First, collect all the references where joy or rejoicing are mentioned and write down what is said about them after each reference. 

Second, after collecting the information, correlate it into an outline.  When I did this I came up with this outline: 1. Joy through fellowship, 2. Joy through service, and 3. Joy through worship. 

Then I amplified this further: Under Joy through fellowship I noted joy in praying for faithful partners, 1:4 and 4:10; joy resulting from Christian harmony, 2:2; and joy in welcoming a faithful servant, 2:29. 

Under Joy through service I put, joy because Christ is preached by others, even if their motives are questionable, 1:18; joy because of deliverance through the prayers of others, 1:19; joy through suffering, because of progress in Christian growth, 1:25-26 and 2:17, and joy because of fruitfulness, 4:1. 

And under Joy through worship, I noted, when we share with others what God is doing, they will rejoice and praise God, 2:18.  When we focus on the Lord He will be our source of joy, 3:1; and make focusing on the Lord a habit of life, 4:4.  Paul admonishes us, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, Rejoice!” 

Once you establish an outline, the third step in a topical study is to crystallize what you have learned into some applications.  We’ll do this in our next visit.