This Week # 2-10

This week in OFF ROAD we had our first 2 service weekend. God is good and both services went great! (If you don’t know we meet at the 6:40 service on Saturday and the 11:00 service on Sunday) Although Saturday was hot we had a decent turnout of about 30 students and I want to encourage as many students that can to go to this service to go to Saturday night as we need to make room for guests during the 11:00 service.

As we kicked off the New Year I decided that we should start with the foundational idea of SOAPing. Yes, junior higher need to be reminded to shower and soap, but this is a more important thing then hygiene, it is SOAPing with the word of God. The idea of SOAP involves four significant elements in spending time with God, something we need to be doing daily.

The first element is Scripture. To spend time with God we need to be in his word. Often times we think that reading the Bible is a chore and because it was written 2,000 years ago it is hard to find relevance to our lives today. The truth is as we spend time in God’s word He reveals Himself in unique, interesting, and relevant ways, but we will never know that if we are not in the Scripture.

The second element is Observation. Observation is important because as we read the scripture we should note what stands out to us, what is interesting, what the main point is and any questions we have. If all we ever do is read the scripture and we never observe it and explore it then it never becomes anything more than words on the page, but if we observe the scripture we the words that are written become alive and relevant.

Next, and most importantly we must Apply what we’ve read to our lives. What is God saying to you? What does he want to you to know? What does he want you to do? What does this scripture mean for you? By answering these questions the Bible becomes a personal letter from God to you. We need to make sure that every time we read the scriptures we ask God to speak to us and when he does we need to listen and act.

Lastly we need to Pray. Just like I can’t have a relationship with anyone without ever talking to them we can’t have a relationship with God and never talk to him. After we have chosen scripture, observed it, and applied it we should spend time praying, asking God to help us apply what we have learned.

Parents,

The greatest example children have of how to SOAP and spend time with God is through observation of their parents. I encourage you to SOAP every day, allow your kids to see you do it and invite you kids to SOAP with you. Here are some questions you can ask your child this week:

What did you learn in OFF ROAD this week?

What did you observe in the reading at OFF ROAD (John 15)

What did God tell you that you need to do through this chapter?

How can I help you do what God has called you to do?

Have you spent any time this week applying what you learned in OFF ROAD?