ARE YOU BRAIN WASHED? This question has always had a negative connotation, but within this Bible Study Guide you will learn the importance of having your brain washed! Life is full of experiences that are stored in our brains that are a filter for how we see ourselves, the world we live in, our relationship with others, and most importantly how we see God! Scientists have discovered that we actually have two brains: the brain in our heads (the cranial brain-learn and remember), and the brain in our hearts (sense and feel). According to research, the brain in the head is connected to the brain in the heart. The two brains send messages to each other through thousands of neurons and tiny filaments, but the messages don't necessarily coincide. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that as a man "thinks in his heart," so is he. So, the truth in God's Word needs to work its way down (18 inches) from the brain in our head to the brain in our heart so that we can experience its life changing power. Included with the Bible Study Guide is a welcome video which you can view on MariaDurso.com. This study has been designed for individual use as well as applying it to a Small Group.Maria Durso is living proof that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Having come from a childhood devastated by loss and abuse she grew up to thinking she could mask her pain with drugs. Her lifestyle could have left her hopeless and alone-yet God kept and preserved Maria's life. Understanding firsthand the effects of abandonment, loneliness and rejection, she ministers to those whose hurt lies deep in the heart and works to minister to those who need hope. Armed with discernment, insight into the true character of God, honest about her own experience, and down to earth, Maria is an intercessor, teacher and powerful speaker. In 1975, immediately following the first most important walk Maria would ever take down a church aisle Maria took her second most important walk down the aisle and married her life-long love, Michael Durso. God continues to open doors for her to minister in conferences, seminars and retreats. Connect with Maria Durso at www.mariadurso.com.This study has been designed for individual use as well as applying it to a Small Group. To assist you in your study, the Bible Study Guide includes questions entitled Thoughts from the Heart at the end of each lesson. These exercises will hopefully challenge you to study further and apply God's Word to your personal life. In addition, there are Questions for Small Group Discussion, which are formulated to get your Small Group talking about the key issues in each lesson.Let's start to take the eighteen-inch journey from your head down into the deep valley of your heart, so you can slay the giants that are defying God's promises and blocking your blessings!

Make the Connection. The change you long for is just 18 inches away! Have you ever declared in frustration that your head knows what to do but your heart won't agree? The truth is, although the head and heart are only eighteen inches from each other, most of us spend our entire lives trying to make a genuine connection between what we profess to believe in our heads and what we actually believe in our hearts. We believe that God loves us, but our hearts still cling to lies from our past—lies from society, our families and friends, and the enemy of our souls. Don't allow these voices to keep you trapped any longer. “From Your Head to Your Heart” exposes how your negative thought patterns can keep you from the future God wants for you and reveals the secrets to achieve the long-term transformation desired by many, yet missed by most. With powerful examples from the Bible and redeeming stories from the author's own testimony involving abandonment, loneliness, rejection, and drug use, this book will give you the keys to access the power in God's Word. Begin the renewing journey from your head to your heart today.Forward written by Jim Cymbala with Endorsements from Bill Hybels, Chris Hodges, Nancy Alcorn and many more.“The heart and soul of the Christian life is learning to hear God's voice and then developing the courage to do what he asks us to do. “From Your Head to Your Heart” must be added to your life and library. If leaders aren't leading with their heads and hearts, the local church will never reach its full redemptive potential. Well done Maria Durso! This book will be a lifeline for so many people.” —Bill Hybels, Founding and Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church“With honesty, wisdom, and encouragement, Maria Durso helps readers draw closer to God as they seek to know him and not simple knot about Him. From Your Head to Your Heart offers biblical wisdom and practical suggestions for connecting your mind and your heart with your faith. I recommend it for anyone wanting to experience more of God's power in their lives.” —Chris Hodges, Pastor of Church of the Highlands“In my travels over the years in ministry I have seen many people who have a “head relationship” “with the Lord, but not a close personal “heart relationship” with Him. From Your Head to Your Heart explores the depths of having an intimate walk with Jesus that will transform every part of your life and bring about a whole new level of victory and freedom!” —Nancy Alcorn, Founder and President of Mercy Ministries

Stopping the spiral of toxic thoughts. In Get Out of Your Head, a six-session video-based Bible study, Jennie inspires and equips us to transform our emotions, our outlook, and even our circumstances by taking control of our thoughts. Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. But when we submit our minds to Christ, the promises of goodness of God flood our lives in remarkable ways. It starts in your head. And from there, the possibilities are endless. This guide serves as a tool to prepare you in leading this Get Out of Your Head study and to encourage you along the way. It helps you as the leader to effectively point your group to the overarching theme of each lesson and point them to the themes of each study. This Get Out of Your Head Leader’s Guide includes: Session-by-session helps to guide your group through the study. Walk-through for using each piece of the study: Videos, Study Guide, and Conversation Card Deck. The vision for Get Out of Your Head. Tips for leading your group, and much more. This guide is designed for use with the Get Out of Your Head Video Study (9780310116394), sold separately. Streaming video, study guide, and conversation cards also available.

This companion study guide to Matters of the heart features in-depth application and can be used in discussiong groups or personal Bible studies.

“Women of the Word will help all who read it to find their way deeper into the Word of God without having to be seminary educated, a genius, or even an especially good student.” —Kathy Keller We all know it’s important to study God’s Word. But sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. What’s more, a lack of time, emotionally driven approaches, and past frustrations can erode our resolve to keep growing in our knowledge of Scripture. How can we, as Christian women, keep our focus and sustain our passion when reading the Bible? With over 250,000 copies sold, Women of the Word has helped countless women with a clear and concise plan they can use every time they open their Bible. Featuring the same content as the first edition, and now with added study questions at the end of each chapter, this book equips you to engage God’s Word in a way that trains your mind and transforms your heart.

Do you feel stuck? So many of us live stuck. Stuck in trying to seem perfect. Stuck in sadness. Stuck feeling numb. Stuck pursuing more stuff to make us happy. Stuck in something we can't even name. These stuck places often go unattended inside of us and they are shaping our lives more than we would like to think. We've been trying to fix this feeling with everything but... God. He has a plan for these spaces inside of us, the places we feel broken, but we have to go to Him. Stuck is a journey to take an honest look at the fight going on inside, leading us to the God who has a plan to restore it, to restore us. The eight lessons in this study guide are simple and interactive, offering projects, stories, and Bible study to dig into Scripture, to deeply engage the mind and heart. Because as we realize that our stuck places are the very places that make us ache for God, we find Him waiting there for us with hope and freedom. Sessions include: stuck broken mad discontent scared overwhelmed sad unstuck Designed for use with the Stuck DVD 9780849922541 (sold separately).

How to Live in Bold Confidence Have you ever needed confidence in a specific circumstance and couldn’t think of an example of anyone who had “been there, overcome that”? Author and speaker Lynn Cowell took every form of insecurity we experience as women and asked God to reveal how we should respond. The result is this in-depth, six-week Bible study spanning obscure and recognizable women in Scripture who demonstrate unshakable confidence no matter their circumstances. This six-week study will help you to: Stand with resolve when your confidence faces adversity—Women of Exodus Step out in your own defense when your confidence is challenged— The Daughters of Z Remain faithful when your confidence in God is elusive—Rahab Focus on what is true when your confidence in relationships is questioned— Abigail & Michal Trust when your confidence is in doubt—Martha & Mary Includes biblical and historical background insights, practical application, and a memory verse for each chapter. This study may be completed individually or with a small group.

The Bible reveals glorious things. And yet we often miss its power because we read it the same way we read any other book. In Reading the Bible Supernaturally, best-selling author John Piper teaches us how to read the Bible in light of its divine author. In doing so, he highlights the Bible's unique ability to reveal God to humanity in a way that informs our minds, transforms our hearts, and ignites our love. With insights into the biblical text drawn from decades of experience studying, preaching, and teaching Scripture, Piper helps us experience the transformative power of God's Word—a power that extends beyond the mere words on the page. Ultimately, Piper shows us that in the seemingly ordinary act of reading the Bible, something supernatural happens: we encounter the living God.

Hard things are a part of life--but they don't have to have the final word. Join bestselling author Lisa Whittle as she teaches us how to learn how to see the good again. What does it feel like to come back from something hard, to be able to hope again? Instead of running away from the obstacles we face and the growth we crave, Lisa teaches us that our challenges can become the keys to our greatest usability in the kingdom of God--that is, if we let God make good of them. In The Hard Good, Lisa guides us on a powerful path to progress as we learn to: Accept things we wish were different Apologize and forgive first Cheer for someone who gets what we want Open our hearts again when we've been hurt Find joy in the waiting Show up when we want to shut down Your hard place is never too hard for God. Allow it to change you, help you, and ready you for the greatest comeback you have ever known. Praise for The Hard Good: "I can't think of a person better equipped than my friend Lisa Whittle to tackle the hand-in-hand partnership of the title of this book: The Hard Good. She knows the angst of hard in deeply personal ways. She knows the choice of good because her heart purely seeks Jesus, and she truly wants to make a holy difference by helping others. Settle in. Dare to crack open these pages. You can, as I do, trust her with your heart. Let's do this. Together we can do the hard good." --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author of Forgiving What You Can't Forget

Stopping the spiral of toxic thoughts by learning how to become imitators of Christ. Are your thoughts holding you captive? Jennie Allen--the visionary behind the million-strong IF:Gathering--knows what it's like to swirl in a spiral of destructive thoughts, and she knows that from those thoughts, beliefs begin to form: "I'll never be good enough." "Other people have better lives than I do." "God couldn't really love me." We spiral down and down. Changing the way we think seems nearly impossible. And yet the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that conforming our minds to Christ is possible, and it's the ultimate goal for every follower of Christ. In Get Out of Your Head, a six-session video Bible study (DVD/streaming video sold separately), Jennie gives us tools from the book of Philippians to transform our emotions, our outlook, and even our circumstances, by taking control of our minds. We can find freedom from the downward spiral by: Taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ Shifting the focus of our minds from our circumstances to God Fighting toxic thoughts with weapons of humility, silence, and delight Escaping our comfort zones with weapons of connection, intentionality and gratitude Learning to forget what's behind so we can move ahead Defeating anxiety with a mind like Christ's Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. But when we submit our minds to Christ, the promises and goodness of God flood our lives in remarkable ways. The Get Out of Your Head Study Guide uses projects, stories, and Bible study in the book of Philippians to engage the mind and heart. Sessions include: Introduction: Spiraling Out Make the Shift Weapons We Use, Part I Weapons We Use, Part II A New Way to Live A Mind Like Christ Designed for use with the Get Out of Your Head Video Study available on DVD or streaming video, sold separately.