This book is based on Scripture alone!
This is an essential book on what gospel-shaped womanhood looks like. As Sarah walks through the book of Ephesians, she lays the foundation of what it looks like to find your identity in Christ. It is easy to feel weighed down by extra-biblical messages women are presented with today, so I appreciate that this book is based on Scripture alone! You will walk away reminded that the Father lovingly sent His Son to die for our sins, and the Spirit is continuing the work in us today. Chapters 5-7 were some of my favorites. This would be a great book for book club + there are questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter.
Taliah Kendrick
This book felt like my own inner dialogue!
When I began reading Gospel-Shaped Womanhood, I kept thinking Sarah Rice and I are cut from the same cloth. The inner dialogue I’ve had in regards to my work, my single days, my married days, my body, my seasons of suffering were written on these pages and held up to Scripture for me to see whether it was accurate or not. Sarah outlines the book basing it on the book of Ephesians, even recommending that women read through Ephesians as they read through the book. This was a refreshing approach, instead of looking at topics and pasting random verses to it, she allows Scripture to be the frame to hang the issues on. Often in Christian literature, a topic becomes the focus with a few verses pulled out of their contexts to fit the narrative of the writer, instead of Scripture affecting the topic. This is not how Sarah approaches a woman’s gospel-shaped identity. She begins with the orthodoxy, “right belief” or the theology of how the gospel changes things and the fundamentals of having a gospel-shaped identity. But the gospel is not meant to just sit in a hypothetical, philosophical place, but into a lived reality. The second half of the book is all about gospel-shaped activity, or the orthopraxy, meaning “right practice”. I was left with a breath of gospel grace to not pursue my identity based on what the world says, but on who I am in Christ and to keep faithfully serving him as a steward of all He has given me.
Lindsay Oldright
I didn't walk away defeated but feeling free and encouraged!
What initially intrigued me about this book is its title and the concept of gospel-shaped womanhood. There are plenty of books about biblical womanhood and I suspected that since this one used different terminology perhaps it had a different take. I was so grateful to find my suspicions confirmed. I’ve walked away from books about biblical womanhood feeling defeated because I couldn’t live up to the ideals that were portrayed in their pages. Studying the Bible on my own helped me see that God’s heart and view for women is so beautiful and freeing and Sarah does a wonderful job of capturing this in Gospel-Shaped Womanhood. The book reminds women repeatedly of their primary identity – in Christ! It also helps women understand how being in Christ frees us from ideals for women that are unbiblical and ultimately burdensome. I was a bit apprehensive approaching the chapters Women Who Work and Sexuality and Marriage wondering if they would make me feel like I’m not measuring up as a wife and mother. However, they were quite freeing and encouraging. Sarah acknowledges work inside the home and outside of it as equally valuable and doesn’t make it seem as if being a wife and mother is a Christian woman’s highest calling. She did a lovely job of addressing singleness and highlighting the beauty of this wonderful gift. The book contains many reminders of the gospel message and this encouraged me greatly. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions making Gospel-Shaped Womanhood a great resource for group or personal study. If you are a Christian woman hoping to better understand your identity, I highly recommend reading Gospel-Shaped Womanhood.
Lauren DuPrez
Enriching individually and impactful for a group!
This book explores themes of biblical womanhood, Christ-centered faith, and faithful discipleship through a biblical worldview. Throughout the book. Sarah Rice depends on a wide use of Scripture with an emphasis on Ephesians to encourage readers to “walk in a manner worthy” of their calling with grace and wisdom.
One of my favorite parts was the chapter on Women of War (the Armor of God). It woke me up to the reality that every believer is a “sinner-sufferer-soldier-saint: we are being sanctified, suffering for the name of Jesus, fighting the schemes of the devil with the armor of God, and living out our identity as saints of Christ.
I also especially loved the chapter on authentic friendships and what those should look like in the church. Instead of trying to present a ground-breaking new idea, this book depends on the faithful truths of God’s Word. And don’t we need constant reminders of the gospel time and time again? I know I do. This book is so necessary and so important. We live in a culture that is constantly telling us a false gospel, and we must ask ourselves: Are we going to listen to the lies being shouted at us? Or, are we going to turn to the clear and dependable Word of Truth for our meaning, identity, and direction? Are we going to allow ourselves to be formed by culture or by God’s word, to be self-absorbed or God-focused? Are we going to commit to know the gospel inside and out and allow it to “shape” our lives? This book is enriching to read individually, but it would be especially impactful within the context of a women’s small group.
Blessing Bloodworth
Great for small group studies and discussion!
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that more and more Christians are feeling called to
write books that address the cultural obsession with self that has become so
pervasive in society today. I think God is on the move with a wakeup call we all
need to heed, and I am grateful for authors like Sarah Rice, who are boldly
stepping out with a message of gospel truth. Sarah shares how to have a gospel-
shaped identity and how we walk that out in our daily lives for the glory of God.
She grounds her thoughts in Scripture, primarily in Ephesians. Each chapter
includes reflection questions that can be used for personal reflection and further
study or for group discussion. This would be an excellent book for women’s small
group studies. I highly recommend this incredible book.
Beth Cohen
A Gospel-shaped Identity with Gospel-shaped Activity
This book takes you on a journey through the book of Ephesians to help you
understand what it means to be a woman in the light of the gospel. In the first
half, Sarah takes the beauty of the gospel and describes how our identity is to be
shaped by it. While the principles largely apply to both sexes, she has specifically
spoken into what it means for womanhood. This section was gold.
The second half of the book goes on to focus gospel-shaped activity, i.e. how we apply the
gospel to what we do as women, such as work, friendship, our bodies, spiritual
warfare, and marriage. In this half, Sarah shared vulnerably and with real insight
and wisdom into these big topics which can be very tricky to navigate as Christian
women. She does so in a very succinct way—each chapter heading could easily be
a whole book if explored further, but this is a wonderful way to start exploring the
topics. For example, she touched on headship and submission in marriage on just
one page, and I’d love to hear more of her thoughts on this in particular.
All in all, this book dismantled some ideas I was holding on to, which perhaps weren’t
completely biblical but instead were cultural, masked as biblical. I came away with
a greater idea of what it means to live in the light of what Christ has done, firmly
rooting my identity in him. I’d absolutely recommend this as a book for someone
who is grappling with what it means to be a follower of Jesus and a woman. I’d
particularly recommend it for those in their late teens/early adulthood. It is one I
will be saving for my daughter to read.
Jessica Hadden
