Pastor Jason's screenshot examples:
Remember this is a hands-on class--there may be some down time in the video/audio when working in groups..
This week we studied the first component of our study method: Observation. The powerpoint introduced us to some images and popular logos that most people recognize but may have never looked at more than casually. We did this to demonstrate the importance of studying the bible, not just casually observing or reading it. The sad reality is that many Christians only casually read their bible and in doing so without closely studying and examining it, they miss out on so much. Just like with the logos--when we don't take the time to observe and study, we forfeit the concealed truths and robust understanding of scripture. There is so much more richness of understanding to be had when we take the time to study, examine, observe, and ask questions about what we are seeing.
When it comes to the observation stage of our study plan, there are two primary goals:
To become very familiar with the verse(s)
To lay the groundwork for digging deep into the meaning of the text that we are studying.
Both of these goals can be accomplished through our observing and stating the obvious within a passage and then asking questions about our statements of the obvious. It seems oxymoronic to think that we can learn by asking questions without answering them--but we can actually learn a great deal just through observing the obvious and asking questions. (We will answer these questions next week in the 'Interpretation' stage of our method)
Our three rules during observation are:
We can only look at the verse(s) that we are studying. (We will expand our investigation during our 'Interpretation' stage next week)
NO OBSERVATION OR QUESTION IS TOO SIMPLE!
Just when you think you have exhausted every observation and question from this passage--push yourself to find a few more of each.