Lauren Ducommun

My dear friend Jordan first introduced me to Colleen Searcy’s Bible studies a few years ago. I was so excited to find another women’s Bible study that is similar to Jen Wilkin’s philosophy of Bible teaching. Searcy is passionate about helping women grow in Bible literacy and has created a beautiful resource that equips women with the skills to observe and apply Scripture simply. This series is now recently republished through Crossway.

The Meet Me in the Bible studies are designed to be used by both individuals and group Bible study. Searcy offers tips on how to use the study for group study and individual study — even providing a video for individuals to explain how to use cross-reference and check other translations.

This study is unique in that it doesn’t ask you specific questions about each text; it gives you a set of tools and questions to use with each section of Scripture. It’s a step above just sitting down with your Bible and a basic hermeneutics book. Searcy’s study guides readers step by step through the process of Observation, Interpretation, and Application through the books of Colossians and Philemon. In fact, there are not any teaching sections or commentary at all. Her goal is for readers to dig and find the information.

Meet Me in the Bible comes with a bookmark with instructional steps to use for each passage. The text for each passage is provided in the study guide (from the ESV), followed by boxes and lined noted sections to write observations and insights down. In the back, there is a simple Bible timeline and map providing the setting of Colossians and Philemon, as well as a list of Bible genres and attributes of God. 

Who is this for:

This is a great resource for someone who feels stuck in a rut and just needs a little assistance. Or perhaps they want to pick up their Bible and read, but they want to read with more intention and don’t know where to start. This book will guide readers to slow down, find the meaning of the passage, and apply it directly to their lives. I love that Searcy shares that “the ultimate goal of Bible study is to know and love God.”

Searcy provides women with the tools they need to read the Bible independently. We do not need special studies like ones from RightNow Media to study God’s Word! While these are great resources, we don’t have to spend money or buy the latest study to grow in our relationship with God. God is a communicator who has chosen to speak directly to us in his Word. So, any believer can come to his Word and meet him in the Bible.

“It’s a brilliant combination of a Scripture journal and a guide for growing in Bible literacy. It encourages the user to practice the time-tested method of “observe, interpret, apply” in a way that allows understanding to grow gradually. It presses us to be active learners rather than passive consumers, not rushing to commentaries, but sitting with the text, patiently waiting for our own understanding to begin to emerge.”

—Jen Wilkin

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me in the Bible: Colossians & Philemon
by Colleen Searcy
Crossway, 2025
128 pages