One of my favorite moments of every year is the session at Polishing the Pulpit (www.polishingthepulpit.com) when we unveil the new Digging Deep study. This year was the best yet. We had approximately 30 women onstage yesterday who had done every last bit of the Persecution study. That’s representative of about 5000-6000 hours of collective study on that stage. Many women finished the study this year, but were unable to be with us. Many more were all but done and are still finishing up. Hundreds did a portion of the study. Every hour spent in the word is an investment in a sphere where we will not run short on time. What happened today at 12:45 in Ballroom A was just a little icing on the cake for women whose real reward for Bible study is wisdom for life’s tough challenges and decisions. I am very proud to call those who are diligently digging in the Word my sisters and friends.
The new study is called “In the Shadows”. It’s a rich comparison of the shadows of the Old Law and the real images of the New. The key verse is Colossians 2:17:
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
The goal of the new study is to grasp the significance of the elements of Old Testament worship, sanctification, law, and service in the context of their foreshadowing elements of redemption in the New Covenant—all of this to make us feel the depth of gratitude appropriate for people washed in the blood of the great Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. I need this study. I am thankful He has given us another year —at least the beginning of one—to dig deep in His Word. I am thankful for my sisters who are serious about Bible study. There is not enough time in any of our lives to finish the dig. The deeper we dig, the more knowledge is both gained and yet available.
So please join us for the study. Please share the study. Invite friends, both faithful and unfaithful…both in the covenant and in need of learning of it. I know it will be a blessing; not because I am presenting it, but because it is purely the Word of God.
You can find a free copy of the study for downloading as well as, alternately, a deluxe study notebook for purchase in the Digging Deep section of the store on www.thecolleyhouse.org. There are cute tumblers and Digging Deep t-shirts there, too. These are fun parts of the fellowship, but all you really need is the study. You can follow the group of Diggers on the Facebook page called “Digging Deep In God’s Word” where you will also find information about the monthly podcast.
You have just eight more days before the study officially begins. So get your shovels. Invite your friends and let’s help ourselves to the faith that comes from the Word (Romans 10:17)!
