This week we begin our whole church bible study and sermon series on SOAP. I love soap it keeps me clean. I wash my hands so many times a day. Sometimes I think I have an obsession with it. Especially when there is a bug going around! Have you ever noticed how many times you wash your hands? 
 
But we are not going to be spending 5 weeks talking about washing with soap and water. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. It’s a simple but really helpful way to read the bible. The idea is that you take any passage of scripture that you are reading and ask which verses stand out, what do you observe happening in this reading how does this apply to your life and what do you feel you need to pray about. 
 
Brothers and Sisters it is so important for us to be reading our bible. Like washing our hands protects us from bacteria and viruses reading the bible keeps us safe and strong spiritually. The bible is God’s revelation to us of who he is and what he has done for us. As Paul says in our reading the scriptures give us wisdom for salvation, and they are useful to teach us, rebuke and correct us, as well as train us to live a good life. I hope that you find SOAP to be a useful tool and that it helps you in your own bible reading time.