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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA thousand years after God\u2019s covenant with Abraham, the promised nation of Israel is living in slavery in Egypt. A people shackled in hard labor and destitute in poverty. Moses, a murderer who once lived in the palace of Pharoah, is off in a desolate desert tending to sheep. In the middle of the ordinary, the extraordinary explodes on the scene: a bush on fire that is not burning up. In that bush, Moses finds the manifest presence of God, who reveals to him his name, Yahweh.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yahweh, or I AM, is the first name that God reveals to His children. There in that fiery bush was the intimate and close God of Israel. He did not stay far away. There it was again, God\u2019s personal provision in a bush. God\u2019s sign that He is in the business of saving His people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After that encounter with Yahweh, Moses would go on to lead the Israelites to freedom, escaping the bankrupt life of slavery under Pharoah. More miracles than a burning bush would occur, but it all started with an escaped criminal and God\u2019s plan for rescue in the bush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This past summer, a team of Champion Forest members, led by Missions Associate Lezlie Armour, headed into the country of Kenya. There they met with longtime partner International Treasure House Ministries. During their time there, they got to personally experience what it is like to see God\u2019s faithfulness in the bush. They were part of a team that went out into the countryside, the barren bush, and helped rescue two little girls who were in danger of being sold. The sisters were five and seven years old. Little lives, both precious to God, are rescued in the bush by people of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we hear stories like this, we are reminded that the stories of the Old Testament echo into today. The God of rescue and provision of times past is still the same God on the throne today. When we commit our time to serve and spread the hope of Jesus to people of all nations, we get to join in the spiritual army of what God is already doing. We get the honor of participating in the character of God by being people of provision and rescue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not everyone can go to Kenya, everyone can serve in the story of God. That may look like being a person of provision and giving financially to partners like International Treasure House Ministries. Money towards them makes a holistic rescue possible. It helps provide little girls with a home to live in and warm beds. It ensures that they will have meals to eat and teachers to educate them with a knowledge of God and life skills. To be a cheerful giver to the Kingdom of God is to imitate Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others can serve by being people of rescue. They can sign up for the next Kenya trip or they can serve right here in Houston. Champion Forest is a proud partner with Freedom Church Alliance, a group empowering the churches and nonprofits of Houston to come together and fight against the human trafficking happening in our own city. When we serve and help rescue others out of hopeless situations, we are following in the call to be like Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are interested in the next Kenya mission trip or serving locally, please email missions@cfbc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What do an old man, an escaped criminal, and a Champion Forest trip to Kenya have in common?\u00a0They saw the power of God in the bush. In the Old Testament, the catalyst for the story of God\u2019s people is in the covenant Yahweh makes with Abraham; an old, barren man with no one to leave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember the first time I stood up to teach the Bible to a group of women in my local church. I was terrified. Yes, I studied the passage diligently and spent hours preparing pages of notes, but I wasn\u2019t sure if my preparation was effective. Is my teaching structured well? Will the women be interested or learn anything new? Have I interpreted this passage correctly?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many women who are asked to teach a Sunday School class, speak at a Bible study, or lead a small group experience similar fears. They often have little or no training specific to teaching Scripture and feel unequipped and insecure in their preparation. Even so, the abundance of resources available on the subject of teaching Scripture can be paralyzing for a new Bible teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why we need books like Empowered and Equipped: Bible Exposition for Women Who Teach the Scriptures<\/em><\/a>. Julia Higgins, assistant professor of ministry to women at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, seeks to provide women with the tools they need to faithfully and effectively teach the Word of God to other women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJesus commissioned disciples to teach the nations, and women of the church must take his call seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Men and women alike are given the spiritual gift of teaching, yet few resources are designed specifically for women who exposit the Scriptures. In Empowered and Equipped<\/em>, Julia Higgins steers women through the steps needed to faithfully interpret, apply, and teach a passage of Scripture. By examining both the principles and practices of teaching of Bible exposition, Higgins seeks to prepare women in the local church to make and mold disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n B&H Academic. 224 pp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First we must ask, Is a book that encourages and equips women to teach Scripture necessary or even appropriate? There\u2019s much discussion today about whether the Bible permits women to teach at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an effort to submit to Scripture\u2019s teaching, many have unfortunately moved beyond what God\u2019s Word prescribes to impose unbiblical restrictions on women. To argue that women shouldn\u2019t teach Scripture in any formal setting misunderstands God\u2019s design for discipleship. Higgins argues that all followers of Christ, including women, are included in the Great Commission and its call to teach other disciples everything Christ commanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, as Higgins explains, \u201cSome may conflate the spiritual gift of teaching with the office of pastor\/elder and draw a false conclusion that only men are to exercise the gift of teaching. While qualified men are responsible to teach and oversee the local church, that does not negate the fact that both men and women are given the spiritual gift of teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All followers of Christ, including women, are included in the Great Commission and its call to teach other disciples everything Christ commanded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Spiritual gifts, including the gift of teaching, are given for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7<\/a>) and for building up the church (1 Cor. 14:12<\/a>). It follows that women are not only permitted to teach in appropriate settings but are needed for the growth and maturity of the body of Christ. This pattern is exemplified in the women in Scripture who are called to teach and commended for their teaching ministries, many of which Higgins references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of the biblical call for women to teach, Higgins writes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n The end of the matter is this: women should be given a context where they can teach the Word in the local church. Why? Because Christ\u2019s church will grow and others will be discipled in the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her book, therefore, provides \u201ca pathway for women to exercise teaching gifts in the local church,\u201d and specifically focuses on training women to teach women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Higgins provides an accessible yet substantial foundation for teaching Scripture. She incorporates principles and strategies from some of the most highly respected Bible teachers of our day, giving readers a well-rounded introduction to teaching Scripture without information overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Higgins has a high view of God\u2019s Word and a Christ-centered approach that highlights the overarching storyline of the Bible. Readers will gain essential tools for expository teaching, learning to base the central teaching focus, supporting points, and application on the main point and structure of the text itself. Higgins even encourages this kind of verse-by-verse teaching for topical messages, so that the teacher is always communicating the text\u2019s intended purpose rather than taking passages out of context as proof texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Empowered and Equipped<\/em> walks teachers through the process of creating a Bible exposition, from understanding the nature of Scripture all the way to writing an expositional outline. Higgins covers a wide range of content from theoretical to practical, including information on biblical genres, basic doctrinal issues, and hermeneutics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She spends a large portion of the book giving instruction on studying the Bible inductively, including specific strategies for observation, interpretation, generalization, and application and for how that study translates into instruction. The scope of the book makes it suitable for beginners\u2014although they may want to work through it more slowly\u2014as well as for those who have been studying and teaching Scripture for some time but are looking for a process to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Empowered and Equipped<\/em> covers an impressive amount of ground in a surprisingly manageable page count, readers may leave with unanswered questions. For example, the book includes almost no discussion of incorporating meaningful illustrations or transitions. On other topics, such as the discussion of genre or the overview of theological doctrines, Higgins gives only brief introductions. Anything more, however, would make the book overwhelmingly dense, and readers can continue to explore these topics in more depth as they see fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The church needs gifted women who not only speak on a short list of \u201cfemale-friendly\u201d topics stereotypical of women\u2019s conferences or retreats but who teach the whole counsel of God for the good of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The church needs gifted women who not only speak on a short list of \u2018female-friendly\u2019 topics but who teach the whole counsel of God for the good of the body.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Higgins appeals, \u201cThis call for women to be teachers of the Word arises from a place of care and concern for over half of the body, so that the church might grow in love for God and his Word, passing it along to others, so that they too might go and make disciples of all nations to the end that Christ\u2019s commands are observed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As this book makes its way into the hands of more and more women who treasure the Bible and long to see it elevated and proclaimed, I pray the church will be edified and God\u2019s glory made known. I pray the teachers it equips will grow in their love for Christ even as the women they teach develop new excitement for God\u2019s Word. I pray that instead of feeling insecure and unprepared, women will be empowered and equipped to teach the Scriptures.<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-missions","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Averri-Baptism-in-Kenya-1024x683.jpeg\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEmpowered and Equipped: Biblical Exposition for Women Who Teach the Scriptures <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Should Women Teach the Bible?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Helpful Foundation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Empowered and Equipped to Teach God\u2019s Word<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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