Lazarus Awakening by Joanna Weaver

Lazarus Awakening Study Guide and DVD is the newest study by Joanna Weaver. You may have read some of her previous books which are fairly popular, "Having a Mary heart in a Martha World" or "Having a Martha Spirit."

Lazarus Awakening is a study of the spiritual truths we can learn from someone who doesn't even say a word in the Bible. Someone who is only briefly mentioned after his death. Lazarus. John 11:5 tells us "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Which mean there is hope for all of us. No matter what happens, you and I are loved by Jesus. God is calling us to let go of our doubt, our guilt from past failures and to rest and live in God'd embrace.

I received both the Study Guide and the DVD for review. The Study Guide is very well put together. It is divided into an eight week study which can be used for personal or group use. This bundle does not include the actual Lazarus Awakening book, and I don't think it is absolutely necessary for this study to work, but I think it might explain things a lot better if you had that as well.

Each chapter has a short lesson and then a Bible verse to memorize. Then there is a section called "Word Time" which is a one-page tidbit on how to apply the Bible to our lives and ways to understand the Bible better. Next is "Israel Moment" which describes a little bit of life in Bible times. After this, there are a few reflection questions, and then the actual study where you will use your Bible to look up answers to the questions. The chapter closes with a "Who I am in Christ" statement and another video clip.

Now onto the DVD portion:
There are actually two different aspects of the DVD which are important. First is the actual study. These are each 17-20 minute sessions which correspond to the Study Guide. There is also a downloadable leader's guide, promotional material and retreat format included. The second aspect of the DVD is the "Israel Moment" footage. These are short segments which are actually made in the Holy land. It is said that once you visit the Holy land, you will never read the Bible the same way again. Find out why the Holy land is also called "The Fifth Gospel."

I think this is a great study guide. There is a lot of material here, and a lot of value for the money spent. If you are planning to use this study as a group, I would suggest planning on at least 2 to 2.5 hours per evening to go over the material as a group. There is also a bit of studying that can be done at home during the rest of the week. I rate this study as 5 stars.

I received this Study Guide and DVD for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.