"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. "
Philippians 1:3-5
Julia grew up going to church, so when she came to Penn State last year she was eager to join DiscipleMakers to help her grow deeper in Christ during college. She got plugged in right away with our freshman group, where students learn the gospel and get a solid biblical foundation. Some of these students decided then to devote their lives to Christ!
This year, Julia continues to grow in her love and knowledge of Christ in Gospel Group. This group focuses on learning how to study the Bible in-depth for themselves. Throughout this entire school year, Julia is learning how to make good observations from the Bible, how to interpret those observations in a way that is consistent with the rest of the Bible, and finally, how to take away applications from the Bible (in other words, how she should live in light of the Scriptures).
The most exciting part about working with Julia in Gospel Group is that she is also a part of the bible study I co-lead. This gives us great opportunities to practice the new skills she's learning right away! Last week when Julia and I were working through the passage she would be leading in our bible study, it was such a joy to see her really come to see a depth to the text that she didn't originally notice!
So what, exactly do we teach in Gospel Group? In the fall, we focused a lot on how to make good observations of the text by noticing key words or themes. We also talked about how to ask good questions of our observations so we could really understand what was written and why it was so important that God chose to include it in his Scriptures. This semester we'll continue building on this as students become confident in doing good Bible Study on their own.
While this will by no means be an exhaustive picture of what we do with the students over the course of the year, my hope is that it gives you a good taste. Below you'll see an example of a recent passage we studied together in Gospel Group, as well as the overview sheet of what we teach students (feel free to use it for yourself!).
Verse:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5)
Interpretation:
The word "because" in this sentence indicates there has to be a cause and an effect.
The Cause? The partnership in the gospel of the Philippians with Paul (author) The Effect? Paul thanks God in every prayer with joy
What is the effect of the Philippians' partnership with Paul?
He gives praise to God for them!
Why is Paul praising God the effect of their partnership?
Paul cares a lot abut their partnership, knowing this is also God's joy and desire!
What is implied by this (that a partnership in the gospel is pleasing to God and his disciples)?
We can rejoice, too, when the gospel goes forth through our efforts, or one of our fellow disciples. So let's rejoice as the gospel goes forth across the college campus!
Prayers & Praises
Pray for the students in Gospel Group - that the Lord would give them hearts for His word, and a deep understanding of the Scriptures.
Pray for me as we head into a busy event planning season this spring - that I would prioritize the right things, have peace in all situations, and ultimately see God as the one making these events happening.
Thank you, dear friends, for your partnership in the gospel!
Your support - whether prayer, financial, or other - is greatly appreciated and makes it possible for us to continue reaching the next generation for Christ!
