Baptisms | 2.21.2016
Last Sunday, we were privileged to witness the baptisms of four individuals within our congregation. Here at RBC, we believe that baptism is a public declaration of faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ. Though baptism is not required for salvation, it is an outward expression of an inward spiritual reality – it’s a visible picture of what Jesus has done for those who place their faith in Him as Lord and Savior. Baptism illustrates for us His death & resurrection, the washing away of our sin, and the new life we have in Christ.
What an honor to rejoice with Bella, Corey, Jack and Karen as they proclaimed their allegiance to Jesus through baptism last Sunday! If you are interested in learning more about baptism or being baptized at RBC, click here.
Services Cancelled | Sunday, January 24
I wanted to let you know that all services and activities for tomorrow (Sunday, January 24, 2016) have been cancelled, including evening activities such as Awana, FPU and the Sr. High Dodgeball Tournament.
Since you’re snowed in this weekend, here are some ideas to take advantage of this time to draw close to the Lord, especially tomorrow since we cannot worship corporately.
- Search our sermon archives and listen to one of your favorite messages from the past, or perhaps one you haven’t heard.
- Explore the 10,000+ inspirational and educational videos available from rightnow.org. You can instantly stream biblical teaching from over 150 leading Christian publishers and ministries. Their extensive library has Bible studies, conference sessions and a huge array of kid’s videos including Veggie Tales, 3-2-1 Penguins, Adventures in Odyssey and many others. For more information, please click here. If you don’t currently have a login for this incredible resource, request one here. Operators (Jason VanDorsten) are standing by to take your request!
Finally, as you can imagine, your church still incurs operational expenses regardless of the weather. If you are not already giving online, why not take this opportunity to see how easy it is to support the ministries of RBC. You can give from within myRBC if you’re already logged in, or simply click here to be taken to our secure online giving page.
That’s all for now. Stay safe and warm and drive carefully when you do venture out. Have a blessed weekend.
Dale Peak
Administrator
Thank You from Guilford Elementary
We want so give a huge THANK YOU to all who donated of their time and resources to make the Guilford Elementary School’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner a huge success. Our congregation donated over 90 pies and 1000 servings of stuffing. We also had 12 volunteers who helped serve the families by pouring drinks and carrying trays for moms with lots of small children. This was the largest Thanksgiving Dinner that Guilford has hosted to date, with over 900 people enjoying traditional North American Thanksgiving foods, many for the first time. Parents who often don’t have the resources to feed their families an abundant meal like this were truly grateful. We are thankful for you, our generous congregation and our faithful God who allows us to serve these families and staff at Guilford Elementary.
RBC Annual Report 2015
“I will remember the deeds of the LORD, I will ponder all Your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.” – Psalm 77:11-12
Our Annual Report is not a list of our accomplishments, but rather a recounting of some of the great things God has done in us, for us and through us over the past year.
The 2015 Annual Report is available in print format at the Welcome Desk in the church lobby, or you read through the online version here. You can also click here to download a PDF.
We hope you’ll take some time to read through it, remember the mighty deeds of our great God, and be moved to deeper gratitude and trust in our great Savior.
God at Work in First Fruits
For over 20 years, the youth ministry has run the First Fruits project the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Every year, we raise money by raking leaves and doing other jobs throughout the day. That evening, we purchase lots of food and deliver the food to families in need in our community. This year, with an army of over 650 workers, we raised over $43,000 to provide food for over 100 families. We were also able to provide college scholarships to five local high school seniors.
Because we have been doing this for so many years, it is easy to just assume numbers like these will happen. But every year God does something that just makes us realize it is His work and His plan, not ours.
First, this year we had over 200 students from Parkview and Herndon High School sign up to work with us. These students have no affiliation with RBC, but the schools announced the project and they came to work with us. As a youth ministry, we are always trying to think of creative ways to reach out with the truth and hope of the Gospel to the students around us, and it’s so cool how God has taken something we designed to care for those in physical need and open so many doors for us to tell so many students about their greatest spiritual need. We never had a “strategic plan” or “vision” to turn First Fruits into an outreach, but it is now our biggest outreach of the year. Please pray for the hundreds who heard the Gospel at First Fruits.
Second, God orchestrated several food deliveries in ways that only He could. To identify many of the families we assist, we work through parent liaisons at several local public schools. We seek families that are experiencing hardships, but not currently being helped. These families are then randomly assigned to one of our 32 teams.
This year, as one team was entering the home of the family they were delivering to, the face of a young girl and her parents lit up. They were excited not for the food, but that one of the people delivering the food was the girl’s preschool teacher from several years prior. This instantly broke the ice and allowed for a powerful opportunity to share the love of Christ. When a group of strangers walk into someone’s home with bags of food and gifts, it can be awkward. But God, in providentially working out the right family with the right team, completely changed the situation. Only God can work out situations like that.
A similar situation happened with another team. They were supposed to deliver food to a different family, but at the last minute their delivery was switched. It just happened to be switched to a family a team member knew, which has opened the doors for additional ministry and care for the family.
God is not random. Our God is powerful and is doing great things in our midst, even when we don’t recognize it. Thank you so much for giving us jobs, working with us, donating to the project, and being part of what the Lord is doing to make His name known in Northern Virginia.
Below are some highlight pictures from the day. Enjoy!
Protect or Love? Thoughts on the Refugee Crisis
The issue regarding the refugee crisis has become more than a political and religious hot button. It is now causing division among nations, churches and friends. “My brothers, this should not be!” (James 3:10)
The first thing to consider when engaging in a matter of this complexity is to admit we do not have the necessary biblical knowledge, since Scripture does not expressly address the subject. None of us possess all the necessary information to make a “thus saith the Lord” declaration over this heated issue. In other words, humility must be at the forefront on a matter of such import. There is no singular answer to multi-complex issues. The refugee problem is cultural, religious, social, economic, and national. Any misstep in the handling of it could prove catastrophic for the future of the world. The Bible is clear on many matters, but not on all matters. Immigration of refugees is one of those debatable subjects. Let’s take a look at why this is such a difficult issue to navigate.
Suppose you strongly believe we should allow all refugees into the U.S. The verses you might employ in defense of your position will contain love, compassion and mercy. You will talk about how Jesus loved all people and went after the poor and disenfranchised. You will want to bring in the fact that God is not a respecter of persons. And these are all valid points. However, if you are on the side of those who say don’t let any refugees in, you will select a very different set of verses. Certainly you will want everyone to know that God’s chosen people didn’t just let anyone into their world. In fact, you will point out that God told Israel to wipe out whole nations.
We also need to factor in our spiritual gifting and personal biases. If you are a mercy person, you may say, “Let’s care for all these people!” But if you’re a prophet or more truth-oriented person, you might say, “Let’s protect our own people!” There is also the issue of mixing apples and oranges. Some commands in Scripture are given to an individual (such as “thou shalt not kill”) while others are given to governments (such as “rulers do not bear the sword in vain.”) The government is commissioned to protect us from evildoers (Romans 13:3-4). By contrast, the love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 is directed toward the individual and says, “Love always protects.”
So who is right – the let’s bring ‘em in or the let’s keep ‘em out? Which is it? Protect our families from terrorists at the expense of letting innocent people suffer? Or let all of the refugees in, knowing terrorists will enter with them and innocent people will be killed?
Who can answer all these questions? Not me. I have some thoughts, but none of which I would die for. What we are facing is the call to show compassion to all and the call to protect our own. These seem to be competing views, yet both are found in Scripture, and we are called to hold to the truth that God never contradicts Himself. Abraham was given the promise of God that he would have a son, but when the son arrived, he was told by God to offer up his son. We now have God’s promise being negated by His command. Now what? Abraham was certain God could not lie, and thus believed the only way out was that God would raise his son from the dead.
Perhaps that’s where we are with these two competing commands in Scripture – protect and love. I believe the answer is found in the church humbling itself before the Lord and seeking His guidance on this matter. He may actually give different directions at different times and in different ways. He has certainly done so with Israel and the church in the past. He may do it again. No matter what side you are on, you will be confronted by the other side with endless statistics and verses that prove the rightness of their position. You will no doubt return the favor. At this moment, I am really praying and reading Scripture while also getting advice from people who know far more than I do on the subject. So no, I don’t have a hard and fast stand. When I do, I will put it out there.
But here is what I do have a strong view on: the way Christians are treating each other over this issue. A recent post on Facebook says that if you don’t believe in bringing all the refugees in, then you don’t believe the gospel. I have no problem with this person expressing their view, but I do have concerns as to how it was expressed. Using Scripture as a weapon for the purpose of intimidating those who disagree only angers the other side and exacerbates an already volatile situation. Suppose I said if you don’t witness everyday you don’t believe the gospel? How might you react?
There are clear guidelines in Scripture as to how we are to communicate. “Let your speech be seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6), and “Let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth but that which ministers grace to the hearer” (Ephesians 4:29). Could it be that such divisive issues become training grounds for believers to learn the value of “Iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17), or “Speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15)?
Perhaps if we learn to obey what is clear, God will reveal to us what is not clear. One thing that is certain: Obedience leads to greater illumination of his revelation, and unity is the fruit of corporate humility.
Blessings,
Mike
A Quick First Fruits 2015 Update
Praise God with us for the work and blessings during First Fruits this year. Last Saturday, November 21, we had 32 teams composed of 659 volunteers completing 133 jobs. This day raised $43,490! The teams used some of what was raised to buy groceries and bring gift cards to 32 families with financial need that night. An additional 40 or more families will also be receiving grocery gift cards in the next few weeks. Five local high schools will be participating in a Perseverance Scholarship for seniors as they prepare for college. Teachers will also be nominated for a gift from us. All of these opportunities to exemplify God’s love to our neighbors is only possible because of the many people who sacrificed their time, energy and finances. Thank you!
To learn more about how First Fruits has an impact, read First Fruits: Beyond the Leaves.
Memorial Service for Oral Mizelle
After a long battle with liver disease, Oral Mizelle went home to be with his Lord early Tuesday morning. His memorial service will be this Friday, November 20 at 2:00pm here at RBC. There will be a small reception immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, condolences to the family may be made in the form of donations to the RBC Missions Fund, which supports our global missionaries and mission projects. Letters of sympathy and encouragement to the family may be brought to the service or sent to:
The Mizelle Family
c/o Reston Bible Church
45650 Oakbrook Court
Dulles, VA 20166
Please be in prayer for Oral’s wife Laurie and children Elizabeth and Nathan as they grieve their loss and rejoice in heaven’s gain.
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.
Memorial Service for Ellie Jenkins
Dear friends of the Jenkins family,
Here is information on the Viewing and Memorial Service honoring the life of Ellie Jenkins next week.
The viewing will be held on Sunday evening (Nov. 1) from 6:30 – 8:30pm at Blue Ridge Bible Church (770 S 20th Street, Purcellville, VA).
The Memorial Service will be on Monday (Nov. 2) at 10:00 am, also at Blue Ridge Bible Church. It will be immediately followed by a graveside service at Ebenezer Cemetery in Bluemont (20421 Airmont Road, Bluemont, VA). After the graveside service, attendees are invited to return to Blue Ridge Bible Church for a luncheon reception.
In lieu of flowers, condolences to the family may be made in the form of donations to the Warren P. Jenkins Foundation supporting global missionaries and mission projects. Donations and letters of sympathy & encouragement to the family may be brought to the service or sent to:
The Jenkins Family
c/o Reston Bible Church
45650 Oakbrook Court
Dulles, VA 20166