The Story of the Bible:

CREATION: God made the world and everything in it.  He made us in his image to know and love him, to walk with him and worship him.

FALL: Humanity disobeyed God; sin and brokenness have plagued every generation since.  All have sinned and the payment for sin is death.

RESCUE: Because of his great love for us, God sent his own Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to deliver us.  Fully God and fully man, Jesus died in our place on the cross.  He then rose from the dead, victorious over evil, sin, and death.

RESTORATION: Jesus promised to return and make all things new.  As King, he will cast away all that is evil, and live with his people forever.

RESPONSE: Turn from your sin, trust in Jesus, and follow him as your King.  His indwelling Spirit will give you forgiveness and eternal life!

S.O.A.P.

Bible Reading Method

Start by praying. Ask God to teach you through His Word.

Then read a group of verses from the Bible. Try starting with John 1 if this is your first time reading the Bible or maybe the first time in a long time.

After you read, start working through S.O.A.P. as it is laid out below.

Scripture (God’s Word/The Bible)

• Write down/highlight a verse or group of verses that really sticks out to you from what you read.

Observation

• What observations come to your mind as a result of reading these verses?  Here are some helpful questions to guide you.
  • What is God saying to you through these verses?
    • What do you learn about God?
    • What do you learn about people?
    • What do you learn about relating to God?
    • What do you learn about relating to others?
    • Is there a promise to proclaim, a sin to avoid/confess, a command to obey and/or a principle to be applied?

Application

• How does God want you to adjust to this truth?
• What am I going to do about what God is saying through this text?

Prayer

• Write out a prayer to God.  We have provided a template below that can guide you through a prayer.
  • Praise Him
    • Tell God how great He is.
    • If it helps, start by going through the alphabet.  “God, You are awesome.  God, You are big. God You are creative. And keep going as God leads you…
  • Confess and Turn
    • Confess the things in life for which you need forgiveness.
      • Confession is agreeing with God.  He already knows about everything in our lives.  We’re agreeing with Him that He has helped us see something in our life that needs to change.
      • Commit to turn from the things that you have confessed and ask God for the strength to follow Him.
  • Thank God for His grace and mercy.  
    • Grace: God has given us something we don’t deserve: the promise of eternal life and the hope of Heaven.
      • “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
    • Mercy: God has withheld from us what we do deserve: Death and separation from Him.
      • “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
    • Thank Him for these amazing blessings and anything else that God places on your heart in this time.
  • Pray for others that need help.
    • This is a great time to pray for the requests that are sent out from your church family and others that needs prayer in your life.
    • It is also a great time to pray for those around you that have not become followers of Jesus.  Pray that God would draw them to Himself and use you in some way to draw them.
  • Pray for yourself and ask God for the strength to follow through with what He showed you today.
    • Use this time to pray about anything else that is on your heart.
    • Cast your cares on God because He cares for you.

Click on this bookmark to download and print at home so you can keep it in your Bible!

SOAP Bookmark