Jesus In Me Week 1 — Bible Study Workshop

Hello, OBS friends! Welcome to session one of the Jesus in Me Online Bible Study by Anne Graham Lotz! Has your heart been singing joyously in anticipation of this study?

Holy Spirit You are welcome here
Come flood this place
And fill the atmosphere
Your glory God
Is what our hearts long for
To be overcome
By Your presence, Lord

We’ve been feeling the movement of the Holy Spirit through our community and pray that this will be not only life-changing but world-changing! More than 100,000 people have signed up for this study from across the globe — praise the Lord!

Are you ready to get started? This week is all about preparation for the weeks to come, and Anne is going to lead us through a 49-minute Bible Study Workshop to learn her 4-step method for reading the Bible and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit speak to us through His Word.

This Bible study workshop has a single purpose: to present an approach that will help you learn to listen for God’s voice, know Him in a personal relationship, and communicate with Him through His Word. The following information is introduced in detail in the video presentation. Use this section of the study guide as you view the workshop material. Underline key thoughts and take additional notes as you participate in the workshop. (Note that the passages Anne uses as examples in the video workshop are found on pages 6–7.)

WHAT YOU NEED

Before you begin the video workshop for this first session, you will need the following:

• a Bible
• this study guide o pen or pencil o time
• prayer
• an open heart

WATCH VIDEO SESSION 1 (49 MINUTES)

Anne will use this video session to walk you through the following 5 Steps to Bible study with the 3 questions that are essential to the Bible Study Workshop. She will illustrate how to do this Bible study with Colossians 1:26-27 (see pages 6–7 in your study guide).

STEPS TO BIBLE STUDY STEP 1: READ GOD’S WORD

(Look at the Passage.)

The first step is to read the Bible. At the start of each session in this study guide, you will find the Scriptures listed in a column that you should read during the week. When you have finished reading the passage for the day, move on to Step 2.

STEP 2: WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD SAY? (List the Facts.)

After reading the passage, make a verse-by-verse list of the outstanding facts. Don’t get caught up in the details—just pinpoint the most obvious facts as they appear to you. When you make your list, do not paraphrase the text but use actual words from the passage. Look for the nouns and the verbs.

STEP 3: WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD MEAN? (Learn the Lessons.)

After reading the passage and listing the facts, look for a lesson to learn from each fact. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is speaking?
• What is the subject?
• Where is it taking place?
• When did it happen?
• What can I learn from what is taking place or what is being said?

It may also help to ask yourself: What are the people in the passage doing that I should be doing? Is there a command I should obey? A promise I should claim? A warning I should heed? An example I should follow? Focus on spiritual lessons.

STEP 4: WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD MEAN IN MY LIFE?

(Listen to His Voice.)

Although this step will be the most meaningful for you, you can’t do it effectively until you complete the first three steps. So, first rephrase the lessons you found in Step
3 and put them in the form of questions you could ask yourself, your spouse, your child, your friend, your neighbor, or your coworker. As you write the questions, listen for God to speak to you through His Word.

Be aware that there are some challenging passages in this study. Don’t get hung up on what you don’t understand, but just look for the general principles and lessons that can be learned. The introduction prior to the passages you will study in sessions 2–8, as well as the examples offered in Steps 2, 3, and 4 of this session, will help you get started.

Remember not to rush this process. It may take you several moments of prayerful meditation to discover meaningful lessons from the Scripture you are reading and hear God speaking to you. The object is not to “get through it” but to develop your personal relationship with God in order to grow in faith and learn to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

STEP 5: LIVE IN OBEDIENT RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD (What will you do about what God has said?)

Read the assigned Scripture passages prayerfully, objectively, thoughtfully, and attentively as you listen for God to speak. Note that He may not speak to you through every verse, but He will speak. When He does, record the verse number (if applicable), what it is that God seems to be saying to you, and your response to Him. You might like to date these pages as a means not only of keeping a spiritual journal but also of holding yourself accountable to follow through in obedience. (See pages 6–7 for the example that Anne demonstrates in the video.) Afterward, it is your turn to try this method on your own using John 14:15-20.

Friends, I hope you are blessed by this workshop! I’ll be back on Wednesday morning to share what I’m learning from putting this into practice with the verses John 14:15-20. Let’s dig into the Word, together!

This week in your study:

1. Grab your Bible and watch the video for session one of Jesus In Me on our study home page and take notes in your study guide on pages 1-9.
2. Join the conversations about this week’s teaching and get to know our community in our private Facebook group.
3. If you’ve purchased to book, wonderful! We’ll start reading next week!

Prayer for the Week

Holy Spirit, we welcome You! Thank You for Your presence in our lives. Thank You that You are a Person and not just a whisp of smoke, or an imaginary friend. You are our powerful Advocate! Our Counselor! We are going to rely on You. Help us to experience You more and more as we get to know You better. We love You!