forgiveness, and forgiving our enemies). Each chapter has a saint story--St. Scholastica, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, St. Agnes of Rome, and St. Maria Goretti are featured. The saint stories are the longest chunks of text in the book; the rest is made of bite-sized quotations from the Bible, the Catechism, and spiritual writings. It's a workbook, so there are lots of questions; a few more creative exercises, like contrasting your outer beauty routine with your inner beauty routine; suggested Resolutions for the week; and Verse Studies. The format is brilliant. Each section took me about 20 minutes, and each chapter is designed to take a week.

If you like Walking with Purpose, I recommend Ordering Your Priorities, as well.

[Cyn Gagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the majority of the study and found it uplifting and helpful in renewing my relationship with God. Part of it was about beauty (the message being about inner beauty being what’s important) and I found it off-putting because it seemed to me to imply that all women have long, involved beauty routines and that this is a very significant part of all women’s lives. There also seemed to be an assumption, at least in the videos accompanying the book, that everyone reading was a wife and mother. The generalizations and stereotyping were definitely not unexpected in these types of Bible studies, but still detracted from the messaging for me a little. There were memory verses for each section and all of us in the study agreed that they felt out of place within the rest of the book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous study.

[Mary]

It was a great study and was just what I needed.

[Carol Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, short study to do alone or with a small group.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful study to share with others.

[awesome.nerd.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read and completed workbook in a Bible study. It was a nice read and the activities were good.

[Jessica reads stories · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful bible study I did with some ladies

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The videos and book were ok but I actually got more from the small group sharing at each session. The blood gets about 3.5 stars, but our sharing discussions got 5 stars!

[Ann Singer-Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful Bible study with a beautiful message about forgiveness and God’s unending love

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Great for a women's study at your church!

[Yvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful to have found this Bible study. Walking with Purpose has transformed my relationship with the women in my life. It’s a blessing!

[Lynnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking women's Bible study that I participated in with the women's group at my church. It encourages soul searching and prompts fabulous conversations.