The vast majority of the people in our society are inundated with work and other obsessions that have replaced a true relationship with God. The enemy of Christ-centered living isn’t opposition, persecution, threatened poverty or so on. It’s busyness, fatigue, over-commitment, saying yes to too much, and running too fast. In this message, we are encouraged to eliminate whatever is robbing us of living the life Jesus is calling us to live.

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It’s clear from the early passages of Genesis that God created us as relational beings. But it takes an investment of time to develop and become “relationally intelligent.” It takes overcoming the fear of rejection. It takes deciding to take relational initiative with others. If we consciously make these decisions, we can grow our relational IQ.

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We’re all born with innate abilities. With education and training those abilities can become strengths.  When we make a decision to follow Christ we are given spiritual gifts to do good works and advance his kingdom.

This Sunday, using real life examples of people who serve at Blue Oaks, we’ll better understand what the Bible has to say about spiritual gifts. We’ll learn about the joy that is possible when we open ourselves to serve and love others the way that God designed us to do.  

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Those with a resilient spirit can face traumatic situations with a fierce sense of resolve. It’s because there are core themes that run through them.

Resilient people take responsibility for the hope they have.

Resilient people see failure as indispensable to learning.

Resilient people make reality checks relative to their hope.

Resilient people have mastered the art of dealing with negative people.

God has given us all a spirit of resiliency. It’s up to us to develop it.

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What is the correct position for a Christian to take on gun control?

What is the correct position for a Christian to take on immigration reform?

What is the role, Biblically speaking, that the government ought to take in caring for the poor?

What is the theologically correct amount of taxes people ought to pay?

What about capital punishment?

What about equal rights?

What about global warming?

What is the Christian response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria?

Underneath all these questions is the question we focus on in this message: How should Christians relate to government?

In this message we look, as clearly as we can, at the Biblical teaching about how Christians should relate to government.

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The most common command in the Bible is, “Do not fear,” because when we live with fear we’re not living by faith. We can either live our lives based on fear of based on faith. We can trust that God’s goodness and power are sufficient for our lives, and live with a sense of confidence in him; or, we can live in a mindset of fear — “I’m on my own. Unless I’m real careful and cautious something real bad might happen to me.”

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Guest pastor Ray Johnston kicks off our Hope Quotient series by teaching on the first of seven factors: Recharge Your Batteries.

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Guest teacher Steve Salomon shares from Hebrews.

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In Revelation 14, John writes about how those who have died in Christ will experience blessedness. For believers, an indescribable joy is what we have to look forward to.

Unfortunately, for those who have chosen to separate themselves from God, John describes a different outcome. They will know God’s anger, which is nothing like human anger.

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In Revelation 12-13 John writes about the battle between God and evil. This is a battle that has been going on since the beginning. We must recognize this, because as Christians, this spiritual battle goes on for our lives and hearts. The evil one uses deception, intimidation and accusation to gain a foothold into our lives. We must pray and struggle and labor and suffer, because one day, liberation will come.

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