Fall 2014 AWANA Registration Now Open!
From Marci Kinter, Volunteer Director of RBC’s T&T AWANA Club:
AWANA Clubs are gearing up once again. As a parent, you may be asking – what is AWANA? AWANA stands for Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed. RBC has had an active AWANA program for well over 25 years. Children from 4 years of age through 6th grade are welcome and encouraged to register and attend our club meetings. The club focuses on Bible memorization, establishing the need and desire to read the Bible every day, and growing Christian relationships and fellowship. We meet every Sunday night, starting September 14th, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. We ask that parents work with their children between club meetings to help them memorize the scripture verses as well as complete the activities in their books.
Why you should register and encourage your child to become an AWANA clubber? Consider these facts:
- 92% of AWANA alumni still regularly attend church
- AWANA alumni are 3.6% more likely to read their Bible several times a week
- 70% of alumni said they witnessed to their friends at least once a month.
I have been working with the RBC program for over 20 years. My children have gone through the program and are now adults living away from home. I am confident that the lessons they learned through the AWANA program are actively working in their lives. Let us walk alongside you this year!
Questions? Stop by our booth at the Ministry Fair (coming up on August 17!) We would love to hear from you! You can also get more info on AWANA on the RBC AWANA webpage. If you’re ready to register your children, you can do so online here. And, if you would like to serve as a volunteer leader, you can get started here.
Hope to see you and your children on September 14th, our first club meeting of the year!
-Marci Kinter
Quest in the Fall
Would you consider being a Quest Trail Guide this Fall?
Are babies more your speed?
Quest for the King – Kids Camp 2014
Our epic adventure, with 220 children and 140 volunteers, over five days has come to an end …but it’s really only the beginning. This past week we hosted our 2014 Kids Camp where we focused on the King Jesus, each day unveiling a new clue to His identity and the key to entering His eternal Kingdom. The children learned that our King was foretold long ago by the Prophets, that He alone has power to rule and reign over nature, the spiritual world, sin, and death. We learned that He is a shepherd King who laid down His life for us, and that He defeated death and the grave by rising on the third day, and that by coming to Him in faith we enter His eternal Kingdom. Finally, we closed the week with the exciting news that Jesus the King is building His Kingdom through each of us in His Church.
We want to thank everyone who volunteered, who prayed, and who gave towards making this time a blessing to so many children. Thank you to everyone on the RBC staff who set aside significant amounts of their time to make this week extra special for the children. Having the privilege to see many young people come to Christ in faith, and others deepen their understanding of their faith, is a reward beyond what we could ask or imagine. Thank you!
– Mike Meyers, Children’s Ministry Director
Photo credit: A huge THANK YOU to Agung Fauzi of Seize the Day Photography for volunteering his time & talents to give us such excellent photos of this year’s Kids Camp!
Beyond the Book Drive
If you have ever wondered what might have happened to the books that were leftover from RBC’s book drive for Guilford Elementary last Spring, then you will love this story. Open Arms Worldwide (OAW) is a mission supported by Reston Bible Church that works in low income or otherwise at-risk neighborhoods in Brazil. Open Arms works to mobilize and equip local churches to reach and teach children who are in their community, but outside their church family. This year, Open Arms has started working in the U.S. as well, and their first project is right in our backyard. In partnership with Sterling Park Baptist Church, we have begun building a relationship with another Sterling Park elementary school, Sully Elementary.
At the beginning of the month, Sterling Park Baptist and Open Arms held a book drive with the goal of providing 2-3 books for every child at Sully to read over the summer. In the spirit of unity in the body of Christ, RBC gave the effort a huge head start by donating around 1,000 books that were left over from the Guilford drive last Spring. Your gifts have been multiplied and the body of Christ has been glorified! Win, win!
Read more about this story on the Open Arms website.
“I in them, and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” – Jesus in John 17:23
Last Week for Kids Camp Registration
We only have one more week of registration left for the 2014 RBC Kids Camp. Our theme this year, “THE KING – Quest for the Eternal Kingdom” will be epic, and your kids won’t want to miss it. You can register at www.restonbible.org/kidscamp. Camp runs from June 23-27.
We are still in need of about 40 more volunteers, so please consider spending this week, or part of it, with us and your child at Kids Camp. For those of you working during the day, this is your chance to volunteer! Camp will run Monday through Friday from 6:30-9:05 PM! Questions? Drop me an email.
Blessings,
Mike Meyers,
Director of Children’s Ministry
TRAIL GUIDE: Knowing Intimately & Experientially
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SOUL SHERPA, LESSON 4: The Holy Spirit is Our Guide
How many times have you heard something like this? “God first, others second, I’m third” or “God, country, family.” Maybe you’ve even said something similar or worn the t-shirt. I know I have. At first glance, it seems like a godly enough thing to say, and it sure feels good to think we have our priorities straight.
Unfortunately it is not at all what God’s Word teaches us. God’s place isn’t first in a list of other lower priorities. He is the center and essence of every priority. We need to make sure that our children are not subjected to this wrong thinking. Whenever love for God is mentioned in scripture, it is with all-encompassing phrases like, “with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” or “in all your ways acknowledge Him,” or “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” or “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” There is no sacred and secular for the Christian.
“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)
Now matter what we do, we are called to do it as a representation of Christ. What would Jesus be like as a schoolteacher, a lawyer, an IT professional, or a manager? What would Jesus be like as a parent, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, brother, or friend? In all our ways, in all our decisions, in all our activities, in all our roles and thoughts, acknowledge Him. This is not an acknowledging in the shallow English meaning either. The Hebrew word means to know intimately by experience. Search your heart this week. Are you knowing God intimately by experience in all your ways?
“So eat and drink and do everything else for the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
1 Peter 4:11
Mark 12:30
Ephesians 4:5-6
Colossians 1:16, 3:17
Psalm 34:8
TRAIL GUIDE: Lean Not On Your Own Understanding
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SOUL SHERPA, LESSON 2: The Holy Spirit is Our Guide
My mother is infamous for her sense of direction. Or should I say, lack thereof. She once followed a car for some distance out of her way because “they looked like they knew where they were going.” She has driven almost out of state before realizing she had taken a wrong turn. Mom was sure she was going in the right direction. She even thought she had recognized some landmarks. It took some time but Mom has learned to lean not on her own understanding when it comes to directions. Nowadays she makes sure she either rides with or follows someone who knows the right path.
How many times have you headed down a path that you were sure was right and wise only to find out that you were on a road to heartache? When we depend on our human discernment and worldly understanding they will fail us in the end. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
We can contrast two great men of scripture in this regard. Saul, the first anointed King over Israel, when pressed, did what he discerned to be the wise thing when Samuel was delayed and an attack seemed imminent. He took it upon himself to sacrifice to the Lord. It might seem to us, on the face of it, to be an intelligent move. Samuel hadn’t shown up on time, they were in great danger, and they needed God’s favor. But Saul had been told to wait. He did not inquire of the Lord and he did not trust the command he had been given by the man of God. He was leaning on his own understanding. By contrast his successor, King David, inquired of the Lord for almost every big decision he made, with the exception of a few that famously went badly for him. God has given us a trustworthy spiritual GPS system; his Word and his indwelling Holy Spirit, ever present to guide us. Inquire of the Lord and He will make your paths straight. He is our trustworthy teacher and guide. This is a promise of God.
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? – 1 Corinthians 1:20
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” -Traditional Hymn
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 14:12
1 Corinthians 1:20
1 Samuel 13
1 Samuel 23:4
TRAIL GUIDE: Spiritual GPS
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SOUL SHERPA, LESSON 1: The Holy Spirit is Our Guide
The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest (make known, show) the active presence of God in the world and especially in the church.
Isn’t GPS a great thing? It amazes me that a satellite high above the earth can see me, and when combined with digital mapping software, can tell me how to get from point A to B in the quickest way possible. It amazes me even more to consider that this system can see if there is heavy traffic or an accident along my route and re-direct me around it. If I take a wrong turn it quickly notifies me. “Rerouting.” But as amazing as this system is, it is only as good as its underlying data. How many times have you followed your GPS directions only to find out that its map data is incorrect and you are at a dead end or the address data is incomplete and you end up in a business park when you wanted to be at a friend’s house? Even when the data is good, it isn’t foolproof. An overcast day or poor cell coverage can knock your GPS out completely.
But there is a guidance system that is 100% trustworthy, 100% of the time. Its data is perfectly reliable. It works no matter how dark it gets because to it, “darkness is as light.” It is an integrated system that lights your path, turns your darkness to light, guides you on the best path possible, reroutes you when you make a wrong turn, and even provides roadside assistance when you break down along the highways of life. That is our triune God. God’s living Word, breathed out by the Father through the Son is its database. It is empowered by his Holy Spirit whose job it is to make known the active presence of God in the world and especially in his children by guiding us into all truth. Our students need to learn early that they can depend, with ALL their hearts, on their fail-safe guidance system.
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)
“Guide me in Your truth and teach me…” -Psalm 25:5a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Isaiah 42:16
John 8:12
Psalm 119:105
Psalm 23:1-3
TRAIL GUIDE: Imitate God
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SPOTTER, LESSON 3: God is Faithful to Forgive
“Be imitators of GOD, therefore, as dearly loved children” Ephesians 5:1 (emphasis added) The Bible makes plain that, when we are reborn in Christ, we are called to be “imitators of GOD,” that is, imitators of his communicable character attributes, those attributes GOD “shares” with his adopted children. We can know the character of our GOD because it is clearly revealed in scripture. Among his many qualities we find that God is loving, patient, kind, good, joyful, faithful, righteous, generous, courageous, creative, and, not least of all, forgiving. These are traits we should strive to imitate.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Forgiveness is sweet and grace is a great virtue when we are on the receiving end. It is something to rejoice over. But how things change when we are the “offended” party. Suddenly justice takes center stage and we begin to entertain thoughts about whether the offender “deserves” our forgiveness. We focus on our wounds and wallow in our injuries. We think that the kind of forgiveness Jesus offered his enemies on the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do,” is impossible for us to imitate. After all He is God. But this excuse falls apart when we look a few pages further on into the book of Acts and we see Stephen imitating his Lord in the face of a brutal death by stoning. “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Can we hope to attain to this level of forgiveness? I’ll let Jesus answer that one. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” With God’s indwelling Holy Spirit all things are possible.
As we close out this section on forgiveness, we should seek to help the children understand that on this side of heaven, we are striving to imitate Christ, knowing we will stumble and fall, trusting in his forgiveness when we do, and letting Him pick us up and urge us on to continue the climb He has called us to.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3-12-14
“Help me now to do the impossible:
Forgiveness.” -Matthew WestMEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Ephesians 4:32, 5:1
Matthew 6:8-14
Matthew 18: 21-35
Phil.3-12-14
TRAIL GUIDE: Paid In Full
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
SPOTTER, LESSON 3: God is Faithful to Forgive
Propitiation (Greek – hilasmos, meaning an offering to appease an offended party.)
How can a God who hates sin so much just let it go unpunished? When He looks at His creation and sees how scarred and polluted sin has made it, He is greatly offended. How can He not pour out his anger on the guilty? How can God let wrongdoers go free? It doesn’t seem fair. Unless, of course, I am the wrongdoer and then my math changes dramatically, and forgiveness seems a rather wonderful thing. But the questions are still valid. How is it just to leave sin unpunished?
The short answer is, it wouldn’t be just, if that is what God actually did. But sin has been punished. The sins of God’s people going all the way back to Adam accumulated and accumulated. All the while God in his great mercy withheld punishment, looking forward to a day when One would pay for it all and wipe out the debt once and for all for those who believed in his coming. “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” (Romans 3:25)
The best news is that, not only did Jesus receive the just wages of the sins of all who went before Him, He also made available that credit of righteousness to all who would believe and receive Him in faith in the future. He became our Passover Lamb. The Lamb was slain, that work is done. It is a historical fact that happened completely outside of us and was purely an act of God. The only question that matters now is have you, by faith, applied the blood of the Lamb to the doorposts of your life? Have your students?
“Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow”
(Elvina Hall, Jesus Paid It All)
“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” -Robery Lowry, Nothing But the Blood
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Romans 3
Psalm 86:5
Ephesians 1:7
Hebrews 10:12, 17