Are you truly willing to risk everything?

In Believing Jesus, Bible teacher and author Lisa Harper retraces the steps of the apostles in the book of Acts, while throwing in a few of her own crazy adventures along the way. The disciples didn’t have much of a road map after Jesus ascended to heaven, but God’s grace and spirit filled in the gaps as they moved forward. It required their willingness to risk everything to establish a new community that would change the future world.

As a regular speaker on the Women of Faith^® tour, Lisa has earned a reputation as a true theological scholar and hilarious storyteller—not necessarily in that order! Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado calls Lisa one of the “best Bible tour guides around.”

Believing Jesus will highlight both of Lisa’s strengths as she tackles every chapter of the Book of Acts with biblical wisdom and modern wit. Lisa keeps it real, telling stories on herself and pointing readers back to Jesus, the only one who can truly lead.

Journey through the biblical stories of the early Christian movement, and see what kind of wild adventures await those who truly believe Jesus.

Throughout the book of Acts, believing Jesus and what He said is the core value that marked every believer in the first church. Because they believed Jesus, the early Christians, including Peter, Paul, Stephen, and Timothy:

• Consistently chose risk over comfort–even at the cost of some of their lives.
• Persistently opened their homes and arms, giving all they had to the Jesus way.
• Radically pursued Christ over culture–until they began to shape the culture around them.

In this audio Bible study, Lisa Harper launches into the book of Acts to discover how Jesus’ command to spread the gospel changed the lives of those who believed and shaped the culture that surrounded the growing church.

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The Audio Bible Study series provides a unique learning experience. Instead of sitting down to watch a video teaching for Bible study, listen to the same quality Bible study content on the go! Whether you listen on your commute, while walking outside, or over a lunch break, you can access high-quality audio Bible studies wherever you are. Get the most out of the teaching by diving into the accompanying study guide (sold separately) to walk through reflection questions and individual Bible study to go deeper.

PERFECTION NOT REQUIRED

Many of us believe that we aren’t good enough to meet other people’s expectations. Maybe you can’t wrap words around why, but lurking beneath the surface of the carefully curated façade you present in public, it’s there. Being missed and marginalized by others moves us to assume we’re not quite good enough for God either.

The great news woven throughout the Gospel according to Luke is that perfection is not a prerequisite for a deep and personal relationship with Jesus. In fact, this riveting account reveals that Jesus is especially fond of ragamuffins in need of a safe place to lean in and linger! Join Lisa Harper in this audio Bible study of a literary masterpiece that doesn’t celebrate the elite, but embraces the outliers, outcasts, and overlooked!

Sessions and Run Times:

1. Outliers, Outcasts, and the Outrageous Mercy of God (26:00)
2. Worship in the Waiting (25:00)
3. Uphill Glory (29:00)
4. Gut-Level Compassion (27:00)  
5. The Tender Heart of Obedience (32:00)
6. A Beautiful Unbending (31:00)
7. A Most Radical Restoration (31:00)
8. A Tale of Two Rooms (31:00)

The Audio Bible Studies series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook’s direct narration of a book’s text, this audio Bible study includes high-quality, live audio sessions from the author that cover important Bible-based topics. These sessions will reflect the ambiance of the unique recording locations, immersing the listener into the teaching. While not required for the audio experience, these studies are designed to partner with the coordinating study guide, sold separately.

Imagine hearing your physician tell you that chips and queso contain more nutritional benefits than kale and quinoa. Or opening an envelope that looks like just another bill, and unfolding instead an official document declaring you the sole beneficiary of an anonymous billionaire’s estate.In her new book, The Sacrament of Happy: Surprised by the Secret of Genuine Joy, Lisa Harper unveils a similarly extravagant, unexpected surprise, declaring that happiness-just plain feeling happy-is a gift from God that you can unashamedly enjoy.Wearing the twin hats of seminarian and belly-laughing adoptive mom, Harper delivers a warm, vignette style built upon solid theological scaffolding. She observes, for example, that God’s choice of wording for the first verse of the first psalm (a word often translated as “blessed”) literally means happy-one of many biblical reasons for dismantling the old-school idea that joy, not happiness, is the truly spiritual one of the Christian family. In truth, they’re more like fraternal twins than distant cousins, meaning we as Christ-followers are not called to jettison happiness-like a no-longer-needed set of spiritual floaties-as we learn to swim in the deep waters of intimacy with God. Beyond merely a circumstances-based, up-and-down emotion, happiness comes from a deep conviction in the unmitigated goodness of our Creator-Redeemer, freeing us to feel and express genuine joy, fulfillment, and contentment, regardless of personal or global tumult.The author’s personal story includes such happiness killers as sexual abuse, the deaths of near loved ones, a heartbreaking failed adoption, followed by the arrival of an adopted daughter from Haiti who is HIV-positive. Yet she writes on themes like: “The lost sacrament of laughter”-“Does happy have a personality type?”-“Tuning out the Pharisees who try to mute your happiness in the context of spiritual maturity.” So this is obviously not a book of trite, untested cliches. It goes well beneath most people’s surface understanding of happiness, gently guiding readers closer to the heart of God . . . with naturally a few genuine laughs and grins to enjoy along the way.

“So, today I’ve been thinking about…things that bind us. The thought flitted around my mind and then landed for a while, likely because I was wearing a pair of too-tight jeans.”

Women of Faith¬Æ speaker and author Lisa Harper relates from experience ‚Äî life can be uncertain, sometimes even scary. But with a witty twinkle in her eye and a Bible in her hand, she describes what it’s like to find real security in the arms of a Savior who doesn’t just notice us but who moves heaven and earth on our behalf.

Part diary, part devotional,¬†Stumbling Into Grace¬†weaves hilarious and poignant stories from Lisa’s own life with intimate and transformational encounters from the life of Christ. Prayers, reflection questions, and journal prompts help women dig deep into biblical truths to better understand how our Redeemer’s compassion, affection, and constancy make every single moment of life not only more enjoyable but well worth living!

Assessments are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

“Lisa’s fine grasp of Scripture and love for the Lord make her a trustworthy teacher, yet we learn from her own hard-earned lessons as well. She speaks and writes from a place of understanding, as she clings to God’s hand, giving us the privilege of stumbling into grace with her.” ‚ÄîLIZ CURTIS HIGGS, best-selling author of Bad Girls of the Bible

Real women. Real trials. Real triumphs.

In this twelve-session Audio Bible Study, some of today’s best-loved authors and speakers look at the spiritual lessons learned from twelve women in the Bible and what they mean for you today. As you look at each of these women’s lives, you will discover how to:

• Apply biblical lessons to your own modern-day struggles
• Live through your failures as well as your successes
• Draw near to God in a world filled with trials
• Find lasting contentment in every situation
• Overcome rejection and insecurity . . . and much more

This fresh look at these women in the Bible will help you discover new insights into God’s character, persevere through difficult times, and find joy in the hope that Jesus has provided to you.

The Audio Bible Study series provides a unique learning experience. Instead of sitting down to watch a video teaching for Bible study, listen to the same quality Bible study content on the go! Whether you listen on your commute, while walking outside, or over a lunch break, you can access high-quality audio Bible studies wherever you are. Get the most out of the teaching by diving into the accompanying study guide (sold separately) to walk through reflection questions and individual Bible study to go deeper.