Listen In On Lisa’s Book Group
Interactive “Book Group” DVDs are Included in Each On the Road With Lisa Harper Title
What could be more fun—or more interesting—than chatting about the Bible with a group of bright, witty, totally down-to-earth, totally genuine Christian women? Well, come on in! If you like to watch shows like The View, you’ll love watching Lisa’s book group as they discuss the Bible through the ON THE ROAD series. It’s the next best thing to being there! Meet “The Girls” from Lisa’s Book Group:
From childhood, Julie Johnson has been passionate about powerless people and has searched out ways to meet their needs. This strong focus led her to her current position with Compassion International, a non-profit child development organization. Her job involves working with national events and speakers and traveling extensively, both domestically and internationally. Prior to coming to Compassion, she worked on product development and strategy for teenagers in the Brand Management division of Focus on the Family. This Nashville, TN, resident can often be found in the coffee shops and record stores of the city. Or, if you’re lucky, you may find her at the track watching one of her favorite pastimes: NASCAR!
Here’s what Julie has to day about her favorite passage from Hebrews (Hebrews 1:10-12):
“‘He also says, ‘In the beginning, O Lord, you laid foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear but like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’”
Most days I really love change. But on other, slightly cloudier days, I do nothing but long for constancy. It’s on those days, a feeling of weariness starts to take me over, and I feel like I “get” why the book of Hebrews was written the way it was—to a weary people who certainly bore more than I do. I think it’s the sweetness of God that He used the author of Hebrews to gently prop us up with the assurance of who He is. Hebrews 1:10-12 is the very definition of constancy. It’s as though He’s saying, ‘Hold on, hold on . . . I’ve got this, just hold on,’ thus proving himself to be the giant we can all lean on with confidence. It cements in me the truth that there are bigger days, clearer views, and loftier perspectives than mine. And when I feel raw and exposed from the wear, there is something infinitely healing in feeling small.”
Mary Katherine (Kathy) Perdue grew up in a Christian home, but credits her great interest in the Bible to a medical wives’ Bible study she attended as an adult. That study awakened Kathy’s hunger and thirst to know Christ in a more intimate way. She praises God for that important turning point in her life.
A former banker, Kathy is currently a full-time mom to daughter Meg and sons Price and Hall. She also assists her husband, Ed, in his pediatric dental practice, and is a small-group Bible study leader at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. Kathy also enjoys running, Pilates and being a "sous chef" for Ed, who is the real cook in the family!
Here’s what Kathy had to say about her favorite part of Hebrews:
“To just pick one passage in Hebrews as my favorite is almost impossible for me. But, if I must, I think it would have to be Hebrews 4:14-16:
‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’
This gives me so much comfort to be reminded that there is absolutely nothing in my ‘21st century life’ that tempts me to sin that Jesus didn't experience more than 2000 years ago. So, whenever I begin to fall into a pity-party over something going on in my (very blessed!) life, I fall back on this truth and through it, can so visualize our Savior interceding to the Father for us as sympathetic...so powerful and such evidence of His mercy.”
Grammy-nominated, multiple Dove Award-winning recording artist Kim Hill first burst onto the Christian music scene with her self-titled debut album in 1988. Since then, her distinctive voice and critically-acclaimed albums have captured the hearts of listeners worldwide.
Kim led worship for Focus on the Family’s Renewing the Heart conferences, impacting over 200,000 women during the 2-year run. “I’d always been a solo artist, so to encourage an arena filled with 20,000 women to sing with me to an ‘audience of One’—rather than just sit there and listen—was an amazing experience,” Kim says. She is also a musical favorite for organizations such as the Moody Bible Institute, Billy Graham’s Training Center at The Cove and the Women of Virtue National women’s conferences as well as for noted speakers and authors Max Lucado, Kay Arthur, Jan Silvious and Bob Coy. Kim has also been giving a lot of attention to her own conference series, Every Woman’s Hope, which was created with longtime friend and former Focus Women’s Director, Lisa Harper.
Juggling the responsibilities of recording artist, worship leader, and mother of two very active boys, Hill has found comfort and clarity in worship and encourages others through her music to do the same. “I think the trials of life help us see what really matters...pain and disappointment illuminate our dependency on Christ and make His grace and mercy taste even sweeter. My personal journey has made me realize how desperate I am for the Lord to help me every moment of every day.”
Below is Kim's favorite section of Hebrews:
“Because God has said ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’"
Hebrews 13:5b-6
SUE JOHNSON comes from the Pacific Northwest where she graduated from Nursing School, met and married her husband Dan Johnson and became charmed with “first we’ll have coffee.” Two sons were born in Seattle and then her family enjoyed moves to Chicago, then Pasadena, California and on to Waco, Texas, where her husband took leadership roles at WORD Music. Sue’s love for caring for others, hospitality, and a passion for teaching women the Bible followed her from city to city. In nursing, it was ICU, CCU and Hospice that kept her motivated for 30 years as a nurse. But it was the love of Scripture and her long history of attending Bible Study Fellowship that prepared her for Nashville where the Johnson’s have spent the past 15 years. Sue became Teaching Leader in the Nashville class of BSF and the class grew to become one the largest classes in the country. Nursing is taking on a new dimension with her involvement in the Stephens Ministry at her church while she continues to enjoy her Texan sons, a granddaughter and traveling with her husband.
Sue’s favorite “moment” in Hebrews takes place in chapter 4:15-16 where it reminds us that Jesus is our great high priest:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Holding Out for a Hero: A New Spin on Hebrews
Book One in the On the Road With Lisa Harper series
Available June 2005
Tyndale House Publishers
Trade paper, 228 pages
ISBN: 1-4143-0276-2, $12.97
Each book includes bonus “book group” DVD
For review copies and author interviews, contact Pamela McClure, McClure Muntsinger Public Relations
pamela@mmpublicrelations.com, 615-595-8321