SUE BOHLIN
MESSAGE TOPICS

sue@probe.org

How to Handle the Things You Hate but Can't Change

My testimony of how God helped me deal with polio, the resulting poor self-image, and my anger toward Him concerning the polio: basically, learning to see myself from His perspective, and learning to give thanks for all things. It's online here.

Seeing Ourselves from God's Perspective

What we think of ourselves isn't the important thing: what counts is what God thinks and says about us. It is incredibly encouraging to look at the beautiful evidences of God's love and affirmation that show us how very much He esteems us:

  • Fearfully and wonderfully made
  • Princess
  • Chosen before the foundation of the world
  • Gifted with spiritual gifts
  • Accepted in the Beloved
  • Bride of Christ

Learning To Give Thanks as a Way of Life

I share how learning to give thanks as a way of dealing with the trauma of having polio led me to the very difficult ability to give thanks for something far more traumatic: the early death of my first child. God's sovereignty is the reason we can give thanks for everything that happens to us. I conclude by leading the women in prayer for a list of things to give thanks for, ranging from the easy (for their vision) to the difficult (unanswered prayer, difficult people in their lives).

Changing Our Negative Self-Talk

I identify a long list of lies ("old tapes") we tell ourselves, messages from parents, childhood classmates, the media, and ourselves. We are in bondage to these tapes, especially if we don’t even realize they are there. After identifying each lie, I provide the biblical truth with which to fight the old tape.

A Woman of Grace

There is such a lovely fragrance that comes from the heart of a woman who knows how to forgive! This lecture covers the reasons people can't or don't forgive, and how to overcome those obstacles to experience peace.

Unpack Your Bags, This Guilt Trip Is Cancelled! (False Guilt)

  • What is guilt?
  • Sources of guilt
  • How to set boundaries without feeling guilty

What Are You Doing Pushing That Porsche? (Walking in the Spirit)

  • Christ Himself is the Christian life
  • We live by faith the same way we trusted Christ
  • The difference between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit

Look in the Mirror, Your Royal Highness! (Your Identity in Christ)

  • Bride of Christ
  • Princess
  • Abba's Child

Standing at the Foot of Niagara Falls (Reveling in Grace)

  • What is grace?
  • Freedom in grace
  • Grace-killers: the bondage of legalism
  • Grace as a way of life

An Accurate View of God

Instead of trying to feel good about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, we need to look at God Himself, since He is the source of our true worth. I discuss 8 attributes/characteristics of God and what impact these have on us as His children:

  • Sovereign
  • Creative
  • Faithful
  • Provider
  • Father
  • "Fruity" (spiritual fruit)
  • Safe Place
  • The Divine Bridegroom

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

  • The Beauty of a Godly Life
  • The Beauty of a Gentle and Quiet Spirit
  • The Beauty of a Submissive Heart
  • Holiness
    • God's Holiness (Isaiah 6)
    • Personal Holiness
      • Holiness is directly connected with obedience
      • Holiness means hating sin
      • Holiness needs to be pursued with a plan

The Value of Suffering

  • It prepares us to be the Bride of Christ
  • It allows us to minister comfort to others who suffer
  • It develops humble dependence on God
  • It displays God's strength through our weakness
  • Suffering gets us ready for heaven.

Thinking Like Jesus Does

Some of this is material from Probe Ministries' Mind Games conference, discussing some of the big questions in life and in our culture:
  • How do we explain the fact that people do both good and evil?
  • How do we know the difference between right and wrong?
  • Where did the universe come from?
  • Why do bad things happen to good people?
  • Does God hate me when trouble comes?
  • What happens to a person at death?
  • Are angels real?

The Wellspring of Joy

The wellspring of Joy is Jesus Himself, Who promised a fountain of living water would flow from within us when He indwells us. So why do we see so little joy in believers? Three obstacles to joy are explored: unforgiveness, self-sufficiency, and shame.

Good and Angry

  • Causes of anger
  • Mishandling Anger
  • Handling anger destructively
  • How to handle anger constructively

Becoming an Encourager

  • Principles of Encouragement
  • How to be an Encourager

Communication in Marriage

  • Unity
  • Submission
  • "Rules for a Good Fight"

Your Work Matters To God

  • Faulty Views of Work
  • Work's Intrinsic Value
  • Work's Instrumental Value

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY

This is a four-message series, teaching how to do Inductive Bible Study (where the student digs for understanding by herself) in the context of teaching the book of Colossians.

Observation--What Does It Say? (Part 1, Colossians 1)

  • Doing an overview of the book
  • Ask the "5 W's and an H."
  • Mark key words and phrases.
  • Look for lists.
  • Look for contrasts and comparisons.
  • Look for things that are repeated.

Observation--What Does It Say? (Part 2, Colossians 2)

  • Look for things that are related.
  • Look for expressions of time.
  • Look for terms of conclusion.
  • Develop paragraph and chapter titles.

Interpretation--What Does It Mean? (Colossians 3)

  • Remember that context rules.
  • Compare Scripture with Scripture
  • Use study tools.
  • Interpret Scripture literally, but know when to interpret figuratively.

Application--What Difference Does It Make? (Colossians 4)

  • Ask yourself, What does the passage teach?
  • Put on your "SPECS."
  • evelop a Principle for Living for each section you study.

PRAYER

Adoration

  • Misconceptions about the purpose of prayer
  • Distinction between adoration and thanksgiving
  • Scriptures that refer to various attributes of God
  • Hand out list of biblical titles for God and list of Psalms to pray back to Him
Ideally, this session concludes with a time of small prayer groups where the ladies spend about 20-30 minutes doing nothing but praising and worshipping God, using as their tools the lists of Psalms and titles of God, as well as the various attributes we just looked at.

Confession

  • Some biblical prayers of confession
  • Sinful attitudes we need to consider, mainly from Hosea:
    • Idolatry
    • Self-sufficiency
    • Not reading the Word
    • Disobeying
    • Running ahead of God
    • Trusting man, not God
    • Forgetting God/arrogance
    • Pride: the root of bitterness, unforgiveness, and a critical spirit

Thanksgiving

(Also given as "Learning To Give Thanks as a Way of Life")
I share how learning to give thanks as a way of dealing with the trauma of having polio led me to the very difficult ability to give thanks for something far more traumatic: the loss of my first child. God's sovereignty is the reason we can give thanks for everything that happens to us. I conclude by leading the women in prayer for a list of things to give thanks for, ranging from the easy (for their vision) to the difficult (unanswered prayer, difficult people in their lives).

Supplication

  • The Language of Prayer
  • Prayer as an Expression of Love
  • Praying in Jesus' Name
  • The Role of Faith
  • Persistent Prayer
  • Unanswered Prayer
  • Prayer and the "Law of Agreement"
  • Praying Scripture