The NavPress Series for small group Bible study is the best we have come across. A good mix of background, fact, application, and deeper study. I Peter is no exception. We heartily recommend it. A group can work a several different levels and find it a very useful structure to facilitate study and sharing of personal spiritual walk.

This study was thorough and thought provoking. I took my time to get the most out of it, answering not only the 9-12 questions per chapter but also exploring the optional "For Further Study" and "For Thought and Discussion" questions. This study guide helped me understand James' letter and taught me how to apply it to my own life. And if that weren't enough, this study guide also includes many "Study Skills" that explain things like outlining, application, cross reference, paraphrasing etc. Now I can use what I learned from those study skills to get the most out of each Bible book I choose to study.

This study was not hard, but our group learned to do more thought-provoking study of Scripture. Asking us to summarize each small section as we read the whole book in lesson 1 was a great help as we did the other detailed lessons. We kept referring back to these summaries. The directions and explanations are very clear. I could tell in class that they were doing much better study at home. Discussion was great and we learned a lot from the answers of others. A few wrote answers in class as we discussed, but even they really liked and gained from the study. Most were very involved.

I appreciate the value of studying God's word in context. The Life Change Bible Study series does a great job of asking good questions of the text and providing helpful study helps and background information. I Peter is a timely study for our women.

With so much of our society, including various parts of the Body of believers, this study couldnt have come at a more important time. It doesnt take a person long to hear the hopelessness they feel or the lack of encouragement received in daily life. The book of 1 Peter both encourages and exhorts believers to understand more deeply the God we worship as well as understand the why of suffering. There is also direction to look deeper into the Word and treasure the Scriptures more than any other book.

One of the most effective ways to study the Bible is inductively, which is how this study is laid out over nine weeks. At the beginning of each week, participants will read through 1 Peter before focusing in on a segment of the letter Peter wrote. There are videos that can be purchased for download or on DVD for individual use on the Lifeway store website. Here is my one disappointment in the study as the price seems high and may make it out of reach for those on a tight budget. However, I encourage women to do the study even if they cannot get the videos, which I didnt purchase.

In a small group setting, it would be fun to see how others marked their manuscript and what popped out to them as they read and reread a particular portion of Scripture. What is a manuscript? Well, it is just having the Word of God without titles or the commentary at the bottom of most Bibles or cross references. In the study guide is the manuscript for 1 Peter using the English Standard Version (ESV). Since I am more familiar with the NIV, I simply copied and pasted 1 Peter onto a document, removed the titles of the chapters and sections, and there is my 1 Peter ready to be marked up!

Each lesson is broken down to five days of homework that dont take much time to work through, approximately 20-40 minutes depending on how the Spirit leads you. Remember to pray before starting and be open to going with the Spirits leading because God will speak to you in your heart when you obey. Since I couldnt afford the DVDs, I was able to glean a lot of my information from the introduction to 1 Peter from a couple different study Bibles and commentaries. The main purpose of any study of the Bible is to come to a deeper knowing of Who God is and what He has done in the past, which encourages us followers today. As you glean a deeper understanding of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, your heart will be changed as you sense Him so close to you that human words fail to convey. Be saturated, be encouraged, be brave!