Bible Study Recommendations for a New Neighborhood Cafe
“Do you have suggestions on books or studies that work well when a group is first getting established? If the group gels, I figure the group can help decide on the next study, but choosing the first topic is up to me.”
Julie
Hostesses like Julie understand that choosing a topic for your Neighborhood Cafe is different than choosing a topic for your Bible Study at church. Most Bible studies are written by Christians, for Christians, about how to be a better Christian. But… only one in five of your neighbors goes to church, and those who do attend many different denominations. The typical home on your street owns three Bibles, but its pages are rarely cracked open. Your neighbors probably don’t speak “Christianese” around their dinner tables, so phrases like “the Lord laid it on my heart” or “having my devotions” or “intercede in prayer” sound foreign.
But don’t worry, there are countless amazing resources that will engage your neighbors!
Check out some of my favorites below! I know each of these authors personally and can recommend any of their books confidently. I’m a huge fan of Kathi Lipp because her books are practical for daily life and appealing to all women, regardless of their faith in God (or lack thereof).
Tips for Choosing a Topic
- Choose a topic and format that has “meat” as well as “milk.” There are resources that offer life-impacting truth and solid Biblical teaching, yet are explained in such a down-to-earth and practical way that new believers or non-believers can grasp the meaning and apply it to their lives.
- Avoid any resource that takes an unyielding stand on “disputable matters.” Don’t attempt to resolve dogmatic dilemmas about topics such as speaking in tongues, pre- or post- millennialism or the role of women in ministry. Save these debates for your church crowd, if you must.
- Try to avoid hot button political issues that will lead to division instead of discussion. While these topics may come up naturally in your conversation, they shouldn’t be the primary focus of your Neighborhood Cafe.
- Ask the Women’s Ministry director at your church for recommendations (and support!).
Other factors to consider:
- Format: is it a book, workbook, DVD or online Bible study? Ensure you have the technical resources necessary to show DVD’s or online videos.
- Length: How long does each session last? How long is the entire Bible study?
- Homework: Is there homework? Is it daily or by chapter? If someone hasn’t done the homework, will she be lost?
- Cost: How much does it cost each participant? How much is the leader’s guide or DVD’s?
What are your favorite topics, resources, or authors? Let us know in the comments!
Can I Borrow a Cup of Hope?
How to Find Faith for Hard Times in 1 Peter
by Amy Lively
Are you facing the end of the world as you know it? The apostle Peter knows what it’s like when all your hope is gone. He watched as his hope was arrested, crucified, and buried, and Peter publicly failed every test of his faith. Peter—and his elusive, unnamed wife—also show us how God relieves our harshest suffering and redeems our heaviest regret. Working sequentially through the tiny but mighty book of 1 Peter, you will discover:
- How to express what you feel, identify what is real through the filter of God’s Word, then wisely determine how to deal with life’s challenges.
- A prayer that never fails to reframe anxiety and uncertainty into hope and purpose.
- How to make sense of pain that seems endless and pointless by understanding God’s timing and intention.
- Ways to react to chaos and confusion with a calm, clear-headed, Christlike response.
- Five simple and effective coping strategies to survive for the end of the world as you know it.
- If you can really shed the shame of past mistakes and share your story for God’s glory.
A ton of free Small Group Resources make it easy and fun to lead a group of neighbors through this book (after all, it was written for my own Neighborhood Cafe!).
Heaven: When Faith Becomes Sight
by Jennifer Rothschild
Heaven. Who goes there? Where is it? What will we do there? Questions like these arise when we consider an eternal future beyond this physical life. How can we know the truth about what comes next? In this 7-session video-based Bible study workbook, Jennifer explores the subject of Heaven from a biblical perspective. She will separate what’s true about Heaven from what’s based on legend, media depictions, and hopeful guesses.
Seeing God in the Ordinary Things
by Linda Acker
Do you long to feel the Lord in even the simple things of life? Have you taken for granted the miraculous hand of God in your everyday affairs? Day after day, He is constantly creating, sustaining, and providing for us in ways that we should never overlook. Linda hosted a Neighborhood Cafe for ten years, and she’s here to help us discover the presence of our Heavenly Father in seemingly insignificant daily experiences. This book offers 90 short devotionals to choose from that gently guide spiritual conversations.
Sabbath Soup
by Kathi Lipp
Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed. Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. Kathi provides a guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.
Rest Assured
by Rachel Booth Smith
Do you feel heavy or anxious? Work, kids, finances, the future, the past, the state of the world can all threaten your joy, hope, and trust. Using archaeology findings, language discoveries, and biblical study, Rachel shares theologically rich insights that bring us into the rest we need, the rest we crave—the rest for which we were made. Bible study teacher and lifelong student Rachel Booth Smith helps us focus on the who (not the how) of Creation so that we can find meaning and rest for our souls.
Sacred Work
By Peggy Bodde
It’s possible for women to be strong Christians and confident leaders.
Does your work matter to God? Peggy Bodde thinks so! God lives in us, and we carry the sacredness that comes from Him everywhere we go, including the workplace.
But while there are more women in the workforce than ever, women are also time-starved, stressed, and tired. And they often feel alone in their professional struggles.
Mentor and longtime corporate leader, Peggy Bodde, views work as sacred and has invested her life in showing women how to thrive in the workplace. In Sacred Work, Peggy provides an invaluable and practical resource that answers all your leadership challenges and questions.
When Making Others Happy is Making You Miserable
By Karen Ehman
Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and pulled in too many directions by the needs of others? Break the pattern of people pleasing and confidently live your life. Author and speaker Karen Ehman knows firsthand how people pleasing locks us in a prison, trapping us in unhealthy habits which distract us from our true selves and our God-given purpose.
With honesty and practical wisdom, Ehman explores why we fall into people-pleasing behaviors and offers advice for how we can break out into the freedom God has called us to. Because the truth is we cannot fulfill our divine purpose if we’re too busy living everyone else’s.
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way
By Lysa TerKeurst
What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention hurtful and His promises doubtful?
Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.
Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she’s also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability and honest humor.
Whether we’re dealing with daily disappointments or life-altering loss, we can find unexpected strength as we learn what it is to wrestle well between our faith and our feelings.
God is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
By Jennifer Rothschild
Do you believe God is just not fair? If you’re like Jennifer Rothschild, you wrestle with questions when you experience painful circumstances. Does God care? Does he hear my prayers? Is he even there? Blinded as a teenager, Jennifer overcame daunting obstacles, found strength in God, and launched a successful speaking and writing ministry. Then in her 40’s, everything changed. Jennifer hit a wall of depression and discontent that shook her to her core, undermining many of her past assumptions about her faith. Jennifer wondered who God was and why he continued to allow her to struggle and doubt. Where, Jennifer pleaded,is his hand of healing and hope in my life now?
This is a book about finding more than just answers. It’s for anyone who needs hope when life doesn’t make sense – for all who reach for a God who feels distant. As Jennifer tackles the six big questions of faith, she will help you: Trust God more than your feelings. Strengthen your faith when you feel beat up by life. Embrace your obstacles and start experiencing their purpose. Face your disappointment and grow stronger from your loss.
Ready for Anything: Preparing Your Heart and Home for Any Crisis Big or Small
By Kathi Lipp
Bad stuff happens all the time but this doesn’t mean we have to live in constant fear. Kathi gives finite simple steps for being proactive rather than reactive—helping you prepare their mind, heart and home for any unfortunate circumstance. Full of stories and humor along with facts, tips and lists, Kathi offers a down-to-earth guide that will show you how to face the unexpected with confidence, relying on God’s strength and plan rather than giving in to fear and anxiety. Her step-by-step plan is easy to implement and will help anyone become a better steward of their resources as well as be the neighbor who can help in a crisis rather than needing help themselves. Kathi’s goal is to equip you to be the front line of helpers in any crisis from a natural disaster to a friend’s job loss.
The Clutter Free Home
By Kathi Lipp
When it comes to your home, peace is possible…
Longing for a place of peace from which you can love others well? The Clutter-Free Home is your room-by-room guide to decluttering, reclaiming, and celebrating every space of your home.
Let author Kathi Lipp (who once lived a life buried in clutter) walk you through each room of your house to create organizational zones that are not only functional and practical but create places of peace that reflect your personality. Kathi will help you tackle the four-step process of dedicate, decide, declutter and “do-your-thing” to reveal the home you’ve always dreamed of, and then transform it into a haven that reflects who you truly are meant to be.
Overwhelmed: How to Quiet the Chaos and Restore Your Sanity
By Kathi Lipp & Cheri Gregory
Feeling overwhelmed?
Wondering if it’s possible to move from “out of my mind” to “in control” when you’ve got too many projects on your plate and too much mess in your relationships?
Kathi and Cheri want to show you five surprising reasons why you become stressed, why social media solutions don’t often work, and how you can finally create a plan that works for you. As you identify your underlying hurts, uncover hope, and embrace practical healing, you’ll understand how to trade the to-do list that controls you for a calendar that allows space in your life, decide whose feedback to forget and whose input to invite, replace fear of the future with peace in the present.
The Get Yourself Organized Project
By Kathi Lipp
Finally, an organizational book for women who have given up trying to be Martha Stewart but still desire some semblance of order in their lives. Most organizational books are written by and for people who are naturally structured and orderly. For the woman who is more ADD than type A, the advice sounds terrific but seldom works. These women are looking for help that takes into account their free-spirited outlook while providing tips and tricks they can easily follow to live a more organized life. Kathi offers:
- easy and effective ways women can restore peace to their everyday lives
- simple and manageable long-term solutions for organizing any room in one’s home (and keeping it that way)
- a realistic way to de-stress a busy schedule
- strategies for efficient shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, and more
I’m a huge fan of Kathi Lipp, but I was unaware of Ready For Anything!! I’m adding that one to my wishlist!!
She actually started writing it before the pandemic – a real Godsend! Let me know if you decide to use it in a Cafe, I’d love a testimonial.