New Women's Ministry Series: Unite My Heart (Ps 86:11)

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). The Apostle John’s first epistle ends rather abruptly with this simple and straightforward warning for the reader. Clearly, the idol worship of the Old Testament was still very much a temptation for the New Testament believers who would read this letter, just as it is still a temptation for us today. We may not bow down to statues or offer sacrifices to false gods, but our hearts can easily be lured away from the one true God who is worthy of our worship.  

Starting this Fall, the OBC Women’s Ministry is hosting a seminar series on the theme, “Unite My Heart,” which comes from Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” This series will be looking at how our hearts are so often divided in their affections and how we pursue idols rather than Christ. We will be thinking about and learning how we can grow in a whole-hearted love for and obedience to Christ so that our hearts are united to fear His name alone.

We have four seminars planned with teaching from OBC ladies who are passionate about seeing women’s lives transformed by the truth of Scripture. The first session will begin with learning what Scripture says about the heart and what does it mean that our hearts are made new through salvation in Christ. This session will be followed by a closer look at what Scripture commands us to do with our new hearts and how our greatest affection and treasure should be bound up in Christ. Our third seminar will focus on identifying idols and false worship that divide our hearts from Christ, challenging us to honestly examine our hearts as a step toward greater sanctification. Lastly, we will get a clearer Biblical picture of whole-hearted Christian living as we are challenged toward a greater affection for and obedience to Christ.

How to Pray for OBC’s Women’s Ministry this Year

As we kick off our seminar series this month, please be praying for the ladies of OBC to grow in whole-hearted love for our Savior and to have a growing desire to walk in full obedience to His Word. Pray that we would, as Psalm 139:23-24 says, be asking the Lord to search us and know our hearts, to show us our sin, and to lead is in His everlasting way. You can also lift up our teachers in prayer as they prepare to share on this topic. Pray for them and for our retreat speaker, Janet Aucoin, that the gospel would be adorned in their teaching and the truths of Scripture would be communicated with clearly.

Upcoming Seminar Schedule

All of these seminars are connected and each one will build upon the one before, so it is our hope that ladies will attend them all. These sessions are a great opportunity for fellowship and conversation, as well as learning and growing alongside other Christian women. The seminar dates are listed below, along with a registration link:

     Session 1
     A New Heart: From Death to Life | Register Here
     September 24, 10 AM - 12 PM
     Speaker: Ricki Purves

     Session 2
     A New Affection: What is the Heart For? | Register Here
     November 19, 10 AM - 12 PM
     Speaker: Cyndi Fillinger

     Session 3
     The Divided Heart: Dealing with Competing Affections | Register Here
     January 28, 10 AM - 12 PM
     Speaker: Wendy Schrock

     Session 4
     The United Heart: Whole-hearted Affection and Obedience | Register Here
     March 25, 10 AM - 12 PM
     Speaker: Kye Forsee

Recommended Books to Accompany This Series
The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford

Review from 2021-2022
Last year’s Women’s Ministry theme was “Walking in Truth”, and we had four sessions on this topic taught by women from OBC. If we want to have hearts that are united in fear of the Lord and love for Him, then we need to know and walk in the His truth. These teachings help lay a great foundation for this year’s topic, so if you missed those, we invite you to catch up in our Media Library.