Pierced and Embraced by Kelli Worrall

Pierced and Embraced by Kelli Worrall ISBN-13: 9780802416315 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Moody Publishers Released: Aug. 1, 2017

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
Women today long to experience the same sort of life-changing love that Jesus lavished on His followers 2000 years ago. They still want to be seen and known and valued and set free. The author looks at seven encounters that Jesus had with women in the Gospels to show how His love can be just as powerful in our lives today. It mixes attentive Scriptural engagement with contemporary research and personal narrative.


My Review:
Pierced and Embraced is part memoir and part Bible study. The author started by summarizing a favorite story where a woman tries to get rid of a bull which is meant to symbolizes Christ. When the woman finally orders the bull killed, the bull gores her. Then the author talked about a very painful and upsetting period in her life when she felt that Jesus had "pierced" her. In later chapters, the author further described her hardest, most painful times. She focused on her angry response to these events, though they ultimately did draw her closer to Christ.

But most of the book recounted encounters that Jesus had with women in the Gospels, along with some background information (like you'd find in a good study Bible). She then took a theme from each encounter and wrote on that topic. So we're told what the Gospels relate about Mary (Jesus' mother), then the author talked about our calling. For the Samaritan woman at the well, she talked about labels and the lies we believe. For the woman with the problem of bleeding, we learn about recognizing our need for Christ. For the woman caught in adultery, she talked about forgiveness. For Mary and Martha, she talked about God's timing. For the woman with the alabaster jar, she talked about worship and how we should use our resources to serve Christ. And for Mary Magdalene, she talked about the role of women in church.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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