Pastor Bob Fox
John 8:32; Romans 12:11

It is absolutely undeniable that giant steps toward spiritual maturity are in me through the Holy Spirit. I must cultivate two things in me to enable them to actually occur.

1. I must be a truth person (John 8:32).
• I will relentlessly confront my thoughts and actions in light of the lofty standard of Jesus Christ.
• I will believe God loves me as I am, but also that He is unwilling to have me stay there.
• I will escape where I’ve been or blame me!
2. I must be motivated (Rom. 12:11).
• I must view low motivation in spiritual things as the sin and rebel in me.
• I must continually supply what feeds the Spirit’s flame in me.
• I will force the Lord’s agenda on my dreams, schedule, relationships, and finances.

In 2010 I must create more spiritual resource than I consume . . .

1. I must help form the core rather than load it.
2. I must live by pattern rather than impulse.
3. I must build relational equity rather than spend it.

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Pastor Bob Fox
Acts 1:4-8

God’s on a mission. It is immense! It is to reclaim His creation. Even grander is His vision is to do it through reclaimed people like us.

1. God’s vision for each of us is that we be witnesses of Christ—
• Living proof of who He is.
• Those who act in behalf of Him.
• Those who speak for Him.

SO . . . We are a family empowered to bring tens of thousands all over the world to belief and maturity in Christ.

2. We become missional people when . . .
• This cause begins to rise above all others in our minds.
• None of our work is complete until this objective is served.
• We trust Him enough to live life’s moments His way.
3. Our vision for 2010 is personal—for each of us to take giant steps forward in terms of acting and speaking for Him in life’s myriad of diverse moments.

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A few excerpts from Pastor Bob’s personal notes on the first chapter of Colossians:

Click here to download Pastor Bob’s notes on Colossians 1.

This is a letter written by Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome in or around AD 60. He wrote it out of concern that the faith of those in Colossae was being eroded by false doctrine. Specifically, Apostolic teaching was being co-mingled with the religious and philosophical thinking of the region and with Judaism. The result was that the doctrine of Christ was being compromised. Paul wanted to bring clarity to this situation and anchor the faith of the Colossians in a right understanding of the person of Christ and His work that the gospel proclaimed. This understanding would help order their lives.

1:5—“Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.”
Hope is the great motivator. Where there is hope, there is a dynamic atmosphere. Where there is no hope there is stagnancy and where there is stagnancy there is soon both atrophy and entropy. Paul names hope as that which had inspired the faith and love in the Colossians spoken of in verse four.

1:15—“And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
He makes two important statements about Jesus here that will be followed in the ensuing verses by a number more. He states first that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, which is somewhat of an oxymoron. In this case the invisible God chose to make Himself visible, becoming a man. As such He was fully Divine and fully human and named Jesus. And so for a period of time there was the experience of seeing God occurring on earth.

Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 1:28-29

Two things happen in healthy Churches no matter what era or culture they are in.

1. Proclamation—an ongoing, Christ-centered conversation that:
• Admonishes—We challenge each other up to faith where we are just behaving instinctively.
• Teaches—We provide each other with information and models for Spirit-filled living.
• Is wise—We speak with precise words that address root issues, in a precise tone, at precisely the right time.
• Is offered to everyone.
• Is purposeful, inspiring maturity.
2. Toil—many giving it all, for Him to multiply, to gain credibility, relational equity, and opportunity to affect life change.
• We embrace a struggle, enabled by His power, for minds and hearts. It is a prayerful struggle for right words, receptive hearts, and life change.
• Our efforts focus on the objectives He is empowering us to achieve, rather than our own.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.

Pastor Carlyle Naylor

Tina and I went to the Fiesta Bowl. We were in the midst of the wild fans when we met Tina’s cousin and her husband.  Tina and I met at Boise State, and her cousin and her husband met at Texas Christian, so we wanted a picture.

I asked a woman to take the picture and she agreed—until she saw Tina’s cousins in TCU purple.  She politely, respectfully, and certainly refused to take the picture. She could not even consider being a part of anything that was not a part of building up Boise State. She took BSU football that SERIOUSLY!

What if I was like that with God. What if we were like that with God? What if we were that devoted to Him—to knowing Him, to living with him and for Him.

People involved in Missional community are developing that kind of devotion to God. Missional community is made up of people who are deepening in their devotion to Yahweh and His word. That kind of devotion is the focus of our communion tonight.

There was this devoted man in the Old Testament.

• He was devoted to finding out the answer to that age-old question—what is the meaning of life
• He had many RESOURCES:  money, intelligence, people to help him, even God’s blessing.
• He was HONEST—reverent before God, but also questioning—not careless or gratuitous questioning; but respectful and purposeful questioning.
• He was REAL—relevant before man, but also cutting – not leaving anything out—even considering unorthodox and sinful pursuits as answers to this question of meaning
• He was REMINISCENT—reviewing things that seemed to matter once, but didn’t matter anymore
• He was RESPONSIBLE—wondering about his spiritual and physical legacy he was leaving to his children and their children.
• He was FUTURISTIC—fearless before both man and God—wondering about the after-life—if it even existed.

When it was all said and done, he came to a conclusion. We find the conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13:

The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

This is a cool and succinct verse. The last part of the verse that does not translate well to English—the word DUTY is added to help us make more sense of it. This can be important to know because it emphasizes the meat in the middle of the verse.

When all was heard the conclusion is to do two things—ONLY two that we can be devoted to. Those two things bring wholeness, completeness and even perfectness (as that word is used at times in the Bible): Fear God and Obey His commandments.

When we fear God, we can do that same thing—put Him on the shelf.  If we understand “fear” better, God won’t have to stay there.

• Fear can keep our perspective healthy and fear can keep us from accessing and relating to God
• Fear has a few synonyms from how it is used in other places in the Bible that can help us:
  • Revere—elevating or placing Him high in our esteem—There is no One higher
  • Respect—being sensitive to and considerate of His place and role—We submit to Him
  • Agreement that He is sovereign—We can trust Him
  • Acknowledgment that we fit into His scheme of things—This is His Story

That’s all we have to do—BE SERIOUSLY Devoted to God.

Commandments—this word’s root in constitute—or the things that God is made of. God’s commandments are part of God—his essence, His nature, His character. Knowing them is knowing Him.

We are to KEEP his commandments:

• Seeking—more of what needs to be present
• Sense of Diligence—expecting to hear from God
• Sense of regularity—doing it often
• Guardianship—of what is already present
• Sense of innateness—cting Godly become more and more instinctive.
• Sense of normalcy—acting, or being Godly becomes our norm and our reputation

So after all is said and done: Fear God & Keep His commandments. In those is the WHOLE of you!

Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 1:24-27

1. Our Creator makes His presence felt in the world today through the Church.
2. Our Creator’s work today is the church, churches, and their work of utilizing immature people to bring people to faith and to maturity.
3. The Church is an extension of His very being. It’s health and strength He entrusts to us as our life’s work. It deserves from us whatever He deserves.
4. His unfinished work requires my suffering, just as His finished work required His.
5. Though tough, the significance of this work brings joy (plus, I’m working with Him!).
6. This requires my body as it did His. Its not enough to affirm and cheer!
7. We have an individualized stewardship with regard to the Church, which means discovery, privilege, accountability and reward.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.

Pastor Bob Fox
Colossians 1:21-23

The gift God offers to humanity is to be rejoined to Him. Through that gift a new way of living becomes accessible to us, for which there is great reward.

1. We’re offered this gift because we’re fallen, not because we’re upright.
• Our actions prove our fallenness.
• Justifying ourselves and incriminating God is the essence of our fallenness.
2. This gift was purchased for you by Christ’s sacrificial death. It was not free to Him.
3. The gift assures you of a new standing that is unalterable, which in turn blesses you with a new potential seized through two exercises.
• Setting and maintaining a course of trust instead of a more sensory one (2 Cor 4:16-18).
• Turning to Him for hope when life feels hopeless.

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Get Pastor Bob’s personal notes on Colossians.

Pastor Bob Fox
Christmas Eve Service 2009

A family candlelight service celebrating the birth of Jesus, and the hope He brings to all.

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