Take 5: When People Leave, Part 1
One of the most painful experiences in ministry is when people leave your church. Here are a few reasons why they do.
Take 5 is a series of videos for pastors & teachers of God’s Word. Mike Minter, teaching pastor and founder of Reston Bible Church, shares practical wisdom from over 40 years of ministry experience.
For more Take 5 videos, visit vimeo.com/channels/minter or subscribe via RSS here: blog.restonbible.org/category/resources/take-5/feed/
To suggest a topic for Pastor Mike to cover, send an email to questions@restonbible.org.
Live Album Night | February 8
Together, next Sunday night, we will be recording our second live worship album.
The response to our first project, No Other Name, has been such an amazing blessing. We’ve heard so many great stories of how the music from that album has impacted you and given you a new avenue to worship God, along with familiar voices and arrangements, Mondays through Saturdays. Our desire continues to be putting solid, Biblical, singable, and passionate songs into your hands and hearts to extend our Sunday morning experience beyond the walls of our church. We are setting out once again to make a record because we deeply and truly love Jesus and his church – and his church needs great songs to sing for their great God.
We’ll be playing a selection of songs that really represent the journey, needs, and experiences of our church – songs that have become the anthems that resonate in our hearts for days after singing them together on Sunday mornings.
Our hope is to accurately portray our church on this record. When people visit RBC from other churches, they always tell me that we are “a singing church.” We sing a lot. And we sing loud. And we need your voices to help us paint that picture on this album.
Join us next Sunday, February 8.
Doors will open at 7:00 and we’ll get underway promptly at 7:30. CD pre-orders for the new album will be available for $10, and you’ll be able to pick those up a couple weeks before the digital release this Spring. We’ll also have copies of No Other Name that night on sale for $5.
Thanks, and we hope to see you all there!
– – –
Our last live album, No Other Name is available from the digital music vendors below, as well as on Spotify, eMusic, Rhapsody, Rdio, and iHeartRadio.
TRAIL GUIDE: God’s Family & Mine
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.
EXTREME MAKEOVER, Unit 2, Section 1, Lesson 1: God’s Family & Mine
God uses many metaphors (parallels) in the Bible to describe how He relates to us, how He relates to the church, and how we relate to one another. One of these is the metaphor of “God’s family.” In this picture, God is the parent and we the children. Jesus is our brother, and we the church, saved by grace through faith, are the adopted brothers and sisters in this family (Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 3:26, John 1:12-13). How does the Father want us to love our family? To answer this question we must first look to how He has loved us and also how the Son, our adopted brother, has loved us. Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” It is at the source of divine love that we must begin and end our quest.
As you prepare your heart and mind for this week’s lesson, take a fresh look at some of these verses and make mental note of the ways in which our family life parallels our life in God’s family. What can we learn about how we relate to God and what insights might we gain about how God views us as His children, through the lens of the human family? We as individuals were created in the image of God. We as families reflect that likeness to an even greater degree.
“Everyone should provide for his own relatives. Most of all, everyone should take care of his own family. If he doesn’t, he has left the faith. He is worse than someone who doesn’t believe.” – 2 Timothy 5:8
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Jn 19:25-27 | Eph.1:5| Mal 4:5-6
Galatians 3:26 | John 1:12-13
1 Tim 5:4-8 | Eph.6:1-4
From the Field: Bolivia
The update below is from Paul & Faith, RBC-supported missionaries serving with New Tribes Missions. Paul serves at NTM’s Training Center and helps oversee their U.S.-based ministries. One of his primary responsibilities is developing a leadership team to cast a vision for mobilizing believers for the task of tribal evangelism and church planting.
– – –
A “new” happening in Bolivia brings an urgent prayer request! On Tuesday, January 27th through Thursday the 29th a group of around 30 Ayoré church leaders and their wives will be meeting together in Bolivia. They come from 10 Ayoré communities where Ayoré Churches exist. Paul’s brother and his wife will be meeting at the Missionary Training Center of Etnos, where they live and minister, for an Ayoré Leaders Conference of Spiritual Refreshment and Teaching. The facilities are available because the students are gone for “summer break” these days. Please pray for them as they will be doing the teaching for the 15 hours of meetings and deeply feel the need for Spirit-breathed inspiration, sensitivity and discernment for both the meeting time together and the hours fellowshipping together those three days. Please pray as well for good weather as it is rainy season and for open receptive hearts for all God has for all of us.
A
bout 72 years ago, five young missionary men gave their lives in the effort of contacting this very primitive, nomadic indigenous people group — NOW, here they are — all these years later gathering together in the name of Christ! Was it worth it all? We LOVED the ten years God allowed us to invest in this work together with YOU who prayed for and supported this work. Our prayer is that YOUR hearts will be as encouraged as our hearts are as we pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in these precious lives. God is at work! Check out this really neat video (below) – It’s an interview with some of our current students here at the Missionary Training Center. You are now investing in the training of these young people who will be scattering around the world to spread the gospel!
Thank you so VERY much for your financial support and for your faithful, faithful prayers for us! We are so very humbled by God’s amazing grace and faithfulness in our lives! We pray God’s ABUNDANT grace and blessings for you in this “new” year and that you will enjoy sweet fellowship with Him!
– Paul & Faith, New Tribes Mission
Sunday Rewind | 1.25.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Only King Forever (1 Timothy 1:17) – Only King Forever by Elevation Worship
Rock of Ages (Deuteronomy 32:3-4) – Death of Death by Charlie Hall
Unending Love (Romans 8:38-39) – God is Able by Hillsong
Forever Reign (Lamentations 5:19) – A Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong
TEACHING: Sexuality & the Gospel, Part 2
As we address the issues of sexuality and marriage, love does not necessarily mean agreement nor does disagreement necessarily mean hate. But in obedience, God reveals the deeper things of Himself.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful or difficult to understand from this sermon?
- How have you seen or experienced hate speech in regards to the issue of sexuality and marriage?
- Read Matthew 19:1-6. What do these verses tell us about human nature? What does this section tell us about God?
- How does Jesus define marriage in this section? How is marriage a modeling of the gospel?
- How would you answer the following question? “How can you expect a person with strong sexual desires to be denied the privilege and the right to express those desires?”
- How does the theme of obedience play into the topic of sexuality and marriage?
- For the follower of Christ, should obedience trump desire or desire trump obedience? Defend your answer with scripture.
- How does the gospel speak to our struggles with sexuality? How does the gospel call us to view others’ struggles with sexuality, even their struggles are very different from our own?
- Do you feel your views on sexuality are balanced with grace and truth? Where do you need to grow in this balance? Spend some time in prayer for this.
Take 5 Will Return on January 30
Pastor Mike will be back with a new Take 5 on Friday, January 30. In the meantime, look through our archive and catch up on any videos you might have missed. Or watch them again!
Take 5 is a series of videos for pastors & teachers of God’s Word. Mike Minter, teaching pastor and founder of Reston Bible Church, shares practical wisdom from over 40 years of ministry experience.
For more Take 5 videos, visit vimeo.com/channels/minter or subscribe via RSS here: blog.restonbible.org/category/resources/take-5/feed/
To suggest a topic for Pastor Mike to cover, send an email to questions@restonbible.org.
Corey Mattison Visitation & Memorial
VISITATION: Visitation with the family of Corey Mattison will be held on Wednesday, January 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Reston Bible Church. The visitation will be held regardless of weather conditions.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: The memorial service will be held at RBC on Thursday, January 22, starting at 1:00 p.m. Click here for directions to Reston Bible Church
***PLEASE NOTE THAT NO CAMERAS OR RECORDING DEVICES ARE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING FOR THE VISITATION OR MEMORIAL SERVICE, AND NO MEDIA INTERVIEWS MAY BE CONDUCTED ON CHURCH PROPERTY.***
FROM THE FAMILY: Corey was thankful each day for the blessings the Lord provided for him. He found joy in everything. On any given day you could find him fervently serving others without a hint of desiring anything in return. His greatest days were spent with his wife and 5 children regardless of what they were doing. Corey laid down his life every day for his bride and his children, a beautiful reflection of his love relationship with Jesus Christ. Corey died the way that he lived, sacrificing his very life to save his family.
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Financial contributions made to www.gofundme.com/kdjh1o will go to support his wife Denise and the five children.
Please remain in prayer for Denise, her children, and the many others affected by this tragedy. In addition to memorial contributions (link above), we will post updates here should other specific needs for the family arise.
Take 5: Caring for the Pastor’s Kid, Part 5
Your child is not primarily “the pastor’s kid” – they are *your* child. Make sure they know that, and love them like crazy.
Take 5 is a series of videos for pastors & teachers of God’s Word. Mike Minter, teaching pastor and founder of Reston Bible Church, shares practical wisdom from over 40 years of ministry experience.
For more Take 5 videos, visit vimeo.com/channels/minter or subscribe via RSS here: blog.restonbible.org/category/resources/take-5/feed/
To suggest a topic for Pastor Mike to cover, send an email to questions@restonbible.org.
Courageous Mamas
by Liz Rainey
A few years ago, I heard Lauren Smith speak at a Mom’s Connection about her family’s journey in raising a son with special needs. A picture that she painted stuck in my head as she referred to the surprise that comes in learning your child has some delays. It went something like this: During pregnancy it’s like you are going to live in Italy, so you learn the language and everyone around you is talking about living in Italy as well. One day you find out that you’re not going to live in Italy, but Switzerland. It’s not bad, it’s just different from what you were expecting and your life will look very different from everyone else.
This image hit me like a ton of bricks! I could certainly relate to everything that she was saying about living in Switzerland! I approached her afterwards and was over the moon to learn that she wanted to be a support to other mothers that have kids with special needs. I had only been around moms whose kids were typical and honestly would go home feeling down and overwhelmed as they talked and I was living such a different experience. I knew I had a lot to learn differently about being a mom.
Liz Rainey lives in Sterling with her husband, Evan and son, Jayden (4). She loves to enjoy the beach, learn about nutrition, and spend time with her loved ones!
Soon after, Lauren founded Courageous Mamas for those with special needs children. It was a chance for women to meet together and share their experiences and receive support one evening a month. In attending the meetings, it felt like someone had thrown a lifeline. At the time, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed that my son, Jayden, would have to attend preschool away from me to receive therapy. He was only 2 years old at the time and I was beside myself! It was such a support to hear from other mothers who had been through preschool and beyond college with their special needs children. I have had so many questions answered and have learned so much. I have cried and just sat back in total amazement at what God does in these families! Thank you to everyone that has shared, been a support, and offered their life lessons.
The experience has opened my eyes to a whole new world of people that God has created, and I am joined in Switzerland by others in the church family. All this to say, that Courageous Mamas has been a huge blessing!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COURAGEOUS MAMAS, VISIT RESTONBIBLE.ORG/COURAGEOUSMAMAS.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MOMS CONNECTION, CHECK OUT RESTONBIBLE.ORG/MOMSCONNECTION.
TO LEARN ABOUT COURAGE QUEST, THE SPECIAL NEEDS INITIATIVE IN RBC’S CHILDEN’S MINISTRY, CLICK HERE.
Take 5: Caring for the Pastor’s Kid, Part 4
Help your children behave so they glorify God, not you or your church.
Take 5 is a series of videos for pastors & teachers of God’s Word. Mike Minter, teaching pastor and founder of Reston Bible Church, shares practical wisdom from over 40 years of ministry experience.
For more Take 5 videos, visit vimeo.com/channels/minter or subscribe via RSS here: blog.restonbible.org/category/resources/take-5/feed/
To suggest a topic for Pastor Mike to cover, send an email to questions@restonbible.org.