WOMEN
AT CORAL RIDGE
HEBREWS READING PLAN
PREPARE FOR OUR WOMEN’S SPRING STUDY WHILE SPENDING TIME IN GOD’S WORD
While we are not gathering in person for Bible study we want to encourage your personal time in the Word. Our teaching team has put together a five-day-a-week reading plan through the book of Hebrews.
Our upcoming study of Hebrews is about the person, work, and continuing ministry of Jesus Christ. Although the book of Hebrews touches on his earthly ministry as our Redeemer, its main focus is on his continuing heavenly work as our Intercessor. We have chosen to call this study “The Book of Better Things” because it demonstrates how and why Jesus is superior to Old Testament forms of God’s revelation and covenants.
SONGS FOR KIDS
COMPANION SONGS FOR LITTLE ONES AS WE JOURNEY THROUGH OUR FALL BIBLE STUDY
Companion Song
“Jesus Came to Earth”
Companion Song
“Jesus Came to Earth”
We encourage moms and grandmothers to watch this children’s song with your little ones, led by Pastor Caleb and Suzannah Koornneef.
We encourage moms and grandmothers to watch this children’s song with your little ones, led by Pastor Caleb and Suzannah Koornneef.
WE INVITE YOU TO LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST
Hosted by Dr. Rita Cefalu, Jen Pacienza, and Allison Siegenthaler. Join us as we read through the gospels and hear some extended reflections on the topics that will be covered in our Fall Study.
Check back often for new episodes throughout the summer!
ALLISON SIEGENTHALER
Who can pick just one?? I was able to pick my favorites for certain categories, though. CeCe Winans’ The Goodness of God has long been a favorite for her resonant voice. It’s the first song I sing when I’m alone in the car. Hillsong’s King of Kings and Cornerstone are favorites for the lyrics. They are like little, complete confessions of faith. Phil Wickham’s Living Hope is a favorite mostly for the chorus – Hallelujah! Praise the One who set me free! I can’t sing it without lifting my hands.
RITA CEFALU
Hymns and spiritual songs stir our souls to worship our sovereign and gracious God, but then there are certain songs that move me to tears every time I sing them because of the Lord’s great love and my desire to serve him with every ounce of being. They are: Knowing You, Jesus by Graham Kendrick, Show Us Christ by Sovereign Grace, and Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me by City Alight.
PAULA SMITH
More Than Wonderful by Sandi Patti
“Everything my heart ever longed for, everything He promised, and so much more!”
Although the past four years have been the most difficult and painful of my life, they have driven me to seek Jesus as never before. I have learned that you cannot trust someone you don’t know, but staking my claim on who Jesus is according to His Word and claiming His promises has translated into trusting Him even for the areas in which I don’t understand His workings. Pain is transformed into praise for all He is.
Check out this curated playlist on Spotify® from our Women’s Bible Study leaders!
WHAT NAME FOR JESUS HAS BECOME MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU IN THIS SEASON?
Extended thoughts to spur your own reflections while we read through the gospels this summer.
ALLISON'S THOUGHTS
The name for Jesus that has been particularly rich to me as I read through the gospels this summer is ‘the Christ.’ We spent last Spring studying the seed line of the Promised One; we walked alongside Old Testament saints who waited faithfully for the anointed heir to David’s throne. We got to know them and shared in their anticipation, their longing. It is thrilling now to hear Peter declare of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Oh, the faithfulness of our God! Jesus is the long-awaited Christ!
RITA'S THOUGHTS
It is the name, Jesus, which the Father ordained to give his only begotten Son when he was born into the world (Matt. 1:21). Jesus, one person, with two natures, the Son of God, and the Son of Man. Think of it. There would be no Jesus, the one who is the object of our devotion and life, if the second person of the Trinity had not assumed a nature like our own in order to save us from our sins. Behind the incarnation of the Son of God is a kind of love that is difficult to wrap our minds around. The offended party coming to rescue the offenders, and to do for us through his unique person and work what we could never have done for ourselves. Indeed, “Being found in appearance as a man, [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11).
JEN'S THOUGHTS
Throughout this reading of the gospels, my attention has been drawn to the title Jesus used most frequently to describe himself, the “son of man”. It is used in all four gospels and occurs more than eighty times in total. Only two times is this phrase spoken by someone other than Jesus (John 12:34, Acts 7:56). The Early Church Fathers used this title to explain the humanity of Christ. I have come to treasure that this title sheds light on the mission of my Savior. Theologically, I believe Jesus has two natures—both God and man. But when I read about Jesus’ human nature, I tend to think he had a supernatural ability to fulfill his calling as the “son of man.” The cross was the greatest demonstration of God’s love and his glory, but to the first-century Palestinian and many today, it looked like a moment of weakness and defeat. Through his suffering and exaltation, Jesus, “the son of man,” accomplished my salvation.
ALLISON SIEGENTHALER
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is always on my bookcase. It’s one of my favorite novels, telling the story of the Land family in 1960s Minnesota. You ask, how does it connect to our summer in the gospels? The story assumes the existence of a holy, just, sovereign God who is also intimately present in the life of one little family on the Great Plains. Piercing lessons in pride, loyalty, evil, justice, and sacrifice bring about redemption for frail humans. In fact, the next-to-last chapter, Be Jubilant My Feet, brings me to tears of joy every time I read it. Enjoy!
RITA CEFALU
I just finished reading Thomas Torrance’s Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ and am now diving into his work on the Atonement. I have to say that the book on the incarnation of Jesus Messiah has got to be one of my all-time favorites! Torrance covers much of the same ground that we’ve already traversed in our own studies but in this work, he raises us to new heights.
I like to begin a study by reading the introductory material provided in Zondervan’s NASB Study Bible (1999). This material offers detailed information related to a particular book’s authorship, audience, purpose, theological and thematic emphases, as well as an outline which helps to guide my understanding of the book. The commentary in the footnotes is an additional valuable resource, as are the cross-references in the side bars. I also like to keep my spiritual ears open for allusions to the Old Testament and enjoy doing my own investigative research between the testaments before I look at other resources, such as commentaries. Speaking of which, I have found the bestcommentaries.com website to be a valuable resource for recommending good commentaries.
RITA CEFALU
I just finished reading Thomas Torrance’s Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ and am now diving into his work on the Atonement. I have to say that the book on the incarnation of Jesus Messiah has got to be one of my all-time favorites! Torrance covers much of the same ground that we’ve already traversed in our own studies but in this work, he raises us to new heights.
I like to begin a study by reading the introductory material provided in Zondervan’s NASB Study Bible (1999). This material offers detailed information related to a particular book’s authorship, audience, purpose, theological and thematic emphases, as well as an outline which helps to guide my understanding of the book. The commentary in the footnotes is an additional valuable resource, as are the cross-references in the side bars. I also like to keep my spiritual ears open for allusions to the Old Testament and enjoy doing my own investigative research between the testaments before I look at other resources, such as commentaries. Speaking of which, I have found the bestcommentaries.com website to be a valuable resource for recommending good commentaries.
JEN PACIENZA
I am working through Handbook on the Gospels by Ben Gladd. I love this commentary because rather than going verse by verse, he spends time addressing Old Testament texts within gospel accounts. The Gospel of Jesus: The Four Gospels in a Single Complete Narrative by Loraine Boettner a Diatessaron (a Greek term meaning “Out of Four”) was recently reprinted. It is similar to our chronological reading plan in that it reads as a narrative. I keep this one in the car to pick up when I have a minute on the go.
I love children’s literature and many of you know Catherine Vos is my favorite storyteller. Her husband was the last conservative theologian at Princeton. He influenced Biblical Theology through academics and Catherine did from her pen sitting on her porch. She felt an urgency from the Lord to record the story of the Bible like a grandmother retelling God’s faithfulness to her grandchildren. After her passing, her children turned her Biblical Theology into The Child’s Story Bible. You don’t have to be a child to enjoy hearing this story of God’s love.
Happy Reading!
STUDY OF RUTH
This conversation unpacks the historical, social, and religious times leading up to the story of Ruth and one family’s journey of redeeming love.
SUSTAINED BY THE POWER OF THE WORD
This study seeks to encourage women to consider how God’s people have been sustained by His Word from creation and will continue throughout eternity.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
A conversation with Dr. Rita Cefalu and Dr. T. Desmond Alexander
BETH PETERSEN
Beth has been at Coral Ridge since 1969. God led her to work in ministry in 1981. Beth has a desire to see women grow closer to God and each other. She has seen the fruitfulness of this ministry grow over many years and looks forward to seeing how God continues to work through this group of women.
“Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.” -Isaiah 43:1b