By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-9

Before Gordon Bethune became the CEO of Continental Airlines in 1994 he said it was the worst of the worst. Of the nation’s 10 biggest air carriers, Continental was worst in on-time arrivals, worst in baggage handling, and worst in customer satisfaction. With a stock price near $3 per share, a history of bankruptcies, a string of ten different CEOs, and 10 consecutive years of losses, employees were removing the airline’s insignias from their uniforms and refusing to admit where they worked.  (From Worst to First, Gordon Bethune. 1998). To investors and future leaders the place was a badland, a wilderness of unhappy people with no leadership, until the board of directors commissioned Gordon Bethune, a savvy, solution-oriented chief. From there Continental’s story looked up.  Way up. [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: II Peter 3:3-13; 17-18

“Arise!” Will that be the loud command of Jesus when the trumpet call of God announces His return in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:16)? The response to that command will either be “Wow” or it will be “Woe.” For those who have rejected Him it will be “woe!” For those who have received Him it will be “wow!” In II Peter 4:3 Peter tells us “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.”

“Above all” means it is a priority matter for us to understand that the presence of scoffers denying Jesus’ return and persons living ungodly lives are signs that we are in the last days.  Well, we must be in the last days for scoffers are everywhere — even in the pulpits and the pews.  [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: II Peter 2:1-3; Jude 16-25

An atheist is a person who denies the existence of deity. A practical atheist is a person who says God is, but lives as if God isn’t. A believer is a person who is committed to God in a personal relationship which determines the spiritual and moral direction of his life. In II Peter 1:19 Peter mentioned “… the prophetic message as something completely reliable …” and advised “… you will do well to pay attention to it.” A person who believes in God should also believe God and really pay attention to the revealed will and purposes of God. The Bible is 66 books that Christians believe to be the record of God’s interaction with man revealing God’s character, His will, His work, and His provisions. Paul wrote to Timothy: “Watch your life and your doctrine closely, persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Not everyone follows this advice.   [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: II Peter 1:12-21

Had Simon Barjona not taken a chance on Jesus, he would have missed a purposeful life and a grand eternity. Simon did cast his life with Jesus and became Simon Peter who first became a follower, then a disciple, and finally an apostle of Jesus. During three short years of being with Him, he became firmly convinced that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 KJV). After Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, Peter preached Christ saying: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 KJV). He wrote II Peter anticipating his death.  He wrote his last letter to those who had “obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of Jesus Christ” (II Peter 1:1 KJV) telling them how to build on their faith seven virtues that would make them useful and fruitful to God and to men. [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-11

Only God is indispensable, but every person has practical usefulness. I have never forgotten a sign at the second floor landing of a church. The sign said: “God don’t make no junk.” In the worst of us and the best of us there is potential for usefulness. I Peter was written to God’s elect who were exiles scattered in five provinces, but II Peter is more general in that it was written: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received faith as precious as ours.” At least one of the reasons Peter wrote this letter was to help gentile Christians understand the nature of the spiritual change they had experienced so they could grow to maximum usefulness to God and others. II Peter 1:3-4 sets forth God’s expectation for Christians to live godly lives through His empowerment; II Peter 1:5-7 shares how effort on the part of believers to use God’s provisions will help them to progress in practical godliness; II Peter 1:8-9 acknowledges the results of God’s provisions and believers’ efforts producing a useful life; and II Peter 1:10-11 reinforces practical godliness as a lifelong journey with blessed results. Let’s examine these four emphases. [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: I Peter 5:1-11

Christians are prone to say “God has promised that victory is ours,” without remembering that there are still battles to be fought.  The world, our flesh, and the devil daily present challenges to faith in God and one must be alert to perceive those challenges. The title of this lesson is “Alert Living.” Peter has already reminded his readers in I Peter 4:7: “… be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” To be alert one must not only be wide awake, but must be aware of what is happening with the intention of being prepared to act. There are several areas of responsibility and relationships that need attention if Christians are to practice alert living. [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: I Peter 4:12-19

How can one expect life to be fair in a fallen world? The best team does not always win. The one who works the hardest does not always get the promotion. Those who live morally, ethically, and spiritually often are ridiculed because of the quality of their lives. The best person who ever lived died young, condemned and crucified by those He came to save. Life really is not fair. [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: I Peter 4:1-11

When confronted with danger, both people and animals must choose flight or fight. Peter recognized there was potential for significant persecution of believers scattered in the five provinces mentioned in I Peter 1:1.  He warned: “… since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves … ” (I Peter 4:1). No, He was not advocating that they prepare for physical battle, but he did want to help them be equipped to live under persecution and to glorify God in the process. Peter did not leave them hanging, but shared how they could be equipped to live in times of spiritual warfare.  [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: I Peter 3:13-22

Dawson Trotman, the founder of the evangelistic organization, The Navigators, said: “Soul winners are not soul winners because of what they know, but Who they know, and how much they want others to know Him.”  [Read more…]

By Hoyt Wilson
Pastor, Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay

Focal Passage: I Peter 3:1-12

We have names for the ways we are connected with other people. Father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, boss, and many other terms express our relationships. We live connected to others.  Each connection we have with others brings with it a responsibility to learn how to live in that relationship. I Peter 3:1-8 shares vital guidance for the primary family relationship of husband and wife.  [Read more…]