CHRISTINA FOX|EDITOR

The 2025 recommended summer Bible study for PCA Women’s Ministries is Colossians and Philemon: That in Everything Christ Might be Preeminent by Sarah Ivill, Below you’ll find an interview Christina Fox did with Sarah about the study and her writing process.

Christina: When you work on developing a Bible study, what is your study process like? Do you have a particular pattern you follow? Favorite commentaries?

Sarah: I do have a particular pattern that I follow. First, I read the book of the Bible I’m studying in its entirety to get the big idea of the book. Second, I make an outline of the book so that I know which chapters I will cover for each lesson. Third, I study the specific passage of Scripture for the lesson and then read commentaries on it. If I have to choose a favorite series of commentaries, I like the Reformed Expository Commentary series published by P&R Publishing. Fourth, I write study questions for the women to answer and notes for the women to read. Finally, I go back through the lesson with an editorial eye.

Christina: You have written a study on every book of the Bible. Was that a goal you had that you worked toward? How did that develop? What does it mean to you to have completed it?

Sarah: To write a study on every book of the Bible was a desire that grew out of my love for studying God’s Word. I wanted to learn God’s Word and then share what I had learned with others. As I was nearing completion of the project, I felt grateful that God had given me the opportunity to do it, but I also felt sad that it was coming to a close. Spending those years writing studies on each book of the Bible was immensely satisfying, as God’s Word pointed me repeatedly to Christ in the midst of my own sin, suffering, and service. There is no other book that I would rather be reading. The Holy Scriptures are majestic and pure. They comfort and convict. The Bible is “no empty word for you, but your very life” (Deut. 32:47).

Christina: As someone who has studied and taught on the Bible for many years, what is something new that you learned while working on this study for Philemon and Colossians?

Sarah: I am always learning something new. That’s one of the things I love about reading the Bible. I can read a passage that I have read multiple times before and learn something new because the Bible “is living and active…discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). One passage from Colossians that I have reflected on a great deal this past year and have been praying through daily is Colossians 3:12-17. It’s all too easy for many of us to skip to admonishment before we put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and thanksgiving. These verses serve as a constant reminder to me that although sanctification is by God’s grace, I have work to do. I need to “put to death” what is sinful in me and “put on” what is pleasing to the Lord. Although this truth isn’t brand new to me, it’s something I need to be reminded of daily, and the application of it looks different depending on my circumstances.

Christina: How did you get into teaching and writing studies?

Sarah: I had the privilege of sitting underneath godly women who loved teaching the Bible when I was in high school and college. In college I began teaching Bible studies to other women. This continued in seminary and then in my first ministry position in the local church. I began writing studies several years later because it was hard to find good Reformed and covenantal studies for women. Once I began, I never stopped.

Christina: What do you love about teaching the women at your church?

Sarah: I love getting to know them, praying for them, and studying God’s Word alongside them. In turn, they encourage me, pray for me, and love me. One of my favorite things to watch is a woman grow in her love and study of God’s Word. I especially delight in teaching Christ in all of Scripture and helping women understand how to read and study the Bible through a covenantal framework.

Christina: What is your hope about this study on Colossians and Philemon—what do you hope women walk away with?

Sarah: We are bombarded with messages every day that challenge Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency. I want women to walk away knowing for certain that Christ is not only supreme, He is also sufficient. They don’t need Christ plus something or someone else. In Christ alone is where their satisfaction, security, and significance must rest.

Christina: How do you fit in your writing with your homeschooling duties with your family?

Sarah: I do my writing late at night when the house is finally quiet. I work best when I have larger chunks of time to study and write. However, when I’m in the middle of a writing project, I find that I write in my mind all day long. Sometimes I will jot little notes to myself throughout the day until I can get to my study later that night and type it out.

Christina: Do you have a favorite verse or passage of Scripture?

Sarah: A lady in my Bible study gave me a framed needlepoint of 2 Corinthians 12:9 years ago, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” It sits on one of the shelves in my study and I find that I repeatedly return to its truth. It’s a constant reminder to me to lead from weakness. Too often the world tells us to magnify our strengths and hide our weaknesses, so that we might make much of ourselves. But God’s Word says the opposite. We are to highlight our weaknesses in order to magnify God’s strength and make much of Christ.

To learn more about Sarah’s study on Colossians and Philemon, click here.

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