Mary: Devoted to God's Plan: Complete Church Curriculum
Devoted to God’s Plan
Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan helps your entire church dig deeper into the life of Mary—together.
This all-in-one curriculum package has something for everyone:
- Preaching resources and sermon starters for pastors and teachers
- Videos, slides, and media for the tech team
- Bulletin inserts and handouts for the congregation
- Discussion guides and videos for small group leaders
Praise for Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan
What a fascinating journey into the life of a girl who faced many of the same problems troubling teenagers today—unplanned pregnancy, fear, and peer pressure. While we’ll never experience Mary’s exact circumstances, we will have times when God calls us to follow Him into the unknown. In this practical study, Mary’s surrendered life offers life-changing inspiration for us all. A great study for churches, small groups, and personal devotions.
—June Hunt, founder and CEO, Hope For The Heart
The study of Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan is not for the faint of heart. Take this study seriously—embrace the young teenager Mary as your role model—and you have embarked on a journey that requires courage and self-sacrifice and may mean standing alone. An unflinching determination to follow Jesus comes at a price, so proceed at your own risk. But know for certain that when kingdom issues are at stake, holding back will cost you more.
—Carolyn Custis James, founder and president, Synergy Women’s Network, Inc.
Mary’s story is familiar to most Christians and can inadvertently be limited to a manger scene at Christmas. Yet there is so much more to ponder and learn from her life as you will see in this study. Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan is a thorough guide which can be used to delve deeper. It’s perfect for personal or group study, or for any pastor who needs great Biblical content for Sunday mornings or mid-week meetings.
—Arlene Pellicane, speaker, author, and blogger
Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan is an informative and inspiring study of the life of one of the great servants of God in the New Testament. Filled with interesting and relevant historical information, the study helps the reader explore more deeply Mary’s life and her journey from mother of Jesus to child of God and disciple of Christ. The study does a wonderful job of integrating historical information and application to help the reader see how the story of Mary fits in the larger context of Scripture, while also providing valuable guidance for how we can follow her example of devotion and humility.”
—Michelle Lee-Barnewall, Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, BIOLA University
I found Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan to be a very useful text. It is clear, well researched, and is designed with the pastor/teacher in mind. It comes complete with PowerPoints and will be a wonderful aid to anyone who wants to study the life and impact of Mary more closely.
—Sam Lamerson, professor of New Testament, Knox Theological Seminary
It’s the Best Curriculum for Churches
- Discover new meaning in the life of Mary. Dig up the nuggets you might have missed. Find the perfect sermon illustrations. Discuss questions you’ve never thought to ask. Infuse your sermons with energy and conviction. Learn new ways to apply Mary’s story in your life—and in the life of your church.
- Do ministry more effectively. Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan gives you everything you need to hit the ground running—which means less time in meetings and at your desk, and more time doing ministry. You get to focus on your strengths and leave the heavy lifting to us.
- Stay organized. This program helps you coordinate all your ministry programs. With a single, shared curriculum, your media team, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, and everyone else all stay in the loop. This means fewer phone calls and last-minute surprises for you—and more time in the Word for your church.
- Help your church get connected. Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan connects people in your small groups to each other, and connects your small groups to the Sunday-morning experience. The topics in each small group Bible study integrate with your sermons. Best of all, everything is centered on the Word, so your church gets a complete, shared Bible study experience.
Deeper Bible Study All Week Long
- Leading up to Sunday, you have everything you need to get started on your sermon—a sample outline, key points in the text, exegesis, and more. We’ve done the biblical research for you, so you can focus on preparing your sermon and connecting with your congregation.
- On Sunday morning, video introductions set the stage for your sermon, and custom-designed slides complement your preaching. Your media team has everything they need—the presentation is ready to go right out of the box, but they can customize it as much as they want. Your congregation follows along with handouts and bulletin inserts. Everything flows together elegantly and seamlessly.
- During the following week, your small groups can unpack the text and the topics you talked about on Sunday. The curriculum is perfect for all types of learners and interest levels. Leaders get handouts, videos, and discussion questions to help guide the group, so they’ll need to purchase this edition. Everyone else gets a self-study book available separately that helps them participate to the fullest—and get ready for the next Sunday.
It’s a comprehensive program to help your entire church dig deep into the Bible together.
What You’ll Get
- The study book:
- A complete introduction to the life of Mary
- Reflection questions to keep you focused on the text
- Fill-in-the-blank answer boxes to keep your group engaged
- Recommended resources to help you continue your study
- An elegant design, featuring 32 graphics tied to the commentary—also in slide format
- Preaching materials:
- 8 sermon outlines
- Media resources:
- 8 intro videos to set the stage for your sermons
- 8 teaching slideshows, which work on PowerPoint, Keynote, and Proclaim
- Group curriculum:
- The leader’s book
- 8 lesson plans
- 8 teaching slideshows, which work on PowerPoint, Keynote, and Proclaim
- 8 handouts with discussion questions, in Microsoft Word and PDF
- 8 intro videos for each lesson, which you can download after you check out.
The entire program is designed for Logos Bible Software and Logos’ Faithlife Study Bible app. It combines text and visuals with today’s most advanced Bible study tools. All Scripture passages link to your favorite Bible translation and to the original language texts in your library.
This is the complete church curriculum for leaders and pastors. The version for individuals and group members is available here. Both versions feature infographics, maps, artifact images, thought-provoking questions, “writable” answer boxes, Bible study tips, an annotated reading list, and printable handouts. The complete church curriculum for leaders and pastors includes everything in the individual/group member version plus videos, small group lesson plans, sermon outlines, and teaching slideshows.
The Studies in Faithful Living Series
The Studies in Faithful Living series examines the lives of biblical characters who responded faithfully to God’s call. Combining narrative analysis with infographics, maps, and questions for reflection, each volume explores key events in these characters’ lives, combining the depth you expect from a biblical commentary with application and teaching insights. Each volume is available as an individual/group member version or as a complete church curriculum version for pastors and teachers.
Contents
Each chapter of Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan is structured to maximize your church’s study:
- Setting the Stage:
- Theme: Introduces the meaning and relevance of an event in Mary’s life
- Literary Context: Illustrates the conditions surrounding that event
- Historical and Cultural Background: Presents relevant data about the ancient world
- A Closer Look: Gives a walk through of the event while exploring issues of interpretation, original language, and theology
- Throughout the Bible: Examines discussion of the event elsewhere in the Bible
- Beyond the Bible: Treats references to the event in ancient documents and extracanonical texts, as well as references by theologians, the church fathers, and contemporary thinkers
- Application: Concludes the chapter by exploring the event’s relevance to your journey of faith
You’ll also find Quick Tips on difficult passages and Quick Bits of historical information, original language wording, and ancient thought.
8-Week Program
- Embracing the Unexpected (Luke 1:26–38; Matt 1:18–25)
- Exceptional Praise (Luke 1:39–56)
- A Unique Birth (Luke 2:1–20)
- A Foretelling of Sacrifice (Luke 2:21–40)
- Facing Fear with Faith (Matt 2:1–23)
- Preparing to Let Go (Luke 2:41–52)
- Family Redefined (John 2:1–12; Mark 3:20–35)
- Behold Your Son (John 19:25–27)
Product Details
- Title: Mary: Devoted to God’s Plan: Complete Church Curriculum for Leaders and Pastors
- Editor: Michael Grigoni
- Authors: Miles Custis, Douglas Mangum, Matthew M. Whitehead, Rebecca Brant, John D. Barry, and Elizabeth Vince
- Series: Studies in Faithful Living
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Publication Date: 2012
About the Editor
Michael Grigoni previously served as the Studies in Faithful Living series editor and Logos Bible Software’s managing editor of Bible reference. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School.
About the Authors
Miles Custis is the author of The End of the Matter: Understanding the Epilogue of Ecclesiastes, a Faithlife Study Bible contributing editor, and a regular Bible Study Magazine and Lexham Bible Dictionary contributor. He holds a Master of Arts in biblical studies from Trinity Western University.
Douglas Mangum is an academic editor for Lexham Press. He holds a PhD in Hebrew from the University of Free State and holds an MA in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a Lexham English Bible and Lexham Bible Guide editor, a Faithlife Study Bible contributing editor, a Studies in Faithful Living co-author, a regular Bible Study Magazine contributor, and a frequently consulted specialist for the Lexham Bible Dictionary.
Matthew M. Whitehead has served as a Faithlife Study Bible contributing editor and Bible Study Magazine contributor. He assisted with the digitization process for the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series and worked on the Oxford Hebrew Bible project. Matthew holds an MDiv from Northwest Baptist Seminary and is pursuing an MA in biblical studies at Trinity Western University.
Rebecca Brant is the managing copyeditor for Logos Bible Software. She develops content for Connect the Testaments, Faithlife Study Bible, Lexham Bible Dictionary, and Bible Study Magazine. She is a regular contributor to Bible Study Magazine.
John D. Barry is the CEO and Founder of Jesus' Economy, a non-profit dedicated to creating jobs and churches in the developing world. He also serves as a missionary with Resurrect Church Movement, the domestic division of Jesus' Economy dedicated to equipping U.S. churches to alleviate poverty and plant churches. John is the general editor of Faithlife Study Bible and Lexham Bible Dictionary. He has authored or edited over 30 books, including The Resurrected Servant in Isaiah, Cutting Ties with Darkness, and the daily devotional Connect the Testaments. John formerly served as founding publisher of Lexham Press and is the former editor-in-chief of Bible Study Magazine. John speaks internationally on engaging the Bible, poverty, and spreading the gospel.
Elizabeth Vince is an editor at Logos Bible Software, developing content for Faithlife Study Bible, Lexham Bible Dictionary, Bible Study Magazine, and Connect the Testaments. She is a regular contributor to Bible Study Magazine.
Reviews
8 ratings
Doug Olson
12/21/2016
Dr. CJ Walker
7/16/2015
Robert Polahar
1/29/2015
Jeff Chappell
4/1/2014
mwk
12/24/2013
I first taught a class based on the Joseph title in this series and really liked it. So I had high hopes for Mary because she tends to get her brief mention at Christmas, but without a deeper look into her life. Where I think this title in this series falls short is that it really doesn't need to be 8-weeks long. We obviously don't get a lot about Mary in the Bible compared to other characters in this series. But I think there was an unnecessary pressure to fit this into the 8-week format. Personally, I think this would have been good at 5 weeks. As it was, I eliminated one week. To to be fair, you could take the content and shape it into any amount of time you want, but it's obviously geared to an 8-week schedule. The only reason I mention it is because I'd like to see this series continue beyond the existing four titles, but not with an obligation to make them all 8 weeks or even be character studies. The slides and supporting material are well done and this format could be applied to teaching any topic. So I hope Logos considers that. I'd also like to see some deeper questions included. My class leans more toward very mature Christians and I found the included discussion questions not deep enough (in many cases) for my class to chew on. Again, as a teacher, you could come up with your own, but I would have given this title an extra star had there been something deeper in this area.
Ken Runyon
10/31/2013
Justin M
10/24/2013
Ovidiu Spatacian-Tarnu
10/1/2013
The idea of the Bible Study is great: looking at Mary's life. However, there is a small number of multimedia resources. The historical and background information is helpful, but there is little engagement with the biblical text as such. What I appreciate is that it deals with a topic often neglected in Protestant and Evangelical churches.
