Titus by Courtney Doctor and Hunter Beless
Bible Study. 176 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
The gospel that saves us for all eternity is the same gospel that transforms us day-by-day. Knowing, believing, and living out the truths of the gospel changes not only our lives, but our homes, churches, and culture as well. This is how the gospel of grace is put on display for all to see.
In this 8-session Bible study, Courtney Doctor and Hunter Beless team up to explore every verse of Paul’s letter to his friend Titus. You’ll see the essential connection between right belief and right character and the way both testify to the goodness of the gospel. And you’ll be reminded that our world will be attracted to the gospel when they see its beauty displayed in us.
My Review:
This study took me by surprise, and I’m really thankful our women’s ministry chose it for the Bible study group.
I don’t know about you, but some books of the Bible are more exciting to read than others. I have my favorites…and the ones I don’t automatically think of when looking for my next read. Titus is admittedly not one of the books I’ve spent a ton of time in. And I didn’t exactly leap for joy when my group announced this as our next study (pretty as the cover is).
Nothing against Titus! It’s just not one of my favorites, one that I love to dig deeper into and reread again and again. I also wondered what on earth we would spend 8 weeks on for such a short book. But praise the Lord He knows what we need more than we do!
I truly believe the whole Word of God is good and profitable and so I took this as a challenge – and a hope – to come out of this study with a deeper appreciate for a book I didn’t know as much about. By God’s grace, I definitely came out of this study with a new perspective on Titus. Isn’t it amazing how taking the time to dig into Scripture can change our hearts?
I’d never heard of either Courtney Doctor or Hunter Beless, but the two teachers had such a sweet, straightforward, and simple spirit that drew me in. What I loved about this study was how it focused on the simple, but profoundly true depth of the gospel. Titus brims with such encouragement and grace – both of which I have desperately needed in this season.
The study is well organized and easy to follow, though there were a handful of places I wished there was more space to answer the questions in. The teaching sessions are conversational, approachable, and all under half an hour in length. The homework between sessions was easy to keep up with, but uplifting and consistent in pointing back to Scripture. I enjoyed the layout that focused on a. What the text says b. What the text means c. What other Scripture says about this and d. How it applies in our lives.
The study discusses discipleship, the importance of being rooted in sound doctrine (for individuals, the local church, and the church as a whole), and the characteristics of living a godly life that displays the gospel of grace. A few unique pieces in this study that I haven’t encountered before: a. the songs at the end of each week that led to worship and b. the challenge to memorize a passage of Titus.
As a musician, I love to worship through music. I delight in studying God’s Word to know Him more and grow closer to Him. But I’ve not seen a study utilize worship before, and I found it a wonderful bridge between study and worship outside of the study. Our leader compiled each of the suggested tracks into a Spotify playlist, which was perfect!
Memorizing Scripture has never been my favorite discipline, and one I’ve sought to work more on in recent years. I participated in Awana as a kid and memorized bits of Scripture through that, but I’ve done very little since then, as an adult. The challenge to memorize Titus 3:3-7 can easily feel daunting as a longer passage, but the study breaks that up expertly from week to week to make it super approachable. And I found great comfort in the passage itself as we dove into it a little more each week.
This was a lighthearted, grace-focused, simple, but profound study. I’ve come away with a renewed encouragement to reflect the characters of a godly woman. I’m thankful to come away from this study with a full heart and new eyes for the little, but meaningful book of Titus. Would recommend!
On GraceBought
If you enjoyed this, you may want to check out these other Bible studies!
Nehemiah by Kelly Minter, Jude by Jackie Hill Perry, Better (Hebrews) and Revelation by Jen Wilkin