Introducing RBC Cares
The Deacons are launching a new initiative called “RBC Cares,” whose goal is to connect those who desire to share their gifts (material or services), with the needy in our congregation, who are under the care of the Deacons.
RBC Cares will assist the Deacons in meeting the needs of RBC families, while tapping into the talents of the congregation.
The first step is to create a central repository of donors, which enables the Deacons to match needs with gifts. To do this we need your help. First, we need to know who is willing to help (free of charge) and how you’re gifted.
Here are a few examples of ways to serve:
- Opening your home to a displaced widow/family
- Offering legal advice
- Offering tax advice or financial guidance
- Offering real estate advice
- Assisting with job searches
- Providing child care
- Doing home repair
- Giving rides to church
Here’s how it works:
- Let us know you’re willing to serve by registering at the link below (donors will be kept anonymous).
- Tell us how you would like to serve.
- If a need arises within your area of giftedness, we will communicate the need and if you’re willing and able, you can elect to serve. If not, we will keep you on the list for the next opportunity within your area. There’s no time commitment or obligation.
- You can serve as little or as much as you prefer, as needs arise within your area of giftedness.
Family Quest: The Hope – Who is God?
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20
“Before there was anything, before time or space or physical matter, there was God…One who is far beyond our ability to fully comprehend or describe. Through His story, we find that God is Spirit without a beginning or an end. He is complete within Himself, lacking in nothing. He is all knowing and all wise. He is perfect in every way. He is not limited by anything.” – The HOPE, Chapter 1
The first week of our study presented evidence that the Bible is the most trustworthy reference point in all the world for understanding reality. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself, and it reveals truth about God in two ways. One way is by demonstration: recording God’s action and interaction with the world and humankind. Another way is by declaration: making direct statements or claims about the nature and character of God.
As you prepare to lead the children this week, consider the following Bible verses that support the excerpt from The HOPE quoted above.
Before There Was Anything, There Was God (Colossians 1:16-17)
God Is Beyond Our Ability to Fully Comprehend (Psalm 145:3, Romans 11:33)
God Is Spirit (John 4:24)
God Is Eternal – He Has No Beginning or End (Psalm 90:2, 1 Timothy 1:17)
God Is Complete within Himself, Lacking in Nothing (Acts 17:24-25)
God Is All Knowing and All Wise (Psalm 147:5, 1 Chron. 28:9, Isa. 40:28)
God is holy (perfect, other than) (1 Samuel 2:2)
BIG IDEA: God is.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO (START AT :46)
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Romans 1:20-21, Psalm 139
1 John 3:20, Isaiah 46:9-10
Psalm 147:4-5, 1 John 4:8
Acts 17:25, Revelation 1:4
Romans 11:33, Romans 16:27
SECTION VERSES:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” -Genesis 1:31
LESSON VERSE:
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20
PRAYER:
Pray that God would give you a desire to read His Word and that his Spirit would help you understand.
DISCUSSION STARTERS:
- What did you learn in Quest this week?
- Who is God?
- What is he like?
LIVE IT OUT!
- Read some more of John’s gospel together.
- ]Write “God is…” on a piece of paper and make a list of His attributes together for the refrigerator.
– – –
ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader. In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.
Family Quest: Introduction to The Hope
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. -Psalm 119:105
It’s the Universal Question – Is there a purpose …for the world and for me? The HOPE video begins with these words…
“Throughout time people have considered the world in which we live; the complexity and beauty of nature, the mystery of life and death, the depth of human joy and pain …and they have wondered, ‘How did it all come to be? Is this world the result of chance…or design? Is there something, or someone, behind it all? And if there is such a being, then what is He like? Does He have a purpose for this world? Does He have a purpose for me in this world? Does He have a purpose for me beyond this world?”
Jeremiah 29:13 reads: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
This is the heart of Quest. Some of our kids may be asking questions about the existence of God, others may just be wanting to know Him more. In both cases He promises to be found when we search wholeheartedly for Him.
It begins with you and me. As we dive in to this study, be prepared to let God show you who He is, and to discover new things about God and yourself. Determine that you will “search for Him with your whole heart,” and then lead the children to do the same.
BIG IDEA: The Bible is God’s Word. We can trust it.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO
SECTION VERSES:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” -Genesis 1:31
LESSON VERSE:
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105
PRAYER:
Pray that God would give you a desire to read His Word and that His Spirit would help you understand.
DISCUSSION STARTERS:
What did you learn in Quest this week?
What is the Bible?
Why can we trust the Bible?
If people wrote the Bible, how did God write the Bible?
LIVE IT OUT!
Start a Bible reading plan together. It can be just a verse or two a day. The gospel of John is a great place to start!
– – –
ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader. In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.
New Women’s Prayer Group
I’d like to make you aware of a new ministry opportunity for the women of RBC. Oswald Chambers said:
“When a man is born from above the life of the Son of God is born in Him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible’s idea of prayer is that we may get to know God himself.”
Tuesday mornings, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. a Women’s Prayer Group will meet in the Jr. High room in the Youth Building. All women of the RBC community are invited to join together to seek God in prayer for our church, nation, neighborhoods and families. Even if you can only come for a part of the time we encourage you to join us!
If you have any questions, please contact me.
-Marsha Mathews, Director of Women’s Ministry
Sunday Rewind | 9.13.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Endless Light (Psalm 113:3-4) – Cornerstone by Hillsong
Keeper of My Heart (Psalm 121:1-2) – Majestic by Kari Jobe
Be Thou My Vision (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) – Cathedral by Heartsong
Great Things (Worth It All) (Galatians 6:14) –Wake Up the Wonder by Elevation Worship
Be Lifted High (John 3:30) –Nothing is Wasted by Elevation Worship
TEACHING: James – Living Out Our Faith, Part 1
The world’s currency is pleasure. God’s currency is pain. In His grace, God leverages pain for our good and His glory.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful or difficult to understand from this sermon?
- Why do you think God allows pain and suffering?
- Read and discuss James 1:1-8. What do these verses tell us about man? About God? What do we learn about the nature of trials, pain and wisdom?
- What are your thoughts on this quote from C.S. Lewis? “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
- In what ways does God leverage pain to…
- …remove impurities in our lives?
- …drive us to His Word?
- …make us long for glory?
- …help us see the brevity of life?
- …drive us to grace?
- …build eternal relationships?
- Read and discuss 2 Corinthians 4:8-18. Why does the author call our troubles “light” and “momentary” (v.17)? Why is it difficult to live in light of this truth? How does affliction prepare us for an “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (v.17)?
- What are you going through now that you need to “count as joy” (James 1:2), even though the situation itself is not joyful?
- Spend some time praying together for the things you’ve discussed.
Family Quest: Parent Introduction
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” -2 Timothy 3:16-17
Dear Quest Parents,
Welcome to a new year at Quest! This year our “Big Idea” is the biggest of them all. God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, and our eternal Father, so desires us to know Him that He purposed that a book be written and assembled in order to reveal Himself, his plans, his mighty acts, and his will to us. Understanding this Book, how it was written, how it is organized, and what it says about God, about us, and about God’s ultimate plan for redeeming His people through his Son, Jesus Christ, is of utmost importance for our students on their Quest.
Would you depart for a trip without knowing your destination, without consulting a map, without using a GPS, or without taking someone along who knows the way? Would you ignore signs that read “Wrong Way – Do not enter – Danger!” Only a very unwise person would. We need to help teach the children that this Christian life is a journey with an eternal destination and that along the way there are dangers, detours, and temptations to navigate. To make the most of this Quest we must know well our map, the Bible. The curriculum we are about to begin is based on the film The Hope, and each week we will watch a short portion of the film that we will use as the starting point for our teaching that day.
Each Sunday afternoon you will receive an email from us with a parent devotional and some discussion starters. If you’d like to watch the segment of the film we used that day you can access that at, www.thehopeproject.com.
You are your child’s first and most important spiritual leader. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.
Blessings,
Mike Meyers & the RBC Children’s Ministry Team
Sunday Rewind | 9.6.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Closer (Psalm 89:14-15) – Glorious Ruins by Hillsong Worship
Glorious (Psalm 111:2-3) – Glorious by Paul Baloche
Unending Love (Romans 8:38-39) – God is Able by Hillsong Worship
In Christ Alone (Galatians 2:20) – Let The Future Begin by Kristian Stanfill (Passion)
Always (Psalm 121:1-2) – Here For You by Kristian Stanfill (Passion)
TEACHING: The Patriarchs, Part 8: Jacob’s Blessing
As Jacob discovered, even seemingly small sins can lead us far away from the Lord. Yet in His mercy, He will “wrestle” with us to break our self-reliance and point us back to His glory.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- If you could create your own tagline or summary of this message, what would it be?
- How do “small” sins send our walk with the Lord so far off course? Why will the consequences of sin always be greater than the momentary pleasure?
- Read Genesis 32:22-32. Who is the “man” that Jacob is wrestling with all night? If the man was powerful enough to be able to wound Jacob’s hip simply by touching it, why was Jacob allowed to overcome him?
- What does it mean for us to “wrestle” with God?
- Are there areas in your life where you are trying to scheme your way to your own will, rather than pray for God to bring about His will? What skill or gift or talent do you find yourself relying on instead of God’s strength? Where are you seeking your own glory instead of His?
- Can you think of a time in your life where it seemed as though God was placing an obstacle in your path to break you of your self-confidence?
- How has your view of the Patriarchs changed as a result of this series? What are some of the main lessons you’ve taken from the lives of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Sunday Rewind | 8.30.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Unstoppable God (Luke 1:37) – Wake up the Wonder by Elevation Worship
How Great Thou Art (Psalm 145:3) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Charlie Hall (Passion)
Forever Reign (Lamentations 5:19) – A Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong
Jesus Paid It All (Colossians 2:13-14) – North Point Live by Kristian Stanfill
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Galatians 6:14) – Original Arrangement
TEACHING: The Patriarchs, Part 7: Jacob’s Wives
Deception creates obstruction. And we are ourselves deceived when we seek after what we think will fulfill our hearts’ longings, rather than Christ alone.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one piece of this message that especially challenged or encouraged you?
- What does it mean that deception creates obstacles? How does deception create physical or circumstantial obstructions? How does it obstruct our walk with the Lord?
- How did Jacob’s deception create obstacles? How did Laban’s?
- Where do you see yourself in this story?
- Read Genesis 29:16-35. How does Leah represent the longings of our hearts? How does Rachel represent the ways we try to fill those longings?
- Is there a hole in your heart that you are trying to fill with something other than Jesus Christ? What are you striving after right now that you believe would fulfill you, if you achieved it?
- How is Jesus the “true Rachel”? Spend some time praying that He would help you desire Him more than anything else, and praising Him as the One worthy of our desire.
Sunday Rewind | 8.23.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Your Love Never Fails (Romans 8:28) – Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture
Blessed Be Your Name (Job 1:21) – Blessed Be Your Name: The Songs of Matt Redman, Vol. 1
Lord of All (Psalm 97:5-6) – Attention by Kristian Stanfill
It is Well (Isaiah 66:12) – Public Domain (additional chorus by Hillsong Chapel)
I Stand Amazed (2 Corinthians 8:9) – North Point Live by Candi Shelton (North Point)
TEACHING: The Patriarchs, Part 6: Jacob’s Personality
Present decisions determine future consequences. Living for the present will destroy your future.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful or difficult to understand from this sermon?
- How would you describe your personality? Have you ever taken a personality test? Was it accurate? Do you find your personality changed through the years? How so?
- Read and discuss Genesis 25:19-34. Who are the main characters in this account? What do you observe about them in this text? What are their main personality traits based on this account?
- How did Esau despise his birthright? What modern parallels of this do we see? What personal parallels do you see?
- How did Jacob “force the hand of God”? Have you ever done this? What happened?
- How do present passions blur the future? What decisions currently lie before you where you need to trust the goodness and sovereignty of God?
- How does the gospel enable God’s morality to flow through our personality? How does the gospel direct our morality?
- Are you involved in anything right now that you know could destroy your future? Spend some time praying with your small group and discussing an accountability plan for those situations.
Sunday Rewind | 8.16.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Only King Forever (1 Timothy 1:17) – Only King Forever by Elevation Worship
Christ is Enough (2 Cor. 12:9) – Glorious Ruins by Hillsong Live
Come Thou Fount (Psalm 16:11) – Original Arrangement
Give Me Faith (Psalm 73:25-26) – Nothing Is Wasted byElevation Worship
God is Able (Eph. 3:20-21) – God is Able by Hillsong Live
TEACHING: The Thief & The Answer
The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy – but Jesus has come that we might have life.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful or difficult to understand from this sermon?
- How would you describe “character”? Who is someone you know who exemplifies good character?
- Read and discuss John 8:39-47, John 10:7-11 and Ephesians 6:10-18. What does this tell us about man? What does it tell us about God?
- What do you observe about spiritual warfare and the nature of the world around us from the verses above? What does it tell us about our enemy and his tactics?
- How have you personally experienced spiritual warfare?
- Have you ever had a “bottom of the 9th” moment or season of life?
- Are there lies about yourself, others or God that you know you know are lies, yet still tend to struggle with? How does scripture address those lies? How does the gospel provide clarity, contrast and context to those lies?
- Spend some time in prayer for anything that came up during this discussion . Give thanks to God that He is good, even when we can’t see it or are believing lies about Him. Pray that He would work in you to replace lies with His great truths.