Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 10: 1Samuel 8-10; 2Corinthians 10

Scripture: 1Samuel (NIV) 8:11 Samuel told them, “Here’s what the king who rules over you will do. He will take your sons
13 He’ll also take your daughters…
14 He will take away your best fields…
15 He will take a tenth of your grain…
16 He will also take your … servants …and your animals…
17 …You yourselves will become his slaves.

Observation: The people of Israel wanted a king so they would be like the other nations. God tells Samuel that they are not rejecting Samuel but God. He tells Samuel to warn the people but give them a king anyway. NOTE: A king whom they would serve was considered more important than a God who served them!

Application: When I consider the high cost I see some people are paying to serve the devil, I am amazed that people reject serving the one who loves and serves them. Satan hates God and uses me to get at God while God loves me, serves me and frees me from Satan’s snares. Now, who am I going to serve!!!

Prayer: Lord, the more I know you and understand how you serve me, the more obvious it is that I should serve you. Lord, I am your servant. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 9: 1Samuel 6-7; Psalm 72; 2Corinthians 9

Scripture: 2Corinthians (NIV) 9:13 You have shown yourselves to be worthy by what you have given. So people will praise God because you obey him. That proves that you really believe the good news about Christ. They will also praise God because you share freely with them and with everyone else.
14 Their hearts will be filled with longing for you when they pray for you. God has given you grace that is better than anything.

Observation: Paul was writing to encourage the believers in the city of Corinth to give to help those going through a drought in Jerusalem. The people had earlier promised to give; Paul would be traveling through their city and would take their gifts with him to Jerusalem.

Application: The best benefit of giving to help people in need is that God receives praise. I give because God has blest me. He has blest me with finances to be able to give but mostly He has blest me with His great grace. Giving is acknowledging that He is the source of my finances. A second benefit of giving is that those being helped pray for me with sincerity. Paul knew the value of having people praying for him.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for allowing me to participate in your kingdom by giving. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 8: 1Samuel 3-5; Psalm 77; 2Corinthians 8

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 77:10 Then I thought, “Here is what I will make my appeal to. For many years the Most High God showed how powerful his right hand is.”
11 LORD, I will remember what you did. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will spend time thinking about everything you have done. I will consider all of your mighty acts.

Observation: The Psalmist was going through an extended tough time. He had trouble sleeping. It seemed like the trial would never end. It was like God had forgotten him. In verse 10 he makes a conscious choice. He was not going to let his thoughts run his life. He would choose to think about the great things God had done.

Application: I am not a mind that has a person. I am a person who has a mind. I can choose that on which I will allow my mind to meditate. I choose to think on the good things God has done for me.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the many things you have done for me. You have proved yourself faithful. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 7: 1Samuel 1-2; Psalm 66; 2Corinthians 7

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 66:1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you, they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.

Observation: Verse 2 has my attention. We are told to proclaim the brilliance and worthiness and power of God’s Name. We are to proclaim his praise in a worthy way. When we glorify God, we draw attention to his character traits. People can hear and see in our lives how wonderful and holy is our God!

Application: It bothers me when the words “holy” and “awesome” are used to describe things other than God. In my thinking, those words are reserved for God, and God alone. With my limited vocabulary I am not able to think of any words that would properly replace them. If I call a great sports play “awesome” what would I call the love of God that sent his son to die for my sins?

Prayer: Lord, you are holy and your deeds are awesome! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 6: Ruth 3-4; Psalm 64, 65; 2Corinthians 6

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 65:1 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who hear prayer, to you all men will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.

Observation: Like the orchestra waits in anticipation for the conductor to step to the podium and raise his baton, praise waits for God. It is ready; it is practiced; it is awaiting the arrival of the conductor and on queue it begins!

Application: I am looking forward to joining with my brothers and sisters this morning to worship the Lord! I am anticipating hearing their voices and seeing their hands raised in praise and worship. My heart will rejoice as I see my King honored.

Prayer: Lord, praise awaits you, Oh God, this morning in Generations Church. I will be privileged to be a part! Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 5: Ruth 1-2; Psalm 53, 61; 2Corinthians 5

Scripture: Ruth (NIV) 2:23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Observation: Ruth, the great grandmother of King David, would become the wife of Boaz, a wealthy land owner with servants who worked his fields. My attention was drawn to her beginnings. She was a foreigner who was diligent in her work. She identified with the servants. The foreman reported to Boaz how “steadily” she worked. Boaz’s attention was drawn to Ruth’s selfless service to her mother-in-law and her attitude toward work.

Application: My “church” ministry started about age 10; I remember helping my mom clean the church. Later I remember times when I cleaned it by myself. I have learned that in God’s Kingdom, even though the job may change, we start out as servants and we continue as servants. I have learned that there are great benefits to being a servant! (Just read the short book of Ruth!) Being a servant is not something we outgrow. In their letters Paul (in Philippians and Titus), James, Peter, and Jude identified themselves as servants. Of course, it all depends on who I am serving!

Prayer: Lord, it is my privilege to be YOUR servant. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 4: Judges 19-21; 2Corinthians 4

Scripture: Judges (KJV) 3:12 …did evil in the sight of the Lord… (same phrase also in 4:1; 6:1; 10:6 and 13:1)
Judges (KJV) 17:6 …did that which was right in their own eyes… (same phrase also in the closing verse of Judges: 21:25)

Observation: As sin increased in Israel, they went from doing evil in God’s sight to doing as they pleased. It was a progression of evil. In the beginning of the book of Judges, they were aware that God was displeased, but they went ahead in sin. At the end of the book, no thought was given to what God might think about their actions.

Application: I believe we can see the same progression in America. In so many ways we have moved away from an awareness that God was displeased with the sins we were willing to tolerate. We have progressed to where the thought that something might be sinful does not even cross our mind. The freedom for an individual to do whatever pleases them is more important than thinking that God might have something to say about our choices.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, time and time again you brought judgment for sin on Israel; it would be foolish to think that you do not care about sinning America. In judging Israel you were preserving them as the future cradle nation for the birth of Jesus. Do you have future plans for our nation? Whatever your plans for our nation, I know you have plans for your people living here. Awaken our hearts, fill us with your Holy Spirit and set us on fire with a holy love for Jesus. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 3: Judges 17-18; Psalm 89; 2Corinthians 3

Scripture: Psalm (NIV) 89:6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD and your faithfulness surrounds you.

Observation: Greater than God’s awesome creative power is his faithfulness. God’s faithfulness surrounds him. His faithfulness is noticeable from every angle. His power and might, his wisdom and knowledge are held in place by his faithfulness. His character is both loving and holy, and He is true to his character.

Application: I can trust God to be faithful in expressing his love AND his holiness. He is faithful to keep his word. He wants me to grow to be faithful in the same way.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love to sing: “Great is Thy Faithfulness! Great is Thy Faithfulness!” May I give you reason to sing about my faithfulness. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 2: Judges 13-16; 2Corinthians 2

Scripture: 2Corinthians (MSSG) 2:10 So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don’t think I’m carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I’m joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us.
11 After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we are not oblivious to his sly ways!

Observation: Satan loves it when people do not forgive. He works to keep hurts and offences fresh in our minds. He wants us to remember things from the past like they happened yesterday. He wants us to still feel the pain. Walls are set up that keep us apart. We do not want to be close because we remember the hurt.

Application: Forgiveness does not come from forgetting, but from choosing. It is a choice to forgive. Then I must remember the offence as forgiven. Every time the devil reminds me of the offense, I remind him that Jesus has forgiven my offences against him and I have forgiven the offence against me. Before long, the devil does not want me to think about the offense because he will have to listen to what Jesus has done for me! Forgiving is a choice; forgetting is a process.

Prayer: Lord, you are The Great Forgiver! You not only want me to forgive, but you help me to do so. Thank you for your healing presence. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

Pastor Leon’s SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer

April 1: Judges 11-12; Psalm 50; 2Corinthians 1

Scripture: 2Corinthians (NIV) 1:11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Observation: Paul was asking his readers to pray for him. He believed that their prayers would be a help in his ministry. He believed that God would hear and answer their prayers. He believed that many would give thanks for his ministry aided by their prayers.

Application: I see two applications. The first is for me to be appreciative for the people who pray for me and my ministries. The second is for me to be faithful in praying for other people and their ministries. What I sow in praying for other families and ministries, I can expect to reap as others pray for my family and ministry.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who pray for me. Bless them. Holy Spirit lead me in praying for others. Amen

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!