Summer Youth Bible Study: Lesson #6

Today we met for our last Bible study of the summer. I will miss seeing these girls regularly. There’s nothing like meeting and connecting over the Word of God, no matter what the age of those gathering.

If you’re still following along, here’s what you’ll need for this week’s lesson:

Supplies:

Bible
SOAP worksheet (provided)
Bible verse note cards (made at our first meeting)
“Think on these … ” worksheet (provided, download here)

Here’s the verse we covered this week:

To discuss the verse, we worked through The SOAP Bible study method. This method is great for digging into a single verse of scripture. (You can read more about the SOAP method here.)

Below is the worksheet we used and how we talked through Philippians 4:8 using the SOAP method.

To download a copy of your own, CLICK HERE.

SCRIPTURE

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

OBSERVATION

Last time we met we talked about how God wants to transform us by changing the way we think. How do we do that? The single most effective way to change the way we think is to open our Bibles. God’s Word changes us from the inside out. The more we think about God’s words and His truth, the more change we will experience.

I asked the girls, “How much control do you have over what you think?”

Some said, “A lot!” Some said, “None.”

The truth is that we have a lot of control over what we think about. Unfortunately, most of us never give much thought to the things we’re thinking about. We need to start thinking about what we’re thinking about.

Consider these two analogies and how they relate to thoughts coming into our minds:

“You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest in your hair.”

“Just as we don’t let anyone who approaches our door come into our house, neither should we let every thought walk through the door of our minds.”

We get to decide what we let enter into our minds. That’s where Philippians 4:8 comes in. This verse gives us a cheat-sheet for right thinking.

On the “Think on These …” worksheet, we broke down each of the words listed in the verse:

True: (based on facts, not feelings) Is this thought based on a fact or a feeling?

Honorable: (worthy of respect) Does this thought invite respect?

Right: (in keeping with the Word of God) Does this thought align with God’s Word?

Pure: (stainless, morally innocent) Will this thought contaminate my mind?

Lovely: (pleasing in motive and action towards others) Will this thought produce peace or strife?

Admirable: (commendable) Does this thought focus on the good or bad in others?

Excellent: (moral excellence) Will this thought hinder my growth in godliness?

Praiseworthy: (expressing praise or applause) Is this thought worthy of praise?

If the thoughts that come into our mind line up with these truths, then we can let them in. If they don’t, they have no place in our minds.

Obviously we aren’t going to be going through this check list every time a thought comes into our mind. However, if we’re feeling consumed or burdened by specific thoughts, we need to take some time to think about what we’re thinking about.

The following is an image very familiar to this group of girls. It’s plastered all over the walls of their school.

The school is using this in reference to thinking before you speak (or post on social media), but it applies to their thoughts too. When they see it, I hope they will remember this verse.