Study Tips: Author's IntentionSample

Have you ever been to a conference that you found impactful? Perhaps it was the teaching from the main speaker? Or maybe a great conversation with a friend after a seminar you attended together? The conference ends, and you go home, but instead of acting on what you thought was inspiring, you forget it and return to life as normal. Sound familiar?

Over the last five days, we have been on a journey together through the book of Philemon and have applied a few Bible study tools to help deepen our understanding of the text. We trust that the Lord has been teaching you and taking you to greater depths in His word. What’s next?

As followers of Jesus, we want to be affected by and responsive to God’s word and invite others to participate in following Jesus. Unlike when we leave a conference and never follow through with our good intentions, we want to actively take steps to pursue what God is inviting us to as we study His word.

Look back at what you wrote at the end of Day 5. What message do you see in this statement?

A message we see is that a person’s worldly status is superseded by who they are in Christ. How do we turn this idea into a way of life? Asking four questions about the idea we took from scripture can help us make it practical:

1. How could you live this out in your life? For example, showing respect and acceptance of a brother or sister in Christ whom society would see as less worthy because of their social status.

2. How could you help others live this out? For example, pairing up with a friend from church to show hospitality to a brother or sister in Christ whom others would see as useless.

3. Who could help you live it out?

4. How would you explain this message to someone who is not a follower of Jesus?

We encourage you to work your way through your own theological significance sentence(s) using these questions to see what God has for you as you seek to respond to His work in your life.

Congratulations on completing this Author's Intention plan! We hope it has encouraged you and spurred you on in your study of the Bible. If you want to read an article on what worship looks like or connect with us on social media, find us at Study Tips Author's Intention .