Hi Friend!

Are you interested in being part of an online Bible study community committed to mining the scriptures for treasure together? I hope so… nothing is more important to our daily walk with the Lord than reading and studying His word. It is for our benefit and blessing that we learn not just to read God’s love letter, but that we learn to study it, to search it, to examine it. Why? Because knowing God’s word brings us comfort, encouragement and protection. God speaks to us through His word... guiding us and loving us. We need to know what God's word says because the truth is if we don’t know how to study our Bibles then we can be led astray. Acts 17:11 says this…

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

What did the Bereans do? They received the word with great eagerness, and then checked to make sure that what Paul taught was the truth. Here is the truth - I love to be taught God’s word, but I have a responsibility to know if the teaching is in line with what scripture says. That is why we must be like the Bereans searching the scriptures to see if what we are taught agree’s with what the Bible says. And that is not all…

God’s word is so fun to study! You will be amazed at the treasure you find when you take the time to “examine” the scriptures. So, this summer using the inductive method of study…we will study the book of Philippians. Kay Arthur has written a book called How to Study your Bible that outlines the inductive style of study. Below is a great link that will help you learn the tools of inductive study online… By the way, you don’t need to do every step to join our study… but I want to encourage you to at least try out the tools suggested for each week. You will be amazed at how you grow and what you learn. The link is...

http://www.preceptaustin.org/inductive_bible_study.htm

I encourage you to share the jewels you find with our on line community. Remember "iron sharpens iron." We can learn from each other! So how does this work? Easy! Let’s start by reading the first chapter of the book of Philippians. Always being with prayer... Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to bring to your attention what He wants you to see. Then read it through a few times… the first time just read it… then read it again... this time taking notes on what jumps out at you in the first chapter. Make a list of repeated words or phrases. If you don’t have a bible then use this online Bible - http://www.biblegateway.com/

Beginning June 6th and continuing weekly until we are finished, we will post our “finds” for each week. At the end of each chapter, I’ll post a wrap up on that chapter. By the way, I’ll be using the New King James Translation for this study.Remember since God’s word is alive and active it will speak to you in a different way than it will me. The truth will remain the same, but how we apply that truth to our lives might vary. God wants to talk to you specifically... through His word. Won't you join us? I’m looking forward to learning and growing with all of you.

XO,CJ