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Studying Philippians 1:12-26 with a Focus on "Observe"



Philippians 1:12-26

When you open God’s Word, expect to meet with Him and to learn something about Him. Expect to find more of who He is and what He wants you to be like. In a wonderful way you’ll grow to understand God and His ways if you are open to being changed by what you find in the Scriptures.

Every time we read the Bible together, we will begin by praying over the scriptures.  As you begin reading, open your heart to the teaching of the Holy Spirit; ask Him to give you understanding and to help you think and act in God’s way.

Before we do anything else, I want you to simply read through the passage once. You can print a worksheet out here to follow along with! Once you've printed your worksheet out we can really dive in on learning how to use the "Observe" portion of inductive Bible study! Observations are what you see with your eyes within the text! “You will miss a lot of information if you are only looking at how you are feeling."

  • Circle verbs
  • Squiggle important words
  • Box words that repeat
  • ? Beside anything confusing
  • Rewrite main point
  • Observe points that relate to other passages in the Old Testament
  • Observe points that relate to other passages in the New Testament
    Look for connections between the paragraphs. Look for a few connections, such as repeated words, similarities, contrasts, cause and effect. What significance or meaning do you find in each of these connections? Jot down the meanings.

    “What is the main thing going on this passage? In other words, what is the central truth this passage is teaching?” Write that truth in a sentence.
Interpret
      1. What did the people of Philippi think as this portion of the letter was read to them?
      2. What themes in this text remind us of other things we learned in the Bible?
      3. What does this text tell us about God? Man? Creation?
Apply
      1. What does this passage teach me about God?
      2. How does this aspect of God’s character change my view of self?
      3. What should I do in response

Finish in Prayer. Ask yourself “How can I pray in light of this passage this week?”

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