From the Field: Cambodia
Cambodia is one of the world’s poorest countries and heavily dependent on foreign aid. Years of war and genocide followed by a corrupt government has hindered the development of this country and kept most of the population poor. Thirty-eight percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
After the Vietnam War, the Marxist Khmer Rouge was in command (1975), and Cambodia endured one of the most savage slaughters in the 20th century. Almost all former military personnel, civil servants, doctors, educated people and wealthy people and their families were killed, and the nation was turned into a vast labor camp. The Vietnamese army ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Buddhism is the national religion. The Khmer Rouge sought to eradicate all religions and 90% of Buddhist monks and most all Christians perished. Since 1979 there have been periods of tolerance and since 1990 Christians have been allowed to worship openly but some limitations on mission activity has been legislated.
The great sufferings of the people in the past cause them to now be open and responsive to the gospel. From only a few thousand Christians surviving into the 90’s, believers now make up 3.5% of the population. This growth is almost entirely through church planting and multiplication done by indigenous church planters and evangelists.
Barnabas is one of these church planters and evangelists. As a native of Cambodia, Barnabas is one of only 200 Christians to survive the Killing Fields of Pol Pot. He joined Ambassadors for Christ International (AFCI) in 2001 to develop the ministry in Cambodia.
Barnabas joined the Communist party as a teenager and was converted to Christ while spying on a Christian evangelistic meeting in the early 1970’s. He was later arrested and sent to the Killing Fields where he spent four years in captivity. After his release, Barnabas was forced to flee the country where he spent another eight years in a refugee camp in Thailand. After returning to Cambodia, Barnabas helped rebuild the church in his native land, and 500 churches have been planted since 1998. Barnabas’ faithfulness to the gospel is an amazing story of that Moody Publishers has published in the book Church Behind the Wire.
Barnabas will be at RBC on Sunday, March 26, 2017 to share his story and encourage us in the area of missions. His book will be available for donation by cash or check only in the lobby after each service. All proceeds of the book sales will directly to Barnabas’s ministry in Cambodia.
Preparing for Sunday | March 12
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Great Is Your Faithfulness | [listen]
Matt Redman, Martin Smith
Lamentations 3:23
Great And Mighty King | [listen]
Chris Brown, Zachary Kale, Brett Younker
Psalm 145:3
Open Up The Heavens | [listen | lyrics]
Meredith Andrews, Stuart Garrard. James McDonald, Andi Rozier
Isaiah 64:1
This I Believe (The Creed) | [listen | lyrics]
Ben Fielding, Matt Crocker
Romans 1:16
Doxology | [listen | lyrics]
Thomas Ken
Jude 24-25
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 6:16-19
Preparing for Sunday | March 5
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Only King Forever | [listen]
Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
1 Timothy 1:17
Christ Is Enough | [listen + lyrics]
Reuben Morgan, Jonas Myrin
2 Corinthians 12:9
You Alone Can Rescue | [listen + lyrics]
Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman
Galatians 1:4
Great Things | [listen]
Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Wade Joye
Psalm 126:3
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 24:1
Parking Update for the 10:45 Service
Starting this Sunday (March 5), we will be opening up a few extra parking spaces during the second service to help ease congestion and make sure everyone has a place to park.
These spots are in the grass area behind the side parking lot (to the right of the main entrance). You can watch the video below to see how to access them.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to think and pray about ways to improve the parking experience.
Preparing for Sunday | February 26
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Come to Me | [listen]
Elizabeth Akers, Jeff Capps, Michael Bleecker
Matthew 11:28-30
Your Promises| [listen]
Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
2 Peter 1:3-4a
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery | [listen + lyrics]
Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, Michael Bleecker
Colossians 1:26-27
What A Beautiful Name | [listen]
Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood
Hebrews 1:3
Christ Is Enough | [listen + lyrics]
Reuben Morgan, Jonas Myrin
2 Corinthians 12:9
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 29:22
Preparing for Sunday | February 19
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Hosanna | [listen]
Brooke Ligertwood
Mark 11:9-10
Glorious | [listen + lyrics]
Brenton Brown, Paul Baloche
Psalm 111:2-3
Man of Sorrows | [listen]
Matt Crocker, Brooke Ligertwood
Isaiah 53:3
Forever Reign | [listen]
Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan
Lamentations 5:19
God Is Able | [listen]
Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan
Ephesians 3:20-21
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 30:1-9
Preparing for Sunday | February 12
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Praise to the Lord | [listen]
Joachim Neander, Catherine Winkworth
Psalm 106:48
Cornerstone | [listen]
Eric Liljero, Reuben Morgan, Edward Mote, Jonas Myrin
Ephesians 2:20
Good, Good Father | [listen]
Anthony Brown, Pat Barrett
Galatians 4:7
This Is Amazing Grace | [listen + lyrics]
Josh Farro, Phil Wickham, Jeremy Riddle
Revelation 5:12
Always | [listen + lyrics]
Jason Ingram, Kristian Stanfill
Psalm 121:1-2
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 3:11-12
Preparing for Sunday | February 5
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Great Things | [listen]
Carl Cartee, Steven Furtick
Psalm 126:3
Come to Me | [listen]
Elizabeth Akers, Jeff Capps, Michael Bleecker
Matthew 11:28-30
Man Of Sorrows | [listen]
Matt Crocker, Brooke Ligertwood
Isaiah 53:3
Doxology | [listen + lyrics]
Thomas Ken (1674), Music attributed to Louis Bourgeois
Jude 24-25
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 6:6-11
Women’s Retreat 2017 (a.k.a., Bad Hair Sunday)
Men of RBC: On March 3-5, the Women’s Ministry is holding their annual retreat. I have called the Sunday of that weekend, “Bad Hair Sunday” because it is the one Sunday out of the year that children show up with varying degrees of bedhead — worthy of pictures. For every man who spends the weekend with his children while his wife is away on a Women’s Retreat there are several valuable lessons in store. First, he realizes just how under-insured his wife is and that any thought he has ever had that even smelled like “I could do her job” was delusional at best. He also learns that you can dress your kids for church on Saturday night and put them to bed in those clothes. Lastly, he learns that Jehovah Jireh in the NIV means “Papa John’s delivers.” Men, you do not want to miss out on this.
More importantly, the weekend is a great opportunity to invest in your wife. I speak at a lot of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups in the area. When I go to these groups there is a room full of moms eager to hear my every word. (Not really.) I know that if a mom knows that her kids are being watched and someone is giving them food that they did not have to prepare, they would come and listen to me read the dictionary. No, I’m not the speaker for the retreat – they actually found someone with spiritual depth and great communication skills. But I am asking you guys to consider blessing your wives by strongly encouraging them to attend the retreat. All kidding aside, your wife will have the chance to spend time with other women of RBC, hear great teaching from the Bible and possibly get some much-needed rest.
Imagine how much they will laugh when they see the pictures you take of the kids on that Sunday morning. For more information on the 2017 Women’s Retreat, visit www.restonbible.org/womensretreat.
Paul Goodnight
Counseling Pastor
Preparing for Sunday | January 29
SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER
Rejoice | [listen]
Dustin Kensrue, Stuart Townend
Philippians 4:4
Only King Forever | [listen]
Brown, Brock, Furtick, Joye
1 Timothy 1:17
Man Of Sorrows | [listen]
Crocker, Ligertwood
Isaiah 53:3
I Will Look Up | [listen]
Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Wade Joye, Matt Redman
Psalm 121:1
Jesus Is Better | [listen]
Aaron Ivey, Brett Land
Mark 9:24
SERMON TEXT
Proverbs 7