Pastor Preston Hancock
Titus 2:11-15

The thought of joining God’s work of redeeming the world can seem either intimidating or optional unless we understand:

1. God’s plan for redeeming a broken world is an invitation to experience His undeserved favor which He has made known, visibly and concretely (vs. 11; Genesis 12: 1-4; John 1:14). It is made visible in us as it:
• trains us so we lead lives that mirror His character in the present. (vs. 12)
• directs our hopes for completion towards Christ’s future return when He will be proved right. (vs. 13)
2. Jesus Christ gave Himself to create a special people who would belong to Him and display God’s grace. This group of people:
• are released from the consequences of a defiant, “go-it-alone” attitude.
• are forgiven, free from shame, ready for action!
• are marked by an enthusiasm for doing what is ethical and admirable. (vs.14)

We participate in God’s Mission when we:

3. embrace God’s work in and among us – leaning on and learning from Him.
4. give ourselves – doing good works AND speaking with conviction about the life transformation Christ brings.
5. live so others know this mission matters, holding one another accountable. (vs. 15)

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Pastor Preston Hancock
Genesis 2:1-3

God can rest because:

1. He cuts through complexity and finishes what He starts. (vs. 1)
2. His rest does not come from “doing nothing,” but from doing what needs to bedone when it should be done. (vs. 2; Colossians 1:17; Hebrew 1:3)

God wants us to rest in Him because:

3. We are empowered to succeed, be productive, and see things through to completion. (vs. 3)
4. It grows us spiritually. (vs. 3)
• We are reminded that He is our God, and He provides all we need for life and inner peace. (Genesis 1; Ezekiel 20:20; Deuteronomy 5: 15; Hebrews 4:9-10)

How we can find rest:

5. Let the goal, physical rest and spiritual renewal, determine the form. (Mark 2:27; Colossians 2:16-17)
• Understand your work and be diligent.
• Avoid the “do nothing” approach to rest.
• Know what experiences God uses to affirm truth to you.
• Be realistic about the time you need.

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Pastor Bob Fox
Exodus 2:23-25

God is good in that He:

1. Hears intelligently when we cry for help.
2. Remembers—He acts as He has promised to act with respect to our needs.
3. Sees—He perceives our reality and moves to meet our precise need.
4. Knows—He intimately embraces us and guards our welfare.

Because you’re “just human” you cannot trust His goodness. Here’s four things that will help you when you get anxious, get disappointed, or when your world is rocked.

1. Question yourself—what am I missing that God has said about this?
2. Train—do things that regularly remind you of His goodness, like Communion, thanksgiving, personal reflection.
3. Think faith—force yourself to consider what good He might be seeking to bring about.
4. Embrace Him—make turning to Him your first response.

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Pastor Bob Fox
Psalm 102:25-28

Here are three things God has revealed about our planet and us.

1. It was planned, designed, and built by Him, for Him (Colossians 1:15-16).
• He was powerful enough to establish the laws that govern it all.
• He was wise enough to create what would endure for an allotted time period.
• The new things we learn about it are ancient history to Him.
2. God is eternal. This creation is not.
• We should expect to see irreversible damage from use to the planet.
• We should expect to foresee limits to the earth’s ability to sustain us.
• We should see the earth as a temporary set for a scripted drama with a definitive last act that is golden!
• Stewarding well demands embracing this plan. For example, conservation and clean up are legitimate ambitions. So is development. Preservation is untenable.
3. The prime thing to steward is The Legacy—My role in the family God is gathering to Himself for an eternal creation.

God, being bigger than Creation, has made us more significant than the universe!

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Pastor Preston Hancock
Psalm 75

As a follower of God, it is important to know how we are to live in a world that is hostile to God and His ways.

What we should know about God, the Judge-Ruler

1. God deserves praise for who He is, for being ready and willing to help, and for everything He has done for us. (vs. 1)
2. God will bring justice at a time He has determined. He is the perfect judge, ruling without bias or favoritism. (vs. 2)
3. Until He delivers His final judgment, God Himself directly constrains those who go against Him and His ways, and limits the damage they inflict on the world. (vs.3-5)
4. His jurisdiction is universal – without borders. We cannot “work around” His rulings – God Himself humbles or advances people. (vs. 6-7)
5. His judgment against those who set their course against Him is severe. One day, His judgment will be final. (vs. 8 )

Our response

6. We make a personal commitment to praise God, remembering and retelling the story of how He brought deliverance. (vs. 9)
7. We mimic God as the perfect judge when we address thoughts, attitudes or behaviors which go against God and affirm what we see that is for Him.
• We imitate how He judges at this time – patiently and humbly.
• We put our confidence in Him to make things right. (vs. 10)

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Pastor Preston Hancock
Psalm 115:1-15

Since man first sinned, part of being human is the drive to justify Who, or what, we will serve in any given moment. In a reversal, Yahweh has created a people for Himself based on His steadfast love and faithfulness. (Genesis 15; 2 Corinthians 1:20)

Our Perspective: Yahweh’s glory is what matters most (vs. 1-3)

1. In an uncertain world, we remember He is not fickle or random, but is steady and firm in His love and faithfulness to His people. (vs. 1)
2. We remind ourselves He is not confined to earthly limitations or human manipulation. He is in charge. (vs. 2-3)

A Warning: We Become What We Worship (vs. 4-8)

3. An idol is something in creation which we increasingly use as a substitute for God. (vs. 4) We create idols when we:
• re-shape God “in our image,” embracing His traits we like and denying traits we are unsure of.
• depend on guidance and insight from anything but Yahweh (vs. 5 & 7)
• grow overly-attached to a good thing until it comes between us and Yahweh, making Him seem irrelevant and unreasonable
4. Idols promise much, deliver little, and invite us to invest more until they overpower us!

Our Challenge: Entrust Ourselves to Yahweh (vs. 9-15)

5. We must regularly ask ourselves, “Am I putting my confidence in Yahweh or something else?” We do this regardless of our Christian pedigree or ministry experience. (vs. 9-11)
6. We put our hopes in the faithfulness, the promises, and the power of Yahweh. (vs. 12-15)

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Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 4:2-18

There are two things all of us do that can become powerful catalysts for change in the lives of others. God wants to teach us to do them differently.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.

Pastor Carlyle Naylor
Luke 9:51-62

The Good Ole Days… What does Jesus say about them from Luke 9:51-62?

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Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 3:22-4:1

Some evils God decisively judges. Most He tolerates until the appointed day. Many He expects us to govern by principles He has made known. Slavery is one of the latter.

The Transformed Employee—Christian employees should be stone reliable when it comes to:

1. Follow-through—producing exactly what was instructed, as directed.
2. Authenticity—not a part of the “rumbling underground.”
3. Work ethic—Producing quality results in a timely way.
4. Motivation—delivering more than the material benefits explain.

The Transformed Employers—Christian employers should be a delight to work for because they:

1. Treat employees righteously, not according to what they can get by with.
2. Recognize the value of employees and treat them equitably.
3. Feel accountable themselves.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.

Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 3:18-21

When statements like these in Scripture are thoroughly followed by all concerned, life in the home looks like this:

1. A husband comes to know God’s desire/plan, and through love inspires all in that direction. This is the essence of headship.
2. When a wife says “I do” she buys into her husband’s call. She dedicates her abilities to sharpen and implement it. This is the essence of submission.
3. Children learn God blesses obedience, and learn to obey. Teenagers launch, waiver, and prove they have embraced this.
4. By God’s design, a husband’s greatest asset in discerning God’s plan is his wife. A wise man listens.
5. A husband/ father masters love—sacrificing to draw his family along towards God’s desire . A wife/mother masters respect—sacrificing to add momentum to the journey.
6. A loving man proves safe to submit to. A submissive wife proves safe to love. They thrive together.
7. Children are properly pushed. But they are not goaded so as to become passionless (goaded means always riding them!)
8. A submissive wife is vulnerable. When taken advantage of her mind will tell her submission is not fitting.
9. A man who dies to himself is vulnerable. When taken advantage of he will get bitter.
10. Teenagers look for their parent’s intent, and build trust. They understand obedience may not “work,” but will be blessed.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.