I like her approach for studying Ephesians. Taking the action verbs and looking at them and applying them to your life. It isn't and in depth study, but it is a practical one and I will use it with the ladies I do Bible study with.

Ephesians is living the salvation story together. We are included in Christ, together with one another, - chosen, seated, strengthened, renewed, filled, and proclaiming-and now we see our Savior Stories as the we participate in each other's lives.

We can easily be stuck in living our life's for Christ when we live in our Shadow narrative. In the shadow narrative is where you find isolation, despair, the denying of the truth of the word, delighting in sin, narcissism, and a disconnect from Jesus. The Savior narrative is where you find hope, healing connection, redemption and truth. Heather Holleman is a fantastic communicator that she builds a foundation of the two narratives. The Savior and the Shadow. With these two narratives, she poses questions that cause you to think where you are at within your walk (or where you are stuck) with Christ and brings truth and grace in harmony. Where so many times, one is pitted against the other.

The key words that are expounded in the book of Ephesians are included, chosen, seated, filled renewed, strengthened and proclaiming. Each of these key words build our faith as we come to understand and apply them in our own narratives in community. Using her own experience and other salvation stories, we can see the bible come alive for us as well. I highly recommend this one.

A Special Thank You to Moody Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

This is a "bible study" unlike any other I've ever done. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the method but it might be great for you. In my mind this functioned more like a devotional book. There weren't a whole ton of questions each week concerning the material found one Ephesians. The questions seemed more "evaluate my lif type. The goal is to write a Shadow Narrative and then turn it into a Savior Story. Some people might love this approach but for me this focuses way too much on me and not enough on God. I understand we need to dig out and root out lies we believe but I think this method is just not for me. The information in the narrative of the book is great. Very applicable and useful for everyone. Everyone has felt lost or left out before. This speaks to the heart. It's a good companion for another study on Ephesians where you dig in and try to understand and know God better by reading the word.
I received a digital copy from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

"Included in Christ" is an 8-week Bible study of Ephesians (with 5 days of study per week). Each week focused on one of seven verbs found in Ephesians: included, chosen, seated, strengthened, renewed, filled, proclaiming. For example, "proclaiming" talked about the words you use and about evangelism.

The overall theme is that we believe Shadow Narratives containing lies that make use feel excluded, weak, empty, etc. When we learn the truth and live like someone who is Chosen, Included, etc., then we start to live our Savior Stories. She shared Savior Stories that were written by people she knows, and she asked questions to help you identify your Shadow Narratives and rewrite them into Savior Stories. The last week focused on how to write out and share your Savior Story.

The author suggested visualizing meaningful symbols to help remember these verbs and how they affect our lives. This study can be done on your own or as a group study were you share your answers. Some answers involve revealing your fears and feelings, so it might work best for groups that are comfortable with each other. Overall, I'd recommend this Bible study.

This is an awesome Bible study. The author is so thorough. I absolutely love the breakdown of the book: by seven unique and important words/phrases. I love how deep and meaningful each day's study can be. I left this Bible study feeling like I actually learned something of value. It is definitely more than a standard "milk and cookies" Bible study. I will definitely recommend this to my fellow Bible-studying friends. And, I am picking up a copy in June so I can write notes, and go deeper into this study. SO GOOD!

I think this book bring comfort. I have been a little apart of my Christian side, lack of time to go to church, different country and working hard, and while reading this book is made me reconnect.
Thank you for that.
I have recommend this book to some friends and family and they got interested.