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Summer Study on Colossians and Philemon: An Interview with Sarah Ivill

CHRISTINA FOX|EDITOR  The 2025 recommended summer Bible study for PCA Women’s Ministries is Colossians and Philemon: That in Everything Christ Might be Preeminent by Sarah Ivill, Below you’ll find an interview Christina Fox did with Sarah about the study and her writing process. Christina: When you work on developing a Bible study, what is your study process like? Do you have a particular pattern you follow? Favorite commentaries? Sarah: I do have a particular pattern that I follow. First, I read the book of the Bible I'm studying in its entirety to get the big idea of the book. Second, I make an outline of the book so that I know which chapters I will cover for each lesson. Third, I study the specific passage of Scripture for the lesson and then read commentaries on it. If I have to choose a favorite series of commentaries, I like the Reformed Expository Commentary series published by P&R Publishing. Fourth, I write study questions for the women to answer and notes for the women to read. Finally, I go back through the lesson with an editorial eye.  Christina: You have written a study on every book of the Bible. Was that a goal you had that you worked toward? How did that develop? What does it mean to you to have completed it? Sarah: To write a study on every book of the Bible was a desire that grew out of my love for studying God's Word. I wanted to learn God's Word and then share what I had learned with others. As I was nearing completion of the project, I felt grateful that God had given me the opportunity to do it, but I also felt sad that it was coming to a close. Spending those years writing studies on each book of the Bible was immensely satisfying, as God's Word pointed me repeatedly to Christ in the midst of my own sin, suffering, and service. There is no other book that I would rather be reading. The Holy Scriptures are majestic and pure. They comfort and convict. The Bible is "no empty word for you, but your very life" (Deut. 32:47).    Christina: As someone who has studied and taught on the Bible for many years, what is something new that you learned while working on this study for Philemon and Colossians?...

Summer Study on Colossians and Philemon: An Interview with Sarah Ivill2025-05-18T21:04:42+00:00

Aging with Grace: An Interview with Susan Hunt and Sharon Betters

CHRISTINA FOX|EDITOR Editor's Note: The following is an interview I did with Susan Hunt and Sharon Betters about their new book, Aging with Grace. Christina: What prompted you to write this book? Susan: It started with a conversation when Sharon and I realized each of us had recently spoken on aging and we both had been surprised at the interest in the topic, especially among young women. Our conversation became a conviction that we should prayerfully consider two questions: How do we think biblically about aging? How do we live covenantally as older women? These questions eventually became the format for the book. I write a chapter on Thinking Biblically about aging using Psalms 92 and 71, and then Sharon writes a chapter on Living Covenantally using women in Scripture who flourished in old age.   Christina: What do you think is/are the main challenges for Christian women as they think about aging?  Sharon: Most challenges of aging are felt by all women. The anti-aging message of culture insists we deny the losses and fight the ravages of time with expensive creams, treatments, and physical activity designed to keep us forever young. When an older woman is portrayed in movies or television, she is physically beautiful, strong, and in control. The message of advertising, entertainment, the corporate world and, sadly, sometimes the church is clear: flourishing in old age means doing more, playing more, spending more, and exhibiting youthful bodies and skin unhindered by wrinkles and gray hair. Old is out. Youth is in. As our bodies grow older and weaker, we slowly realize it is impossible to maintain this cultural expectation. As Christians, we must decide if we will embrace a scriptural or a cultural view of aging. Susan and I pray this book will be a resource to help women know that no matter how wrinkled our faces, broken our bodies, or disenfranchised we might feel, God’s Word describes aging as a time when we can flourish with the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of repentance, and the fruit of righteousness. We may not be able to do all we could once do, but we can grow in intimacy with Jesus. By His grace, we can age with grace...  

Aging with Grace: An Interview with Susan Hunt and Sharon Betters2022-05-04T23:43:44+00:00
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