Live in the Light - (IVP Bible Study Experience) by Tara Beth Leach (Paperback)

About the Book

We are in a season of church meltdown. John, writing to churches caught in leadership failures, church splits, and a powerful leader stirring up dissent, has a message for us today. This six week Bible study experience invites us to become a community that brings love, hope, and healing to every darkened space.

Book Synopsis

We are in a season of church meltdown.

The apostle John--the beloved disciple and the author of the Gospel by the same name--wrote letters to churches caught in a turbulent season of leadership failures, divisions over interpretation and practice, church splits, and even a powerful leader stirring up dissent. Sound familiar? It seems as though the church is melting under an angry heat wave of national politics, racism, injustice, and abuse.

Is there any hope?

Tara Beth Leach invites us to listen for John's guidance to the church. The same message John sent to Christians in his day is also a message for us today! Darkness seems to surround us, leaving so many without hope. But Jesus, the Light of the world, invites his followers to share that light with others and become the kind of community that brings love, hope, and healing to every darkened space.

Join us for these next six weeks and learn to live in the light!

A New Bible Study Experience From IVP!

These Bible studies offer you a fresh opportunity to engage with Scripture. Each study includes:

• weekly group sessions--for a group of any size
• access to weekly teaching videos
• five days of individual study and reflection each week

The refreshing, accessible, and insightful content from trusted Bible teachers will encourage you in your faith!

"Leach is an inspiring teacher and guide who invites readers (and leaders) to open their eyes, ears, and lives to love. They're urged to allow the Word of God to be planted like a seed deep within them. This book is perfect for both groups and individuals." - Library Journal Review, September 2024

Review Quotes

"I highly recommend this six-week experience crafted for groups and individuals by Tara Beth Leach. With her skills as a teacher of the Word, Tara Beth provides the context for understanding the teachings of the apostle John. Then the author stirs our thinking with probing group exercises and questions, moments of reflection, and beautifully crafted prayers. Engaging in this experience has the potential to move the reader from accumulating information to being formed as a child of the light."

--Nancy Beach, leadership coach and author of Next Sunday: An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church

"In a world full of chaos, confusion, and contention, we desperately need to accept 'An Invitation to Light.' Tara Beth leads us into a deep dive of the letters of John, where we discover how to be light and hope in the midst of darkness and despair."

--Christine Caine, founder of A21 and Propel Women

"John is close to my heart, and we don't read his letters enough. Tara Beth Leach is a faithful guide to this important part of Scripture, inviting it to change our hearts, minds, and lives."

--Beth Felker Jones, professor of theology at Northern Seminary

"Tara Beth writes from a deep belief that the ancient words still speak with as much power today as when John first penned them. With passion and warmth she invites her readers to experience the light of Jesus through this six-week immersive Bible study series, integrating video, personal reflection, group discussion, and prayer. The engaged reader will find new freedom."

--Mandy Smith, pastor and author of The Vulnerable Pastor

"Tara Beth Leach trains our eyes to recognize the radiance of the life being offered to us. For John, light is the way of speaking of truth amid a world of falsehood and false teachers; it's a way of inviting us from secrecy to confession; it's a way of calling us from an old order to God's new creation. As a pastor, Tara Beth recognizes John's pastoral urgency, and she translates it for our world today. This beautiful study will help you slow down and see the light--more than that, it will help you live fully alive within it."

--Glenn Packiam, lead pastor of Rockharbor Church in Costa Mesa, California, and author of The Resilient Pastor

"Tara Beth Leach's Live in the Light is the work of a master teacher. A deeply reflective, emotionally engaging, scholarly but accessible guide into the depths of the epistles of John. Join with your friends and take this six-week journey. Grow into the light of the one who reigns over the whole world."

--David Fitch, Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary

"There are few people I trust more to guide me through the Word of God than Tara Beth Leach. With a strong heart, pastoral sensitivity, and a soul immersed in the light of the Spirit and hope of Jesus, Tara Beth gives us fresh eyes to see Jesus and experience the gifts of the Spirit through the letters of John. She is a trusted counselor, visionary leader, and deep lover of Jesus."

--Sean Palmer, speaker, coach, and author of Speaking by the Numbers

"This Bible study experience is rich with love and wisdom. It will serve as a valuable resource for any small group or personal study. Tara Beth Leach gently, intentionally, and powerfully invites us to dig deeper into God's words. She challenges us into greater hope--something we all need in this day and age."

--Faith Eury Cho, pastor, speaker, and author of Experiencing Friendship with God

"When it seems bad news is daily scrolling across our screens, our souls are scouring for good news. Look no further than the book of John. Live in the Light brings to the surface the radiance of Jesus--the Good News. Tara Beth Leach knows Jesus and it's from that close relationship that she guides us into courageous and surprising discoveries of who Jesus can be to us now. This six-week study is much more than a search for knowledge--it's an interactive experience!"

--Dan White Jr., cofounder of the KINEO Center and author of Love Over Fear

"With her trademark wisdom, warmth, and pastoral precision, Tara Beth Leach guides us toward illumination and insight that cuts through the fog of despair and darkness so many of us feel today. Live in the Light is a spectacular companion for a deep dive into the Gospel of John."

--Jay Kim, pastor and author of Analog Christian

About the Author

Tara Beth Leach (MDiv, Northern Seminary) is a pastor, author, and speaker. The senior pastor at Good Shepherd Church (Naperville, Illinois), she has also served communities in the Chicago suburbs as well as Southern California. As the author of Emboldened, Radiant Church, and Forty Days on Being a Six, the cofounder of Propel Ecclesia, and cohost of The Pastor's Table podcast, Tara Beth writes and speaks widely about women in ministry and church leadership. She has two beautiful and rambunctious sons and has been married to the love of her life, Jeff, since 2006.