Sunday Rewind | 4.24.16
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Forever Reign (Lamentations 5:19) – A Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong Worship
Cornerstone (Psalm 18:2) – Cornerstone by Hillsong Worship
You’re Beautiful (Revelation 21:4) – Cannons by Phil Wickham
Revelation Song (Revelation 5:12) – Passion 2013 by Kari Jobe
TEACHING: From the Field – Missions Emphasis Sunday
In most cases, we do not post the messages from Missions Emphasis weekends. This is to protect those currently working in sensitive areas, or who may at some point move into countries that are closed to the gospel. If you are interested in learning more about how you can be involved in missions at RBC, fill out this online interest form.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful or difficult to understand from this Sunday?
- Read and discuss the Great Commission text from Matthew 28. What do you note about Jesus? What commands, encouragements or warnings are there for us to heed?
- How is missions related to worship? What Scriptures can you find that demonstrate this?
- What does it mean that God is a “sending God”? What Scriptures can you find that demonstrate this?
- How is a missionary mindset inherent in the gospel of Jesus?
- What are different ways one can be involved in the work of gospel missions? How would you rate your involvement in missions?
- How might you grow in your involvement in missions? Spend some time in prayer for this.
Sunday Rewind | 2.28.2016
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Glorious (Psalm 111:2-3) – Everything Glorious by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
Mighty to Save (Zephaniah 3:17) – Yahweh by Hillsong Chapel
Before the Throne (Romans 8:34) – Worship Initiative, vol. 3 by Shane and Shane
God Is Able (Ephesians 3:20-21) – God is Able by Hillsong Worship
TEACHING: 2016 Amazon Pastors’ Conference Report
Pastor Mike gives an update from the annual Jungle Pastors’ Conference on the Amazon.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- Do you have any missions experience? Share with your group.
- What is one way you have been impacted by someone else’s work for the gospel?
- What is one way you have impacted someone else for the gospel?
- What does it mean to “think eternally” and live with a “biblical perspective”? Do you find this difficult here in Northern VA? Why or why not?
- How would you describe your prayer life? How can you grow in this area?
- Do you find it difficult to trust God? Why or why not?
- What is something that has deeply tested your faith?
- In what ways does the church in North America tend to operate in our own “swim lanes”? Are there ways in which this is beneficial? Are there ways in which this is detrimental?
- Spend some time in prayer for the pastors bringing the gospel of Jesus to the thousands of tribes along the Amazon. Pray for opportunities to engage personally in missions through giving, praying and/or going. If your Shepherd Group hasn’t already, consider adopting an RBC missionary.
Sunday Rewind | 2.21.16
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Unstoppable God (Matthew 17:20) – Wake Up the Wonder by Elevation Worship
With Us (Psalm 46:10-11a) – God Is Able by Hillsong Worship
Be Thou My Vision (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) – Cathedral by Heartsong
How Deep The Father’s Love For Us (Galatians 6:14) – Love Displayed by Liberty Campus Band
TEACHING: From the Field – Love, Passion and Missions
The last days of Jesus point us to His priority for missions.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was something in this message that was new or surprising to you?
- What is something you are passionate about? Why? How are passion and love related?
- Read and discuss the account of Jesus’ last days in Luke 24. What do you note about Jesus from this account? How does what He says here point us to missions?
- Thinking through Luke 24, what are some priorities of Jesus you can identify? What other scriptures show us Jesus’ priorities?
- How can you respond to the priorities of Jesus with passion and love?
- “Jesus does not relate to us according to what we deserve, but according to what we need.” How does this statement relate to missions?
- How does the gospel compel and propel us to a missionary mindset? How do you need to grow in this area?
- Pray for opportunities to engage personally in missions through giving, praying and/or going. If your Shepherd Group hasn’t already, consider adopting an RBC missionary.
Haiti Update & Christmas Hope
Pastor Aaron and his family spent the month of October in Haiti working with Pastor Francois’ church and orphanage in Pignon. In this video, he gives a brief report from our sister church there.
If you would like more information on the family mission to Haiti during Spring Break 2016, visit www.restonbible.org/familymissionhaiti.
To support the Christmas Hope project, visit www.restonbible.org/christmashope.
Sunday Rewind | 11.8.2015
VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENTS
During Sunday worship services, we want to spend less time making announcements and more time worshiping. To help facilitate that, we’ll show a brief video announcement segment 4-5 minutes before each service begins. Grab an early seat just before your service begins so you can take advantage of these pre-service announcements. We’ll also post them here on the Sunday Rewind each week.
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
God Is Able (Ephesians 3:20-21) – God is Able by Hillsong Worship
Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) (Psalm 27:1) – Let The Future Begin by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
How Deep The Father’s Love For Us (Galatians 6:14) – Love Displayed by Liberty Campus Band
Take My Life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
TEACHING: From the Field – How’s My Vision?
We live in a world that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Do you see Christ as precious? God is a God of love, but He does not sit idly by and allow His love to take second place in our lives.
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?
- Read and discuss Haggai 1:2-11 and 1 Corinthians 16:19-20. What do these verses tell us about us? What do they tell us about God? What warnings or commands are there for us to heed and obey?
- Have you ever felt stagnate in your walk with the Lord? What was the cause? What can we do to avoid spiritual stagnation?
- What does it mean to have “spiritual vision”? How can we develop spiritual vision?
- How much of your time, talent and treasure does God have? How can you grow in the grace of giving in each of these areas?
- How much of your life is driven by impatience, distraction, or discomfort? Considering that eternity is only a heartbeat away, what areas of your life do you need to “rebuild the temple”?
- How do you think God wants to use you to make a difference in the world around you? How does the gospel of Jesus enable and propel us to do this?
- Discuss how your small group can help you “rebuild” and spend some time in prayer for this. Give thanks to God for the grace that covers our sin and drives us to impact the world around us for His glory. Pray that He would help you see the eternal value of Jesus and be driven by Him instead of by impatience, distraction or discomfort.
Bill Hurley Memorial Service
We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and sympathy from so many who knew and loved our dear friend and co-laborer, Bill Hurley. A memorial service to celebrate his life was held at Reston Bible Church on Tuesday, August 18 at 10:30am EDT.
For our extended missionary staff, friends and missions agencies here in the U.S. and around the globe who are not able to attend the service, we provided a live video stream of Bill’s memorial service on this page. We will archive that video here for those who were unable to attend.
In lieu of flowers, condolences to the family may be made in the form of donations to the Reston Bible Church Missions Fund (To give online, click here to go to our secure online giving page – Select “Missions Fund” in the Choose Designation dropdown menu). Letters of sympathy and encouragement to the family may be sent to:
The Hurley Family
c/o Reston Bible Church
45650 Oakbrook Court
Dulles, VA 20166
TRIBUTE TO WILLARD JEREMIAH HURLEY
Impact—yes, that’s the word, though many other words could be chosen to pay tribute to Bill. I think impact is most appropriate. Webster says it means to come into forcible contact with another object. Bill was the force, and those around him were the objects. Impact is usually accompanied by noise and commotion. But with Bill it was different. It was a quiet force with a penetrating edge. It was more surgical and came with carefully-measured truth. Be assured it was direct, and you never had to second-guess what Bill was getting at – after all, he had been a police officer for thirty years. The truth was often sprinkled with humor, but it was never ambiguous, and as the years unfolded, his words became truth mixed with ever-increasing grace.
I think we call that wisdom—yes, that’s the word, though many others could be chosen. Webster says it is the gathering of knowledge and insight. I think wisdom is the proper application of knowledge, which in turn has impact on the lives of those who receive it. Bill was a great dispenser of wisdom. Many of us inquired of Bill when difficult times would come or when confusion reigned. He was often the go-to guy when we needed clear thinking untainted with bias. Remember, Bill saw life through a black and white lens. He didn’t let political correctness get in his way. He let truth be his navigator, and grey was not his favorite color. You did the right thing even if it was hard.
I think we call that integrity—yes, that’s the word, though many others could be chosen. Webster says it means sound or incorruptible. I have often seen the word as encompassing the whole character of a person. This was Bill every step of the way. He was honest, humble, courageous, humorous and godly. He kept a clear conscience and always admitted when he was wrong. Bill’s integrity has helped landscape the lives of his great family and those he called his friends. You couldn’t be around him long before you realized he was a man of uncompromising character. He could hardly talk about the difficult times missionaries were going through without getting choked up. He was tough, but tender.
I think we call that compassion—yes that’s the word, though many others could be chosen. Compassion is to feel what others feel. It is the ability to step into their shoes. Bill did that better than anyone I know. He would drive long distances to surprise a young candidate going through their first day of missionary training. Why? Because he had compassion and wanted to encourage them to stay the course. For thirty-five years he lead our missions committee in the distribution of over forty million dollars to places many of us have never even heard of. Talk about leadership.
Leadership—yes that’s the word, though many others could be chosen. Leadership is that quality that encourages others to follow. Those of us that knew Bill wanted to follow him. He had a unique way of looking at life and could see what most of us were blinded to. I loved this man as all of us did. I will miss him dearly because he had such an impact on all of us, yes that’s the word… Impact.
Pastor Mike Minter
on behalf of
the Police Fraternity,
the body of Reston Bible Church,
& our Missionary Families
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…
– Philippians 3:20
Update on Bill Hurley
Dear RBC Family,
We have some very difficult news to share with you. As most of you likely know, Bill Hurley, our Missions Director here at RBC, unexpectedly disappeared about a month ago. It was discovered yesterday that Bill died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while apparently on his way back to Virginia. We have no idea what drove Bill to do this, and we don’t have any other details at this time.
Pastor Mike and Kay have been ministering to his wife, Cheryl, and the family. Many of you who love Bill and his family may wonder what you can do to help at this time. Here are some ideas of what you can do for now:
WEEP: Sorrow in itself is not sin. Though he was perfectly sinless, Jesus wept and felt sorrow and grief. Paul wrote in Romans 12:15 that we should “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Weeping and feeling the sorrow of such tragic events aligns our hearts with all who feel the sting of this loss. More importantly, our weeping should ultimately align us with the heart of God, who is the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
PRAY: Sorrow in this world is meant to push us into the arms of our Savior, and prayer is one of the greatest means we have of experiencing His embrace. Let our grief lead us to our great Comforter, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Here are some specific ways you can pray: Please pray for Cheryl and their children as they grieve – pray that God would be their refuge and fortress in time of need. Please pray for our local staff and missions committee, as we are hit hard by the loss of someone we worked with and loved very much. Please pray also for our extended staff, hundreds of missionaries all around the globe, many of whom have worked side-by-side with Bill and Cheryl over the past thirty years.
REJOICE: What a strange command from scripture, that in trials and sorrow we should also rejoice: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). We can rejoice because Jesus is our “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3), and because of Him, we do not grieve as those “who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). To rejoice in sorrow as a Christ-follower is not insanity or denial of the reality around us. Rather, as we “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2), we look forward to that day when Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). We rejoice because our God is greater than our sorrow, anger or confusion. We rejoice because He is good, and He will set all things right at His appointed time.
Bill was a dear friend and a co-laborer in the Gospel – we know his absence will be felt keenly by many. Please pray for Pastor Mike as he ministers to the family and for our services this weekend, that they would glorify God and honor Bill’s memory. We will let you know when Bill’s memorial service will be held as soon as those plans are made. Until then, weep, pray and rejoice.
UPDATE: Memorial Service Information
We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayers and sympathy from so many who knew and loved Bill. A memorial service to celebrate the life of Bill Hurley will be held at Reston Bible Church on Tuesday, August 18 at 10:30am EDT. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, condolences to the family may be made in the form of donations to the Reston Bible Church Missions Fund. Letters of sympathy and encouragement to the family may be sent to:
The Hurley Family
c/o Reston Bible Church
45650 Oakbrook Court
Dulles, VA 20166
**For our extended missionary staff as well as friends and missions agencies in the U.S. and around the globe who are not able to attend, we will provide live streaming video of Bill’s memorial service here.
From the Field: “Let Me Translate My Tears”
We recently received this update from New Tribes Mission regarding one of our supported missionaries working as a Bible translator in Zimbabwe.
Sherife was more than just a Mwinika tribesman to Bible translator & RBC-supported missionary, P. He was a fellow believer, one of the first Mwinika Bible teachers, and a Bible translation helper. He was also a friend. And now P. sat by Sherife as he lay on his deathbed. P. remembered another time when Sherife lay critically ill in bed – before he was saved, before Bible teaching even began in the Mwinika village. But this time it was different. Sherife was a believer in Jesus. Still, it was hard to watch as tears filled Sherife’s eyes, spilling down his cheeks.
“Let me translate my tears,” Sherife said to P. “I am crying because of my unsaved family members… I know where I am going, but I am worried about them. I didn’t know God until you came and told me about Him. Now I know Him. Now I am going to be with Him. Thank you for coming. Thank you beyond thanking. Thank you.” About a week later, Sherife was ushered into the presence of his Savior.
Of greater importance to Sherife than “translating his tears” was translating God’s Word into the Mwinika language. He was one of several Bible translation helpers that worked tirelessly alongside P. to see this translation come to fruition. But as of his death, the project was not yet done.
Please pray for our missionary P. and the other Mwinika men as they continue translating, looking to the day when the Mwinika Bible translation is complete.
From the Field: Haiti Family Mission Update
Over Spring Break, a team of 21 parents and Jr. High students flew to Pignon, Haiti to serve with RBC-supported national pastor, Francois Romelus (featured here in a previous From the Field). While adults from RBC had visited before, it was the first trip that included students, and it was amazing to see the way the Lord used them.
Pastor Francois runs an orphanage of 50+ children, and it was such a blessing to see the ways that our students could play and interact with them, despite the language barrier. Our students were really able to open up the children there and practically show the love of Christ. On top of playing games of soccer, teaching them to skateboard, braiding hair, and hanging out, we also had several special opportunities with them.
We set up Easter Egg hunt with them and talked with them about the resurrection of Christ. We treated them to s’mores cooked over an open fire, after which everyone licked clean their sticky fingers. We had English classes as they taught us some Creole. And we took the oldest ~20 students to a beach a few hours away. Most of them had never been to the ocean and didn’t know how to swim. It was a treat for them, and a blessing to have fun with them.
We also had the blessing of helping the local church run a VBS-style children’s program. While it was a bit chaotic at times with almost 400 children who couldn’t speak English, it was an amazing blessing to serve the community. Our theme for the week was “Mwen Se Trésor Bondye” or “I am a Treasure of God’s”.
We had a great opportunity to play and do crafts with the children and act out Bible stories, as the national pastors taught God’s Word. At the end of each day, each the church provided a meal of rice, beans, and a little chicken for the children, and it was humbling to see how so little meant so much to them. Please pray for the children to understand that they are God’s Treasure.
Finally, we were blessed with many opportunities to connect with and encourage the local church. Eric Smith, the chairman of RBC’s elders, taught a marriage class. We were able to hear the testimonies of and pray for all of the national pastors and elders of the church in Pignon. Please continue to pray for them as they face many hardships and persecution to lead the church.
Thank you to the many who prayed for this team. We definitely saw the answers to many of your prayers. Please continue to pray for Pastor Francois’ children and their futures, as there are very few career opportunities for them.
**Thanks to all who attended the team review on Wednesday, 4/29 in the Jr. High Room. Please continue to pray for Pastor Francois and the ministry there.
Sunday Rewind | 4.19.2015
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Open Up The Heavens (Psalm 108:4-5) – Worth It All by Meredith Andrews
Alive In Us (Ephesians 2:4-5) – God Is Able by Hillsong
My Deliverer (Psalm 18:1-2) – Hello Love by Chris Tomlin
I Stand Amazed (2 Corinthians 8:9) – North Point Live by Candi Shelton (North Point)
Glorious (Psalm 111:2-3) – Glorious by Paul Baloche
TEACHING: Missions Sunday – From the Field
All followers of Jesus are significant in the work of missions. We must move from information and inspiration to personal involvement in Christ’s great work in missions.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SERMON AUDIO & VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- How would you describe “missions” to someone who doesn’t know? What comes to mind when you think of “missions” and “missionaries”?
- Do you have any experience with missions?
- Read and discuss Luke 10:1-24. What does this tell us about the topic of missions? What other scriptures can you think of that inform and inspire us to personal involvement in missions?
- Why is every single believer in Jesus significant in the work of missions?
- What are the dangers of missions? What hinders missions?
- Would you say that you have a “burden for the lost”? Why or why not? How can we develop this?
- How can we as the church discern between significant and insignificant issues as we consider the topic of missions?
- “God does not want to use all of us in the same way, but He does want to use all of us in some way.” How do you respond to this statement? What role do you think God is giving you in the important work of missions?
- Are you willing to make yourself available to the Lord for the work of missions? Why or why not? What are you willing to risk? Spend some time praying about this.