Men’s Retreat 2011 Recap
Men, it has been a few weeks now since we were at the 2011 RBC Men’s Retreat. Three weeks is typically about the time it takes to instill a new habit in our lives. Hopefully, you were encouraged to begin to walk closer with the Lord, but maybe you couldn’t attend or maybe life is just back to normal. For any of those circumstances, the Men’s Ministry wanted to provide you with the following resources to equip and encourage you to continue strengthening your walk with the Lord.
As you may remember, our overriding theme was Strength in Numbers – that we are stronger in fellowship with other Christians than we are alone (a 3-cord of strands – Ecclesiastes 4:19-21). We experienced great teaching from Pastor Steve King and great fellowship with other RBC men, all at a great location with amazing scenery.
Steve gave us four challenging keynote messages. Below, we are providing a brief synopsis of each one, as well as links to the audio so you can re-listen as needed. We pray this will serve as a helpful post-retreat reminder of some of the things we learned and experienced there.
SESSION ONE: The Realities of Living by Faith – Pastor Steve taught on how properly setting expectations for our lives on the Lord and his promises will increase our joy. We should filter the world through God’s Word, not vice-versa. We are designed to live by faith and God tests our faith for our good and our growth. Listen to full session audio here. Session Slides are here.
SESSION TWO: Living in the Community of Grace – We are loved by God, and we are to show hospitality (love) to others. Marriage is to be honored and our contentment is valued by God. This sounds simple, but why is it so hard? We drift and too often allow ourselves to be deceived, become dulled, then defiant – which results in being disciplined by God. Listen to full session audio here. Session Slides are here.
SESSION THREE: “Whatever!” – We can experience the ‘whatever’ of relationships or we can experience Jesus in ‘whatever’ circumstances we are in. The most significant relationship other than with God is the one with our spouse. The Lord uses our marriage to refine us. As a husband/father we have the most significant role in the moral direction for our family. Listen to full session audio here. Session Slides are here.
SESSION FOUR: How to get Honey from a Rock – We can experience contentment & joy in the midst of trials because God will never leave or forsake us. Life is a wilderness, and God is our greatest treasure and reward. This world won’t ultimately satisfy us. We must worship God even when we don’t feel like it. Listen to full session audio here. Session Slides are here.
You can view the retreat photos below! (Thanks to Dave Waldrup, Mike Emory and Kim Strickland for the images.)
Mark your calendars now for next year! On October 5 & 6, 2012 we will be hosting Alistair Begg as our speaker. You can listen to him daily (weekdays) on WAVA 105.1 at 8:00 am.
As always, you are welcome to contact me with any questions or comments regarding Men’s Ministry here at RBC.
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Brad Hummel, Men’s Ministry Director
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The 5-for-5 Challenge
During services last weekend, we heard about Grand Theft Joy. We discovered that as followers of Christ, we make decisions every day to either protect our joy or to allow the joy that God intends for us to be taken away. We allow our joy to be taken from us by “Joy Thieves” when we don’t protect the precious gift that God has given us through Jesus. All Joy Thieves seem normal – even healthy – until they aren’t kept in check. But there is one Joy Thief that is particularly relevant to us in Northern Virginia – busyness. If we aren’t careful, busyness steals joyfulness by keeping us from spending time with Jesus – the only source of true joy.
As a follow-up to that message, we have issued the 5-for-5 Challenge. We encourage you to spend five more minutes with Jesus than you do right now for the next five days (Monday through Friday). If you aren’t sure what that looks like or needed a fresh look at God, we’ve posted five short devotionals based on this week’s message.
Monday: Read Luke 10:38-42 carefully. Notice that Jesus does not contrast Martha’s busyness with Mary’s laziness. The text says that Mary “left” serving with Martha. Mary chose to leave her own serving (busyness) for something better. Read Psalm 43:4. God is your joy and, as you go to Him, He is your exceeding joy. That joy then spills over (remember the blocks illustration from the weekend teaching?) in worship and your intimacy deepens from “O God” to “my God.” Ask the Lord to help you bring these truths into your day.
Tuesday: Read Psalm 126:3. This is the heart of the Gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ – not what you do for God, but what He has done for you. Martha was doing for Jesus while Mary was learning who Jesus was and what His coming (birth, life, death, and resurrection) did for her. As you focus on what He has done for you, joy begins to fill you. Ask the Lord to take you deeper in your understanding of all that He has done for you.
Wednesday: Read Psalm 84:1-2. Spending time each day in the loveliness and beauty of who God is, His dwelling place, creates a deeper longing and yearning for Him. So much so that this yearning is likened to fainting from desire. The heart and flesh, in other words – all of us, sing with joy to Him. It becomes a joy to leave our busyness and sit in His presence like Mary. Ask the Lord to draw you to Himself in deeper ways as you experience joy in His presence.
Thursday: Read Psalm 27:4. David is seeking time with the Lord, just as Mary did. It is the “one thing” most important to Him, just as Jesus commended Mary for her “one thing.” David tells the Lord he wants to dwell in His presence for all the days of his life, to see His beauty. A follower of Christ has eternal life that begins the moment they trust Christ here on earth and continues without end into eternity. Ask the Lord to not only increase your joy, but to reveal His beauty as you spend increasing time with Him here on earth and prepare for eternity with Him.
Friday: Read Psalm 16:11. The passage promises fullness of joy in God’s presence forever. Not just joy, and not even exceeding joy -but fullness of joy now and forever. God is your joy, and as you spend time in His presence now, joy grows to fullness. You can’t have true lasting joy without being in God’s presence. Ask the Lord for an increasing desire for Him, for the joy of who He is. That desire will be fulfilled in eternity as you receive the fullness of complete joy in His presence forever.
TAKE TWO: Terminology
Is church something we go to, or something we are? Choose your words wisely, because terminology matters.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
VIDEO: Women’s Bible Studies – Fall 2011
New RBC women’s Bible studies kick off in September 2011! For more info and online registration, visit https://www.restonbible.org/women/biblestudies
VIDEO: REVEAL Survey Update
In March of 2011, the RBC congregation was asked to take a survey that would help gauge the health of our body and provide insight as the leadership looks ahead in planning ministry strategy. In this video, Executive Pastor Ed Nalle gives a brief overview of the survey findings. (From June 2011)
TAKE TWO: Delight in God
Does “delighting yourself in the Lord” mean He gives you whatever you want?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Under the Sun
Life disconnected from God is senseless.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Fear of Man
Who are you pleasing? God? Or man?
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: Fairness & Justice
God is not fair. But He is just.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.
TAKE TWO: The Ultimate Witness
We get worked up about witnessing, but when our lives are pure before God, His spirit within us becomes the ultimate witness.
Take Two is a series of videos from Pastor Mike Minter of Reston Bible Church. Drawing on over three decades of pastoral experience, Pastor Mike answers various questions often asked in life with a two-minute response.