Authors: Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose
Publisher: David C Cook
ISBN:  978-1-4347-9986-9

Click Here To Purchase Live Deeply: A Study in the Parables of Jesus (Fresh Life Series)

My mother taught me a very important lesson when reading the New Testament, “Read all the words in red.”  Of course, most of us know that the actual words Jesus spoke are often written in red to help them stand out.   What she meant is to be more Christian, or Christ-like, go straight to the source.  In Live Deeply, Heitzig and Rose have chosen ten of Jesus’s parables and broken them down into twenty minute lessons we all can understand so we can learn straight from the Teacher.

Live Deeply is one of the books from the Fresh Life Bible Study Series and as a study book has a unique format.  Each topic is a series of five lessons, one for each weekday.  Each lesson is divided up into five sections.  Lift Up is the daily prayer provided to start each lesson.  Look At is the actual text from the Bible, the major part of the text included and minor parts left to be searched out in the reader’s own Bible.  Learn About are side bars where the text and questions are explained in greater depth.  Live Out teaches the reader how to apply the lesson to her own life and Listen To ends each section with a related quote.

This book is a great way to study the lessons of Jesus.  When Jesus taught, He spoke in parables so that only those who were ready could understand the message.  Modern readers are often left puzzling over what exactly He meant.  Like the people He spoke to and even the disciples themselves, we are often left scratching our heads after reading one of Jesus’ wonderful stories.  I love Live Deeply because the authors take the difficult and make it easy to understand.  Instead of throwing the whole story at you, Heitzig and Rose introduce the actual Bible verses in sections, stopping to examine each one.  The side bars are a great help in understanding even the most difficult parts.  There are located the clues on Jesus’ culture that are vital in understanding the piece as a whole.

When I read this book I felt closer to Jesus Himself because the book is filled with examples of His wisdom and why we should praise Him.  Heitzig and Rose take the time to point out how Jesus struggled and suffered, determined to save us who weren’t even born.  They never let us forget to glorify Him.  Anyone who wants to both learn and feel Jesus’ blessing should read Live Deeply.

 Click Here To Purchase Live Deeply: A Study in the Parables of Jesus (Fresh Life Series)