Apples of Gold Bible Study

The past 6 weeks I have attending a Bible study on Monday nights.  The book we are working with is APPLES OF GOLD by Betty Huizenga

I have enjoyed it so much.  It isn't the "normal" Bible study.  The mission statement of this programs is based on Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

There are 6 mentors who are older ladies in the church who have given up their Monday nights to build relationships and mentor some of the younger ladies in the church.  It is a 3 hour long night, but it is great fun!

The lessons we have had are:

Kindness

Loving Your Husband

Loving Your Children

Submission

Purity

Hospitality

The first hour of the night, there is a cooking mentor who makes a dinner for everyone and teaches cooking skills as she goes.  It is a 4 course meal that we get AND all the recipes are given out, so at the end of the session we will have a mini cookbook of meals.

The second hour is for the Bible study.  Each mentor has taken a lesson teaches on it.  Throughout the week, the APPLES OF GOLD book has weekly lessons for everyone to do to help prepare your heart for the lesson.  I thoroughly have enjoyed these lessons in the book, gleaning something new from each lesson.

The third hour is for getting to know the mentors and other ladies during dinner.  We seat 4 to a table throughout the house and with different people each time.  The tables are decorated with a theme each time and the ladies (mentors) have gone to great extent to make this a "pampering" night for us.  We are served and someone ELSE does the dishes.

It is a great program, I highly recommend it!

One of the weeks lessons was on PURITY.  It really was a eye opening lesson and I am so thankful for it.  The lesson talks not only about sexual impurity, which I figured the whole lesson would be about, but about purity of the heart. Having a pure heart, as in, not talking gossip, going to certain places, thinking jealous thoughts....

Purity of the heart involves our: 

MIND What we THINK about  (thoughts)

MOUTH What we say, HOW we say it.  (words, attitudes)

MEMBERS  What we SEE, HEAR, TOUCH, or where we GO

( our actions using members of our body)

This song, GUARD YOUR HEART sung by Steve Green, was featured in the lesson.  It has a great message.  

A great message that we all need to remember. 

Things to think about.....

WHO are you going to with family problems? 

WHO do you socialize with when your spouse isn't around...even on FACEBOOK or TEXTing?

Do you daydream about a certain celebrity?   Have PICTURES of him or her you like to look/lust at?

Do you FLIRT with someone other than your spouse? 

WHAT are you VIEWING on the computer? 

What KINDS of BOOKS are you reading?

What TV shows or movies are you WATCHING?

Do you ENVY someone who seems to have the perfect spouse - at least is better than your spouse?

Just some things to think about.  Are you guarding your heart to be pure?  Are you guarding your heart to have a pure relationship with Christ?  Are you guarding your heart to have a pure relationship with your spouse?

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell (or think) on these things.
Philippians 4:8