S.O.A.P Study Method
I hope you‘re eager to deepen your relationship with the Lord this year. Here‘s my daily devotion system, which may prove helpful. If you want, text me and let me know how things are going and what God is doing in your life…would LOVE to hear about it!! 912-282-0187
Something I do is Life Journaling. I use the S.O.A.P. method of writing out the devotions. It may take you 30 min each day, the goal is to have daily encounters with the Lord…don’t be surprised if while your devotion is going on God calls to your mind some other scripture for you to read or brings to your mind things you may need to be praying about or repenting of, etc….God’s word is living and active…expect to be challenged and transformed as you dig into God’s Word!!
- Scripture…read through the scripture for the day and write out a verse or a passage that God draws your attention toward…don’t just write out the reference, but the whole verse…(i.e. don’t write out John 3:16…write out “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16)
- Observation… write about these things: who was the original audience, who were they writing about, what were they writing about…what would it have meant to the original hearers of the word?
- Application… write out how this passage applies to your life today…what did YOU learn from this passage and how will it impact your faith today?
- Prayer… write out a simple prayer…ask God to reveal Himself to you in new and real ways, to help you apply what you have studied to your life and to draw closer to Him, etc…these will be different each day and should come from the heart!
That’s how I do my daily devotions. I hope this benefits you all, and if so, I hope you decide to share that with me! Let me know if you have any questions or comments! Thank you for taking time and having the desire to “Go Deeper” with the Lord this year! See you soon!!
Pastor Jimmy Griffith
Youth Advent 12/16
In Matthew 2, we’re introduced to the wise men. We don’t know very much about them. But, we do know they were from the East, probably near Persia, and studied stars. Upon discovering the star over Bethlehem, the wise men were instantly filled with hope and left everything to follow that star. They knew the significance of it—that it represented the birth of the Messiah (meaning the anointed one or chosen one)! After centuries of waiting for this King to come, He had finally arrived! Matthew tells us their response to this Good News was to go worship this King. They left behind everything to follow this
star because of their hope in this Savior.
Their hope in the Messiah outweighed their hope in anything they’d find in the world. So many times, we try to find hope in relationships, possessions, hobbies, or money. The wise men left all of these behind because they knew that their ultimate hope was in Christ.
This Christmas, we can have that same hope. The Messiah has come to us. He has lived a life we couldn’t. He has died the death we deserve, and He has risen for us! This Christmas, we can celebrate no matter what we find ourselves facing in this season with this same hope!
Youth Advent 12/15
The Good News is that this joy is available to us now! It’s all around us if we choose to look for the ways Jesus is at work in us, through us, and in the world around us. When we actively look for joy in the world, we’ll find it because He is everywhere!
Youth Advent 12/14
Jesus, who was fully God, became fully human, too, when He came to Earth. The hymn “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” helps us understand this idea a little more. Let’s take a look.
This hymn is a song of celebration and praise of the Good News that we celebrate at Christmas. We celebrate that God kept His promise of sending Jesus to Earth, and because of that, we can be close to God forever!
Youth Advent 12/13
the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing
made that was made. In him was life, — John 1:1-5
Light is a common theme when we’re talking about Jesus, especially about His birth. One of the most popular Christmas hymns, “O Holy Night,” describes the night that Jesus was born like this:
“O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.”
This hymn invites us to reflect on the night Jesus was born, picturing the night sky lit up by the stars. Think about a time when you’ve stood outside under the stars at night. Now imagine that scene being the moment that Jesus entered the world. He was bringing light, or hope, to the world for us, just like the stars bring light to a dark night sky!
This Christmas season, we can celebrate the light of Jesus, allowing Him to light up the places in our lives that feel dark. We can celebrate His birth knowing that true light has come into the world!
Youth Advent 12/12
of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” — Philippians 2:5-8
The Christmas hymn, “O Come, Divine Messiah,” serves as a reminder to all people that the invitation to come and behold this promised Savior is still as wide open now as it was on the night when Jesus was born. In His full humanity, Jesus has firsthand knowledge of our human experiences, frailties, temptations, and feelings. But as the King, Son of the Father, Word of God now in the flesh, He is also the only one who has the power and the authority to bring us hope for when we experience these things and to make whole again what has been broken.