Bible study books

It is that time of year again when Bible study groups decide which book to study for the fall season.
I wanted to pass on some of the different Bible studies that we have done in our church.

Just a bit of a background - our ladies bible study meets once a week and during the fall season (September to December) we study a book of the Bible, usually using Kay Arthur. From January to the end of the season we study from a guide/book. This has been a good balance learning more about the Bible and then using good authors such as Jerry Bridges to apply what we have learned.
This past fall we studied the book of Ruth with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I cannot say enough good about this bible study. The book of Ruth was opened up in a whole new light to me. There are many life lessons in Ruth that apply to every woman in whatever season of life she is in. Ruth dealt with hardships, trusting God, bitterness, forgiveness, and the joy of being redeemed.
Our group would meet in the morning and have a discussion with the book provided and then we would watch a video for the next week. The video was made in the days of puffed up bangs and puffed up floral dresses with huge shoulder pads, so we had a few good laughs with Nancy's wardrobe. This bible study was well received by our whole group.  The only problem is that there are only 8 lessons instead of the regular 12.

We have the college and career group come over to our home every other Sunday evening and we did a series from Tim Keller called "Gospel in Life - Grace changes Everything." We learned about the heart, idolatry, witnessing, working and witnessing, and eternity. We would have our discussion and then watch a ten minute DVD session that came with it. Adam and I learned a lot through the book and with our discussions. We looked forward to those Sunday evenings with the young people talking about their schooling and job searching. Our kids loved having the group over too and wanted to stay up with them - so much so, that it was hard getting the boys into bed and keeping them in bed during the evening.
When the group came over, our boys would sneak downstairs and do something to everyone's shoes. They hid the shoes, tied their shoes together, made pyramids with them, and spelt words with their shoes. We always had a chuckle seeing what they came up with.

There is also the men's Saturday morning bible study that meets every other Saturday morning. They have used John MacArthur's study guides going through James and now Hebrews. In the past they have also studied "Disciplines of a Godly Man" by Kent Hughes, a very good book for groups or just one on one.

So I hope that this helps you and if you have been part of some good bible studies feel free to pass some recommendations along.