Blog Posts by Jason Goetz

A Note from Dr. Tim Kimmel


We just can’t wait to have Dr. Tim Kimmel at our RBC Marriage Conference next month! Here is a note from Dr. Kimmel that tells you a little more about the time we’ll spend together.

Don’t forget to register before Christmas to save an extra $10!

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Hi RBC Couples!

I’m so excited to be with you for the Grace Filled Marriage event at the end of January! I can’t wait to tell you about the secret ingredient that can radically improve your marriage. I’ll teach you how to super-charge your communication, conflict resolution, spiritual connection and sex life with the pivotal quality that so many loving marriages lack…GRACE!

This Christmas, give your spouse and family a gift that will echo long into the future!  Investing in your marriage is a gift to your spouse and yourself, but don’t forget that having a lasting, healthy marriage is the ultimate gift to your kids and grandkids. So much of their future success, happiness, relationships and spiritual journey rises or falls on the legacy your marriage leaves for them.  A grace-filled marriage will change yourworld and theirs for good!

Hope to see you there!

Tim

Click here to register or learn more

RBC Marriage Conference – Grace-Filled Marriage with Dr. Tim Kimmel

IMG_9794If you are married or engaged, we have a special event you don’t want to miss!

Maybe you’d like to turn your good marriage into a great marriage. Maybe you’re in a struggling marriage and need help and hope. Maybe you’re about to begin the journey of marriage and desire to set out in the right direction.

If so, come and learn how to make love work, by adding the secret-sauce that many marriages are missingGRACE! Bestselling author and speaker, Dr. Tim Kimmel, will be here for Reston Bible Church’s annual Marriage Conference on January 22 and 23 to host Grace Filled Marriage…Making Love that Lasts!

Packed full of fun and insight, Dr. Kimmel will encourage us to see our spouses through fresh eyes, ignite our intimacy, fight fair and bring the best out of each other.  Don’t miss this opportunity to improve your marriage as we begin the new year!

Bridget and I would like to invite you to join us at this great upcoming marriage event! We’d also like to encourage you to take the opportunity to stay overnight at the beautiful Hilton Hilton DoubleTree at our discounted rate. You can choose to stay in-between the Friday night and Saturday morning conference sessions or for the entire weekend. It’s a great opportunity to disconnect and relax without the travel. We hope to see you there!

The cost of the Marriage Conference is $45 per couple. Register here by Christmas Day to receive a $10 discount. Hotel accommodations for one or both nights can be made through this Conference Registration as well.

Picture Imperfect: Follow-Up 3

PictureImperfect - slide - titleThis past Sunday, during a message entitled Picture Imperfect, we looked at how God in His sovereignty created the covenant of marriage to be an imperfect earthly picture of a perfect heavenly truth – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  At the conclusion of the message, I shared my dream of growing old together with with my bride, Bridget.  I so much desire to be a couple that is blessed with 30, 40, 50 years of marriage together!

Bridget and I celebrated 16 years of marriage in June.  I still have a lot to learn about being married, about Bridget, and about loving my bride.  But one thing that the Lord has taught me about marriage is that we can’t do it alone.  The letter to the Hebrew church instructs us to, “…encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Heb 3:13)

It’s so easy for me to listen to world around me, to develop a negative picture about my marriage, to start questioning Bridget’s motives – to become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  That’s why I need people by my side daily to speak encouraging truth into my life and my marriage.  I stand convinced that the only way Bridget & I will be that older couple – holding hands, dancing, and enjoying life together into the later years – is by walking alongside other brothers and sisters in Christ that share that dream!

So how about you?  Do you share that dream for your marriage?  If so, I invite you to be a part of that adventure with other married couples that share our dream.  As we strive to make RBC a beacon for marriages in Northern Virginia, there are numerous ways to connect with other couples and begin forming community.  You can join us this Sunday morning at HomeFront, the RBC couples community, as we begin our next series (details below) or sign up for the upcoming Marriage Booster on Friday, September 18th.

We hope to see you there!!

HF - Not What I Ordered - titleHomeFront August Series: THAT’S NOT WHAT I ORDERED!
We’ve all rolled away from the drive-thru window and figured out that we didn’t get what we wanted. Either the food in the bag doesn’t quite look like the picture or they gave us something wrong entirely. Is that the way we feel about our marriage sometimes?  The guy I was dating used to… When we were engaged, I loved how she… This doesn’t look like the picture at all. Or worse – did God mess up my marriage order all together? Join us at HomeFront in August as we discuss That’s Not What I Ordered!

Picture Imperfect: Follow-Up 2

PictureImperfect - slide - title

In last Sunday’s message, Picture Imperfect, we looked at how God in His sovereignty created the covenant of marriage to be an imperfect earthly picture of a perfect heavenly truth – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As part of this message, we discussed the call of a wife to submit to her husband (Eph 5:22) and the call of a husband to love his wife (Eph 5:25).

Both of these calls present a challenge because women are generally not submission-oriented and men are generally not love-oriented.  Not only can we observe this in our marriages and the marriages around us, but we know it’s true because of the curses placed on man and woman after the Fall (Gen 3:16-19).  Only with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit are we able submit as the church submits to Christ (Eph 5:24) and love as Christ loved the church (Eph 5:25).

So what does it look like for a wife to submit to her husband?  And what does it look like for a husband to love his wife?  Though there isn’t a step-by-step guide for either, here are some ideas from me and my wife Bridget to consider for your marriage.

Wives: Submit (from Bridget)
Pray for your heart and a desire to submit to your husband
Pray for your husband – asking God to lead him
Give your opinion and trust that it was heard when a decision is made
Verbally affirm his decisions and be willing to be on board (even when you may not agree)
Never say “I told you so”

Husbands: Love (from Jason)
Pray for your heart and a desire to love your wife
Pray for your wife – asking God to lead her
Become a student of your wife – seeking to understand how she desires for you to show her love
Observe your surroundings and find ways to serve your wife (For example – plan all the details for a date night)
Seek your wife’s wisdom on decisions and be willing to choose her preference (even when it isn’t your first choice)

Remember the wisdom of the elderly couple that spoke to Bridget and I?  The overarching principle is to put your spouse first, which echoes what Paul tells the church in Phillipi, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Phil 2:3)  Who better to count more significant than yourself than your spouse?

Picture Imperfect: Follow-Up 1

 

PictureImperfect - slide - title

This past Sunday, during a message entitled Picture Imperfect, we looked at how God in His sovereignty created the covenant of marriage to be an imperfect earthly picture of a perfect heavenly truth – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As part of this message, we defined marriage to be the union between one man and one woman – as instituted by God in Genesis 2:24 and repeated throughout both the New and Old Testaments.

This stands in stark contrast to what we’ve been seeing in the news recently.  In June, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.  This decision will have far-reaching effects throughout our nation and the world.

Some of you have questions as to what exactly this decision means, how it impacts the nation, and how it impacts the church.  Here is the best message I’ve heard on the topic thus far.  It was given by Pastor Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Church in Leesburg: America, Will You Stand?

As far as how the church should respond, I thought that our own Pastor Mike Minter did an excellent job articulating how a Follower of Christ should respond to issues of broken sexuality in a 3-part series he did at the beginning of this year.  Here is a link to that series, Sexuality & the Gospel.

HomeFront Resources: Bible Reading Plans

biblereadingplans

On behalf of HomeFront, a family life community here at RBC, here are several resources to help you get off on the right foot this year with your plans for reading the Bible.  There are so many different options to help you read just certain sections, certain themes, or the whole Bible this year. There is no excuse–make the Bible a part of your daily routine!

Online Reading Plans

If you’re wanting to go paperless, a Bible reading app is an excellent way to do it.  Here are several options.

  • YouVersion: With tens of millions of users, the YouVersion app offers lots of great reading plans from nearly all major publishers. Check out the complete list of reading plans! You can either use these on your computer, or carry it with you on any smartphone.
  • Glo Bible: Many laptop/tablet users prefer the interface and tools built into Glo. Note that there is a nominal charge if you want to use all of the features. Several reading plans are offered: you can learn more here.
  • Journeys from American Bible Society: These are shorter, topic-driven reading plans that can really help you get into the habit. You can even make your own journey and share it with friends, your Shepherd Group, or others.
  • 23 Bible Reading Plans: Excellent roundup in this blog post.

 

Printed Reading Plans

Print these out or keep them handy on your computer. These offer a guided plan for reading through part (or all) of the Bible this year. It’s a great idea to go through a plan with your kids if they are old enough–never too early to get them into the habit!

For you HomeFront attendees, don’t forget to discuss this week’s HomeFront homework: Discuss how you are going to make the Lord your #1 Priority in 2015. Don’t attend HomeFront? We meet at 9am Sundays in the Youth Building – drop by anytime!

We hope these resources are a blessing to you. Make 2015 the year that you really grow in your daily Bible study!
– Brad Hill on behalf of The HomeFront Team

Summer Review: Dad & Kids Campout 2013

Earlier this summer, a whole bunch of RBC dads loaded up their kids and camping gear for an unforgettable weekend in the woods. The Dad & Kids Campout was held at Pohick Bay Regional Park, and it was a great weekend of bonfires, sleeping under the stars, and just plain fun! As Phil Robertson would say, everybody was “happy, happy, happy” with group games, campfire songs, a talent show, s’mores roast, and Sunday morning teaching & worship. The 2013 Dad & Kids Campout was truly a special opportunity to disconnect from daily distractions and create life-long memories with our kids while getting to know other dads at RBC.

Special thanks to Brad Hill for putting together the recap video above!

The 5-for-5 Challenge

During services last weekend, we heard about Grand Theft Joy. We discovered that as followers of Christ, we make decisions every day to either protect our joy or to allow the joy that God intends for us to be taken away. We allow our joy to be taken from us by “Joy Thieves” when we don’t protect the precious gift that God has given us through Jesus. All Joy Thieves seem normal – even healthy – until they aren’t kept in check. But there is one Joy Thief that is particularly relevant to us in Northern Virginia – busyness. If we aren’t careful, busyness steals joyfulness by keeping us from spending time with Jesus – the only source of true joy.

As a follow-up to that message, we have issued the 5-for-5 Challenge. We encourage you to spend five more minutes with Jesus than you do right now for the next five days (Monday through Friday). If you aren’t sure what that looks like or needed a fresh look at God, we’ve posted five short devotionals based on this week’s message.

Monday: Read Luke 10:38-42 carefully. Notice that Jesus does not contrast Martha’s busyness with Mary’s laziness. The text says that Mary “left” serving with Martha. Mary chose to leave her own serving (busyness) for something better. Read Psalm 43:4. God is your joy and, as you go to Him, He is your exceeding joy. That joy then spills over (remember the blocks illustration from the weekend teaching?) in worship and your intimacy deepens from “O God” to “my God.” Ask the Lord to help you bring these truths into your day.

Tuesday: Read Psalm 126:3. This is the heart of the Gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ – not what you do for God, but what He has done for you. Martha was doing for Jesus while Mary was learning who Jesus was and what His coming (birth, life, death, and resurrection) did for her. As you focus on what He has done for you, joy begins to fill you. Ask the Lord to take you deeper in your understanding of all that He has done for you.

Wednesday: Read Psalm 84:1-2. Spending time each day in the loveliness and beauty of who God is, His dwelling place, creates a deeper longing and yearning for Him. So much so that this yearning is likened to fainting from desire. The heart and flesh, in other words – all of us, sing with joy to Him. It becomes a joy to leave our busyness and sit in His presence like Mary. Ask the Lord to draw you to Himself in deeper ways as you experience joy in His presence.

Thursday: Read Psalm 27:4. David is seeking time with the Lord, just as Mary did. It is the “one thing” most important to Him, just as Jesus commended Mary for her “one thing.” David tells the Lord he wants to dwell in His presence for all the days of his life, to see His beauty. A follower of Christ has eternal life that begins the moment they trust Christ here on earth and continues without end into eternity. Ask the Lord to not only increase your joy, but to reveal His beauty as you spend increasing time with Him here on earth and prepare for eternity with Him.

Friday: Read Psalm 16:11. The passage promises fullness of joy in God’s presence forever. Not just joy, and not even exceeding joy -but fullness of joy now and forever. God is your joy, and as you spend time in His presence now, joy grows to fullness. You can’t have true lasting joy without being in God’s presence. Ask the Lord for an increasing desire for Him, for the joy of who He is. That desire will be fulfilled in eternity as you receive the fullness of complete joy in His presence forever.