Classes
Where every book study is a Bible study.“My mind has been challenged and awakened by our time together. I have become so bored with Bible studies. Even thinking I know more than I do! But you have awakened me to dig deeper. It’s not just a story, but a journey of God’s people. I keep discovering pieces that put the puzzle together into a beautiful story of the unconditional love of our God. I can’t wait until next week.”
All classes meet online using Zoom unless otherwise noted in the description. After registration, you will receive confirmation within moments. A couple of weeks prior to the first class, you will receive an email that will provide all the details you will need for the class. You will be sent a Zoom link on the day of the class. Due to generous financial donations that support Wakening Ministry there is no cost for these classes. If you like the experience, consider joining the Giving Circle.
All times are Eastern Time.
Wakening Ministry Community
(and growing)
“I want to say thank you to everyone for welcoming me to this class, and to my sister for her constant invitations until I said yes. I was really unsure of doing a “bible study” because that felt complicated and the idea refreshed some past church hurts. But this group is just an amazing group of people that felt so welcoming and started to heal some hurt I have had from church. So thank you.”
🤍 Abbie
CURRENT & UPCOMING CLASSES
Heaven through the Holy Land
Wednesdays (10 sessions)
January 14 – March 25, 2026
(no class February 18, Ash Wednesday)
7:30-9:00 pm
What does the Bible say about what Heaven is like?
And, how does a journey to the Holy Land help us to understand?
There are times when life presses in and we feel drawn to know more about the place promised when this life ends. Heaven – is it real? Heaven, paradise, the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem. Whatever you call it (the Bible uses all those terms), there must be solid information in the pages of Scripture that paints the full picture, right?
What We’ll See in Heaven was written to bring these biblical pictures of our heavenly home together in one book. Drawing on his decades of teaching, study, and travel in the Holy Land, John Beck points us to the many Bible passages that unpack the realities of heaven using the things that the original Middle Eastern audience would have understood, Whether you are curious about the eternal home that awaits us or if you question the existence of Heaven, you are welcome.
Wakening Reads
Monthly, Last Thursdays
Begins January 29, 2026
7:30-9:00 pm (Eastern)
So many books, so little time! So come and listen to what everyone else is reading. Bring whatever book you are reading at the moment and your beverage of choice for a casual conversation around whatever you wish to share. Or just listen. Trust me, there will be laughter. Come to one or all. No pressure.
God the Deliverer
Sundays (8 sessions)
January 11 – March 1, 2026
8:45-10:15 am (Eastern)
God the Savior
Sundays (8 sessions)
March 8 – May 3, 2026
(no class April 5, Easter)
8:45-10:15 am (Eastern)
These studies from Randy Frazee are excellent big picture teachings that cover the main parts of the Bible. Throughout the Bible, there are two parallel dramas unfolding:
- The lower story, which describes the events from our human perspective.
- The upper story, which reveals how the events unfold from God’s perspective.
The God the Deliverer Bible study will introduce you to these lower and upper stories as told in the Old Testament books of 1 Samuel through Malachi and the thread of deliverance that weaves through them. Then, through the God the Savior Bible study, you will explore how God brings salvation through Christ to the world.
Braving the Truth
Mondays (6 sessions)
April 13 – May 18, 2026
7:30-9:00pm (Eastern)
The Bible tells us that Jesus chose 12 disciples; of those twelve, three disciples (Peter,
If you want to understand the Church today, you need to understand Rachel Held Evans. She was one of the most trusted and beloved voices of our time. Stubborn in her hope, courageous in her questions, and devoted to inclusivity, her online writing was a sanctuary to the millions who read her words daily. Her death to a sudden illness in 2019 invoked a global outpouring of stories of her legacy. Braving the Truth is a collection for her readers to borrow the bravery Rachel was best known for.
Christ in the Passover
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
7:30-9:30pm (Eastern)
This year, Passover begins on Maundy Thursday — nothing could be more meaningful! This 2-hour experience will help you understand the connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between the Jewish and Christian faiths. The Passover is the Old Testament feast that celebrates and remembers God’s liberation of Israel from Egypt. Observed for over 2,000 years, it is worship, prayer, fellowship, and a meal. There is mystery and sacred moments. And, for Christians, it foreshadows Christ’s sacrifice on the cross..
Summer Reading
Barbara Brown Taylor, one of America’s most effective and beloved preachers (Episcopal), eloquently tells the story of her search to find an authentic way of being Christian—even when it meant giving up her pulpit.
June: Leaving Church
Tuesdays, June 16 and June 30, 2026
7:30–9:00 pm (Eastern)
Through this memoir, she describes a rich spiritual journey in which God has given her more questions than answers. She describes her poignant and sincere struggle to regain her footing in the world without her defining collar. Taylor’s realization that this may in fact be God’s surprising path for her leads her to a refreshing search to find God in new places.
July: An Altar in the World
Tuesdays, July 14 and July 28, 2026
7:30–9:00 pm (Eastern)
In An Altar in the World, Taylor shows us how to discover altars everywhere we go and in nearly everything we do as we learn to live with purpose, pay attention, slow down, and revere the world we live in. She shares how she learned to find God beyond the church walls by embracing the sacred as a natural part of everyday life.
August: Holy Envy
Tuesdays, August 11 and August 25, 2026
7:30–9:00 pm (Eastern)
In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques. Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance. The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.
COMING FALL 2026
Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing
(Four New Lenses for Making Sense of Scripture)
Not a reader? The audiobook is also available.
Zach Lambert has seen the Bible used countless times as something far from the “Good Book”—both in his own life and in the experiences of others. He has seen the Bible weaponized to subjugate women, justify racism, bash LGBTQ+ people, cover up abuse, and exclude people who speak out against these injustices.
In Better Ways to Read the Bible, Lambert calls us to a more Christlike interpretation of Scripture. Lambert has created this accessible guide to help us dismantle four common lenses for reading Scripture that lead to harm—Literalism, Apocalypse, Moralism, and Hierarchy. Instead, he offers four new lenses—Jesus, Context, Flourishing, and Fruitfulness—that promote wholeness, inclusion, and flourishing for all people. This book transforms the Bible from a weapon that condemns, oppresses, and excludes into a tool that helps and heals.
Building the Bridge: Part 1
Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster explores the classic spiritual disciplines or practices of the Christian faith. Dividing the disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contribute to a more balanced spiritual life. Part 1 includes the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study which offer avenues of personal examination and change. We will read & discuss the chapter one week and practice it and meet to share our experiences the next.
The Prayers of Jesus
Come as you are and when you can.
Prayer was the backbone of Jesus’ life and ministry. From his baptism to his crucifixion, the Gospels portray Jesus as a man of prayer who knew and deeply valued intimate communion with his heavenly Father. What can we learn from the prayers he prayed? This study will reveal new insights into prayer and the character of God.
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