1 Peter: Sustained by a Living Hope, A 5‑Week Study, Mariel Davenport - A Review

Mariel Davenport’s five‑week study 1 Peter: Sustained by a Living Hope is a warm, encouraging, and easy‑to‑follow guide through the book of 1 Peter. Using the TEND method—Take time to pray, Examine the Scriptures, Notice the lessons, and Do what it says—Davenport helps readers grow in a steady, simple rhythm that makes Scripture feel approachable for anyone.
The study offers gentle guidance for believers who feel scattered, misunderstood, or weighed down by life. Davenport continually brings readers back to Peter’s message of living with a steady hope rooted in our identity in Christ, not our circumstances. Each week connects beautifully to this theme, making the study feel clear and uplifting.

One of the best parts of this book is how well it teaches you to study the Bible for yourself. Davenport’s prompts, journaling pages, tools, videos, and leader helps make this an excellent resource for personal study or group use. Whether you’re new to Bible study or experienced, the structure feels supportive and meaningful.

Her focus on remembering who God has made you to be is especially encouraging. The study invites readers to rest in their inheritance, trust God’s promises, and live with confidence. The practical application steps help turn learning into real spiritual growth.

This study fits well in women’s ministry settings as part of the God Hears Her collection, but its message is helpful for any believer seeking hope and stability. It’s a wonderful resource for small groups or personal quiet time—and I will most certainly be purchasing hard copies for myself.

★★★★★

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and Our Daily Bread Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Being guided through 1 Peter in the tending way is a complete blessing. Especially when this world is so crazy and when life seems full of trials, It is so encouraging to go slowly through Scripture and really ponder what the Word says. This study helps us remember the promises of God in such a way that it impacts everything!

I chose this thinking it would be something light I could casually work through. That plan went out the window real quick 😭

I actually started this during Lent, so for me it became a lot more personal than I expected. It wasn’t something I had planned or even thought about doing. I was honestly just passing time, but it turned into something deeper. It felt like an awakening in a way I didn’t see coming.

I started it with a coworker, and it ended up becoming something we both genuinely looked forward to. It became our little reset during the day. We would read, then end up talking way longer than expected about life, stress, faith, and everything in between. It didn’t feel forced, it just naturally led into real conversations and reflection for both of us.

What really stood out to me was how engaging it is. I wasn’t even waiting day to day like you normally would. I was actually excited to move on to the next exercise. That’s how pulled in I was, which surprised me.

The story of Peter had a bigger impact on me than I expected. His story feels real in a way that’s hard to ignore. He had faith, but he also had doubt. He was bold one moment and afraid the next. He messed up, denied Jesus, and still found his way back. That part hit me because it reflects real life. We are not consistent all the time. We fall, we question, we distance ourselves, and still somehow we are called back.

That made me reflect on my own life. There have been moments where I felt off track, disconnected, or just going through things without direction. Not because I didn’t care, but because life gets overwhelming, distracting, and sometimes a little unhinged 🤭. But reading that reminded me that messing up doesn’t cancel everything. It doesn’t disqualify you. It just means you’re human.

The journaling sections are where it really hits. It’s not surface level. It honestly reminded me of a shadow work type of workbook because you are unpacking your own thoughts, patterns, and emotions alongside Scripture. Some parts were easy, and others had me sitting there like, okay wait, why is this calling me out like this 😭

I also appreciated that it doesn’t come off as overly preachy or unrealistic. It meets you where you are. Whether you are grounded, overwhelmed, or a little unhinged 🤭 it still feels real and approachable.

Overall, I would definitely purchase a physical copy when it is available. It works great on your own, but doing it with someone else made it even more meaningful for me. It turned into something I didn’t expect, but honestly something I needed.

Wonderful!

This is a wonderful study guide that uses the TEND system. While this system is new to me, it totally makes sense. The system helps one understand the Scriptures being studied and apply what is learned to life.

The TEND system involves the following: Take time to pray, Examine the Scriptures, Notice the lessons, and Do what it says. This helps one focus on a few verses at a time, reflect on them, and make an action plan on how to apply the Word to daily life.

This study of 1 Peter is absolutely fantastic. However, the system can be used to further study other books of the Bible.

The book has added resources, which include how to choose a Bible translation and other resources. All of these factors make this a must-read Bible study resource.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and voluntary.

1 Peter Sustained by a Living Hope is a great bible study book for believers new to diving deeper into God’s word. It is the second entry in the TEND Your Soul Bible Study Series. The study starts out with an introduction to who Peter is and why the letter is relevant for today. The Author reveals her journey to belief in Christ and the Gospel.

Ms. Davenport explains the TEND method to the reader in general. The study has five weeks, and within each week, there are five days in which the reader practices the TEND method with approximately two to four verses. The sixth day is for reflection on what was covered that week, with specific reflection questions. The reader is also encouraged to pull out themes that were found during the week and respond to any promptings they had.

This bible study is perfect for any new believer learning to study the Word. The daily work is not too challenging and can be completed within thirty minutes. This study can be used alone or within a bible study group.

I received an ARC ebook from NetGalley and the publisher, Our Daily Bread Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Bible study that takes you through the first book of Peter. I love that this book includes history and context and also encourages prayer and outside resources.

I've heard about Mariel Davenport and her TEND Bible Study method on a few podcasts, so I was thrilled when I was approved for 1 Peter. I had not, however, realized that the TEND study method was a journaling-based method. I'll be honest, I'm not big on journaling period, much less doing so as a method of studying the Bible.

Part of the study was familiar to me - before I had surgery on my dominant hand, I used to do a daily Scripture writing that would included several verses of various books of the Bible. So it wasn't a big deal for me to write out Scriptures, although I have to say, my hand didn't appreciate it very much.

I had no issues with taking time to pray or examining the Scriptures - but the notice the lessons and do what it says sections weren't as easy. Thankfully the bottoms of the pages had some helpful hints - because in several of the passages, I really wasn't able to notice the lesson because there didn't seem to be a lesson. That's where the hints at the bottom of the pages came in handy. They gave helpful clues as to what the lesson would be and even asked questions to be answered based on the hinted lesson.

The do what it says section was the most challenging part of each day's study. I found myself really having to think about how I would do what the lesson said to do. How I would incorporate the lesson into my daily life. It gave me quite a bit to think about.

I gave this Bible study book 4 stars. It was informative, helpful, and gave me a better understanding of the Apostle Peter's words in 1 Peter.

1 Peter
Sustained by a Living Hope, A 5-Week Study
by Mariel Davenport

Rating: 4 star rating

This is a Bible study that you’ve got to check out. The book is: 1 Peter: Sustained by a Living Hope by Mariel Davenport. It is a 5-week workbook from Our Daily Bread Publishing that helps you read and apply the book of 1 Peter to your own life without getting overwhelmed.

The author uses a simple 4-step method called the "TEND" method for your daily reading:

Take time to pray.
Examine the verses.
Notice the lessons.
Do what it says.

It takes away the intimidation of reading the Bible. Instead, you get to write in the book, circle keywords, and figure out what the verses mean for you today.

The whole study is about finding hope when life gets messy. Mariel connects the dots between the Apostle Peter and the stuff we deal with today. She also talks about her own life, like how she went from being an atheist to finding faith. It makes her feel like someone you can relate to, not a boring teacher.

The book is about 144 pages and comes with some great features:

Note Space: You have room to scribble down your own thoughts.

QR Codes: You can scan them with your phone to watch quick video clips of Mariel teaching.

Group Guide: A section in the back if you want to do this with friends.

By the time you finish week five, you will have a plan to give your worries to God and keep moving forward with your study. It’s a great tool if you want to get deeper into your faith.

Thank you, NetGalley, Our Daily Bread Publishing, and the author, Mariel Davenport, for the book review consideration. All opinions are my own.

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Many thanks to NetGalley for this copy of the 1 Peter Study by Mariel Davenport. Mariel's system of expository Bible Study, which she calls the "TEND" method is similar to inductive methods that I have used in the past and have found very useful. The letters in "TEND" refer to: "T" = Take time to pray; "E" = Examine the Scriptures; "N" = Notice the lessons; and "D"= Do what it says.

Each lesson begins with prayer to prepare the reader for the Scripture they are about to encounter. This is an important step, as we believe that the Scriptures are inspired by God and He wants to share with us as we study His Word. One of the important steps in step two, examining the Scriptures, is to write out by hand the portion that has been assigned for that day. This exercise helps to imprint the words even more on the mind of the reader and helps them "notice the lesson" and what it teaches. The final step, "do what it says," is the application phase of study. It is not enough to dig into the Word. We always need to heed what it teaches and put it into practice. James 1:22 encourages believers to be actively involved in living out what the Bible teaches.

Mariel Davenport has written other study guides for Our Daily Bread. I would recommend any of them as very helpful tools in becoming "Doers of the Word and not hearers only" (James 1:22).