Congratulations! You are about to embark on a beautiful journey leading a group through the book of Philippians, showing your students the secret that Paul shares to living in joy!
It’s exciting to start a new study! I’ve always found planning a first meeting before we even get started helpful. It’s a time to get to know each other, see the study, and help them get excited about what they will spend several weeks immersed in.
Lead Your Group Through the Workbook
The main goal for this meeting is to get your group off to a good start with their study so that they feel confident taking their study guide home and working through it. Be sure to plan some time to familiarize your group with the workbook.
- Point out that the Workbook consists of Lessons and Parts rather than Weeks and Days. I’ve intentionally worded this to free your group members to work through the study at their own pace. While I have designed each Part to take around 30 minutes to complete, some Parts will take longer than others. Some in your group may take two days to complete a Part of the study; some may do multiple parts in a day.
- Parts 1-4 are the central portion of the study. Your group will want to spend most of their study time here and complete as much as possible before your group meeting.
- Part 5 contains questions to allow your group to think through the application of their study. I see these questions as a bit of a “choose your own adventure.” Encourage them to journal about a few of these questions that they find to be the most impactful for their lives. As the leader, you may want to look ahead and encourage the group to work through specific questions. When you get together, you can use these questions as the meat of your discussion.
- You’ll find “Deeper into the Word” sections throughout the study. I’ve included these optional for individuals who want to sharpen their study skills. In them, students will have a chance to do additional cross-reference work, explore outside resources, or engage in more intensive critical thinking about what they are studying.
- Consider how you want to handle the “For Further Study” sections. I’ve designed these sections to allow you to dive deeper into a topic introduced in the study. Some groups skip these altogether, while some add additional meeting time to discuss them. Others choose to do the Lesson one week and then the For Further Study the next, extending the study to fill 12 meetings.
- Point out to the group the text of Philippians that begins on page 149. Students who are hesitant to write in their Bibles = can use these pages to mark and make notes as they study.
Introduce Lesson 1
Depending on how comfortable your group is with Bible study, you may want to walk them through a bit of the first lesson.
- Read through Part 1. Encourage them that the first question is very open-ended, and they can note whatever comes to mind. The theme question isn’t meant to require them to come up with the “commentary” theme. So long as they can explain their answer from the text, they are on the right track. Naturally, group members will come up with many different themes.
- Next, you can read through the instructions on page 6. Point out the “Deeper into the Word” segment on that page and explain that this is an optional opportunity for those who want to do more or have extra time.
- After this, work through pages 7-8, but only answer the questions through chapter 1—leave them to finish working through the rest of the book. You may want to show them how to use the Blue Letter Bible website to do the “Deeper into the Word” portion.
- If you have time, work through page 9. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate answering the questions using the words found in the Bible.
Share Logistical Information
As you prepare your group for your study, you’ll want to address any logistical concerns that may come up. Some things I generally address are:
- How long will meetings last?
- What will be your policy for weather-related cancellations?
- How will you communicate with group members?
- How will you handle prayer requests?
Also, be sure to schedule some time during your first meeting for your group to get to know one another, whether you give some free time for fellowship, plan an ice-breaker game, or simply share introductions. You might consider name tags if members don’t know each other well, at least for the first meeting or two.
How did your discussion go?
Let me know how it went! Did the Lord have you ask any additional questions that spurred a great conversation? Do you have any questions about anything in the study? Share your thoughts in the comments to strengthen and encourage one another!
I’m praying for you and rejoicing with you as you shepherd your flock!
Found this post and wondering what study it goes with? Find Again I Say Rejoice: An Inductive Study of Philippians here or on Amazon.com
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