For over 20 years Cheryl Bongiorno has been leading Women’s Bible Studies and small groups, but in that time she hadn’t come across a good small-group study for any of the prophet books of the Old Testament, so she decided to write her own and got it published.
The book is called ‘Finding Jesus in Jeremiah: A study of the Book of Jeremiah for Small Groups.?
‘It’s not going to be on the ‘Best Seller,? charts. It’s geared towards a very specific group of people who might be interested in it. Obviously, it’s not like everyone is going to want to go out and (buy) this book,? Bongiorno said. ‘In fact I wouldn’t even recommend it to somebody who had never opened a Bible before.?
However, she did say the book will ‘appeal to anyone who wants to hear what God is speaking today through his prophets.?
‘Anyone who wants to better understand the connections between the Old and New testaments, and those who want to know why Jesus himself said that he was spoken of in the prophets will love this book,? she added.
‘Finding Jesus in Jeremiah? takes readers through a seven-week study. Presented in a daily workbook format, the book examines the life of the prophet Jeremiah to make connections to other Scriptures. Readers will gain a better understanding of Bible history and what it means to be in covenant with God through Jesus Christ.
Bongiorno said she knows a lot of people who have never read the book of Jeremiah because people who have done the study (of the Book of Jeremiah) have said. ‘I’ve tried to read it before and I just quit or I read it through, but didn’t really understand what I was reading.?
‘What I’ve done is broken it down in chronological order into the reigns of each of the kings, so you can really easily see where this happened,? she said. ‘It’s like the story becomes very clear and it’s a story that Christians need to know.?
Because the book is broken down into the reigns of the kings starting with reign of King Saul, readers are learning about the history and going through a lot of the Old Testament in order to understand everything leading up to the captivity of Israel.
As a former middle school teacher, Bongiorno said she had to take big subjects and break them down for the mind of middle school students. Looking at the prophetic books in the Bible, she says is no different.
‘Some of those topics are very hard, but it’s not that hard if you break it down into small pieces. If you learn how to break it down by doing a daily ‘we’re just going to talk about this subject today, one piece of it,?? she said. ‘It makes it more palatable or digestible.?
So what made her pick Jeremiah? Bongiorno sees a lot of similarities between the day in which Jeremiah lived and now.
‘We see things kind of going down hill, as far as democracy from the way it’s been over the past couple hundred years,? she added. ‘Almost like it’s following the line of the Roman civilization or something.?
However, she said the message that Jeremiah brought to the people of Israel a message that was leading to Jesus, which was a message of hope.
‘A lot of people don’t understand that about Jeremiah. He actually talked about the New Testament and the new covenant that Jesus Christ was going to be bringing,? she said. ‘He had a message of hope, but a lot of people don’t get that far in the book because it gets so complicated.?
Bongiorno’s innovative study also covers salvation through faith, the Holy Spirit, unconditional love, God’s promises, His righteousness, the seed of Abraham and much more.
‘In this study, we learn that our hearts are circumscribed by the Holy Spirit, and that we are God’s covenant people, sealed by the blood of God’s own Son,? she said.. ‘Above all, we see how God is faithful to keep His Word, and that God always provides a message of hope and mercy.?
After writing the book, Bongiorno said she came away with a deeper appreciation not just for the man Jeremiah, but for all the prophets.
‘I realized . . . if God spoke through those men, then we need to hear what they had to say,? she said. ‘Because it wasn’t just written so it could be put in a book and put on a shelf, but God had a message for his people and we ought to at least know what it is.?
‘Finding Jesus in Jeremiah? was published by Crossbooks, a trade publishing division of Lifeway Christian Resources.
Cheryl and her husband Jim have been Oxford residents for 25 years and raised their three daughters in the community, two of which graduated from Oxford.
Cheryl retired from Lake Orion High School after teaching music for 14 years. Prior to Lake Orion she taught at Oakland Christian School.
She got both her bachelors in music education and her Masters in Music from Oakland University.
She also graduated from Vision International, an internet Bible College in 2011 where she majored in Theology and Christian Counseling.
For more information about the book, please visit www.cherylbongiorno.com