Sunday Rewind | 9.30.2012
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
O Worship the King (Psalm 145:9-10) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
How Great Thou Art (Psalm 145:3) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Charlie Hall (Passion)
Let Your Kingdom Come (Psalm 59:16-17) – Valley of Vision by Sovereign Grace Music
Give Me Faith (Psalm 73:25-26) – Kingdom Come by Elevation Worship
Alive In Us (Ephesians 2:4-5) – God Is Able by Hillsong
TEACHING: The Next Generation Church – Knows Christ
Pastor Mike begins a series that will look at the next generation of our church. What will Reston Bible Church look like as we move forward in stewarding all that God has given us? The greater intimacy we have with Jesus, the greater the impact of our story.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is your story as relating to knowing Christ? What specific people God has used to impact your story?
- What does it mean to “know Christ”? Has this term become cliché? How can we keep “knowing Christ” from being cliché in our own lives?
- Read and discuss Acts 26. What does this chapter tell you about knowing Christ and making Him known?
- What does our fallen nature have to do with knowing Christ?
- What is the difference between knowing Jesus and knowing about Jesus?
- How might we help each other know Christ in greater ways?
Sunday Rewind | 9.23.2012
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (Psalm 5:11) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Charlie Hall (Passion)
King of Glory (Psalm 24:9-10) – Arriving by Chris Tomlin
Your Love Never Fails (Romans 8:28) – Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture
All Creatures of Our God and King (Psalm 148:13) – Original Arrangement
Glorious (Psalm 111:2-3) – Glorious by Paul Baloche
TEACHING: In Plain Sight
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the baseline for living the Christian life. Yet, Christians often treat the gospel as a remedial element of the Christian life that we “get” and then move on from. Yet, the gospel is power for living now, and all of Scripture points us to it. We must continually appeal to the gospel of Jesus if we are to walk as Jesus walked.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What one word comes to mind when you hear the world “gospel”?
- How has your understanding of the gospel changed as you have walked with Jesus?
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. What might this tell you about the nature of man? What does it tell you about Jesus Christ?
- What does this passage reveal to us about the gospel?
- In what way is the gospel the ultimate standard for living?
- Pastor Mike shared how the gospel impacts eternity, morality, suffering, generosity, marriage, possessions, and forgiveness. Which of these areas resonates with you personally? What other areas have you seen the gospel impact in your life?
- What is one area of your life where you need to appeal to the gospel? Spend some time in prayer, asking God to impact this area with the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sunday Rewind | 9.16.2012
MUSIC & SCRIPTURE
All Because of Jesus (Romans 8:10) – Burn For You by Steve Fee
Blessed Be Your Name (Job 1:21) – Blessed Be Your Name: The Songs of Matt Redman by Matt Redman
Lord of All (Psalm 97:5-6) – Attention by Kristian Stanfill
God, You Lifted Me Out (Psalm 30:1-2) – For The Honor by Elevation Worship
TEACHING: Runaway Bride – The Mystery of Christ & His Church
It is common today to separate Christ from his church – people want Jesus, but not church involvement. Yet, God has ordained that the church play a major role in His great work of redemption. Jason VanDorsten teaches from Ephesians 5, which presents the church as Jesus’ bride and conveys with great strength and promise the deep, abiding love God has for those who are His in Christ.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What comes to mind when you think of the word “church”? What have your experiences with church been like?
- What are the distinctions between the “little C” church and the “big C” Church? How are they different? How are they linked?
- Read Ephesians 5:21-33. What might this tell you about the nature of man? What does it tell you about Jesus Christ?
- What do these verses tell you about Jesus’ relationship with his people, the church?
- It what ways does the analogy of “church as bride” resonate with you? Where do you have trouble grasping the analogy?
- Does your interaction and involvement with the local church reflect the care, encouragement and protection due a bride? In what ways could you grow in loving the church as the bride of Christ?
- Spend some time praying for RBC and other local churches in our area and around the world.
Sunday Rewind | 9.9.2012
MUSIC
Exalted One (Psalm 121:1-2) – For The Honor by Elevation Worship
Beautiful Jesus (Romans 1:20) – Attention by Kristian Stanfill
With Us (Psalm 46:10-11a) – God Is Able by Hillsong
I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (Matthew 8:18-19) – Original Arrangement
Jesus Paid It All (Colossians 2:13-14) – North Point Live by Kristian Stanfill (North Point)
TEACHING: Son Burn
In Luke 24, the risen Jesus walked with two disciples and “explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Their response – “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” May we, too, know what it is to have burning hearts for the Son of God from the Word of God.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Read Luke 24:13-35. What might this tell you about the nature of man? What does it tell you about Jesus Christ?
- Can you think of examples of people in the Bible who had “Son burn”?
- In what ways do we tend to apply “Son block” and shy away from the Word of God? How can we keep ourselves from falling into such excuses?
- The Scriptures refer to itself under a variety of analogies (lamp, hammer, water, sword, light, milk, meat, etc.) What others can you think of? What particular analogy do you resonate with in regards to Scripture?
- What is your particular area of “Son burn”? What topics in Scripture do you find yourself particularly passionate about?
- Would you categorize this season of your life as “on fire” for Kingdom of God? Why or why not? Spend some time in prayer for yourself and for those around you, that your hearts would “burn within” for Jesus.
Sunday Rewind | 9.2.2012
MUSIC
God Is Able (Ephesians 3:20-21) – God Is Able by Hillsong
Hosanna (2 Corinthians 4:18) – Saviour King by Hillsong
Unending Love (Romans 8:39) – God Is Able by Hillsong
In Christ Alone (Philippians 3:7-8a) – Original Arrangement
The Solid Rock (Psalm 18:2) – Original Arrangement
TEACHING: Foundation of Hope
In Romans 15, Paul prays that God’s people would “abound in hope.” What does that hope look like, and how can Christians find it in times of joy or times of trial? RBC’s Executive Pastor Ed Nalle teaches on the eternal hope of Christ Jesus.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you define “hope”? Does that definition fit your life?
- How can our foundation of hope help to create unity among the church?
- Read Psalm 27 and look for the various expressions of hope that David uses. Where else in Scripture is this kind of hope revealed?
- Take a moment to praise God for the blessings of fulfilled hope from this week or for His great gift of salvation.
Sunday Rewind | 8.26.12
MUSIC
O Worship the King (Psalm 145:9-10) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
How Great Thou Art (Psalm 145:3) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Charlie Hall (Passion)
Your Love Never Fails (Romans 8:28) – Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture
Come Thou Fount (Psalm 16:11) – Original Arrangement
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (Galatians 6:14) – Mission:Worship by Stuart Townend
TEACHING: Do Not Be Ashamed
Paul exhorted his protege Timothy to trust in the Lord enough to boldly and confidently proclaim the Gospel. As Christians, we must also not be ashamed to stand firmly on the truth.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you define “trust”?
- What kind of fears prevent you from sharing your faith with others or living a Christ-centered life?
- Do you have any “Pauls” in your life to encourage your Christian walk? Do you have any “Timothys”?
- Read and discuss 2 Timothy 4, which represents the last words of Paul recorded in Scripture. How do you think Paul’s “unashamed” ministry affected his legacy to Timothy, and to believers through the ages? What kind of legacy do you hope to leave?
Sunday Rewind | 8.19.12
As a way of bringing weekend worship services into your week, we’re introducing Sunday Rewind. These short blog posts will include the worship selections with scripture references and artist/album information from the past Sunday. In addition, we’ll include links to the teaching audio/video as well some questions from the sermon geared toward small group discussion or personal reflection.
MUSIC
Glorious (Psalm 111:2-3) – Everything Glorious by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
Majesty (Isaiah 53:5-6) – Majesty: The Worship EP by Leeland
With Us (Psalm 46:10-11a) – God Is Able by Hillsong
Unending Love (Romans 8:38-39) – God Is Able by Hillsong
How Great Is Your Faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23) – We Shall Not Be Shaken by Matt Redman
TEACHING: The World System: It’s Where You Live, Part 5
The world system is designed to lure believers into loving the world in such a way that they have no impact on the world. Jesus says we are to be in this world, but not of it. How do we being “in the world” reach those who are “of the world” without compromise? We must be tactfully inviting, intellectually stimulating and lovingly warning.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- “The world system is designed to lure believers into loving the world in such a way that they have no impact on the world.” How have you seen and/or experienced this at work?
- Read and discuss John 17. What does this tell you about the nature of man? What does it tell us about God? What does it tell us about the world? What does it tell us about Jesus Christ?
- Why does Jesus pray that we not be taken out of the world?
- What temptations to compromise do we face when reaching out those who are “of the world”?
- In the context of your daily circles of influence, how can you be tactfully inviting, intellectually stimulating, and lovingly warning? Spend some time praying for those whom you could reach in these ways with the Gospel.
Sunday Rewind | 8.12.12
As a way of bringing weekend worship services into your week, we’re introducing Sunday Rewind. These short blog posts will include the worship selections with scripture references and artist/album information from the past Sunday. In addition, we’ll include links to the teaching audio/video as well some questions from the sermon geared toward small group discussion or personal reflection.
MUSIC
Exalted One (Psalm 121:1-2) – For The Honor by Elevation Worship
Alive In Us (Ephesians 2:4-5) – God Is Able by Hillsong
Our God Is Love (1 John 4:9-10) – A Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong
Unending Love (Romans 8:38-39) – God Is Able by Hillsong
Give Me Faith (Psalm 73:25-26) – For The Honor by Elevation Worship
Take My Life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) – Hymns Ancient & Modern by Chris Tomlin (Passion)
TEACHING
From man’s perspective, religion is designed to answer the great questions of life – but can it, really? In part four of our World System series, Pastor Mike explores the relationship between religion, reason and revelation in the world system – where they intersect, and where they part ways.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO AND VIDEO
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you define “religion”? By that definition, is Christianity a religion? What distinguishes the Christian faith from other religions and philosophies?
- Read Genesis 4:1-1-16. What does this tell you about the nature of man? What does it tell us about God?
- Where are there indications of religion in these verses?
- Is spirituality “reasonable”? Why or why not?
- Is religion “reasonable”? Why or why not?
- Is Christianity “reasonable”? Why or why not? Where do faith and reason intersect? Where do they part ways?
- What are the distinctions between divine inspiration and revelation?
Resources for Killing Sin
Though sin no longer separates the believer from God in the ultimate sense, we know both from Scripture and an honest assessment of our daily lives that it is still a force very much active within us. When left unchecked, sin will kill the joy not only in our human relationships, but in our relationship with God. Thus, be killing sin – or sin will be killing you.
If you’d like to further equip the mind in regards to killing sin, I’d recommend the books below – all excellent reads on the subject. You can check at the RBC Bookstore between Sunday services for availability of any of these.
In The Mortification of Sin, Puritan pastor-theologian John Owen provides vital teaching in a neglected aspect of Christianity – killing sin. In this book, Owen effectively dismisses various excuses for not engaging in self-scrutiny and yet avoids the current trend of self-absorption. In so doing, he provides principles to help believers live lives of holiness before God. You can go for the original unabridged version, but for a quicker read, I’d recommend Richard Rushing’s abridged version.
In The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin, Kris Lundgaard draws on two works by the aforementioned Puritan in writing this modern-English distillation of two of Owen’s most renowned works – Indwelling Sin and The Mortification of Sin. Lundgaard offers insight, encouragement, 
and hope for overcoming the enemy within.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr.’s Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin revives in modern terms the ancient awareness of sin that has slipped in recent decades. Plantinga uses clear language and draws upon myriad books, films and other cultural resources to drive home our need to simultaneously hate sin and love the grace of Christ.
In Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, Jerry Bridges asserts that we have become so preoccupied with the “major” sins of our society, Christians have ceased to heed the dangers of more subtle sins in our lives. We the Church must not act as though sin were only something out “in the 
world” and so tolerate jealousy, anger, pride and ungodliness within our own hearts. Bridges humbly points his readers again and again to the profound mercy of the grace of Jesus.
You can check out the audio/video of the weekend teaching here. Below are a few Scriptures (ESV) for study & reflection regarding sin, the mind as watchman to the soul, and others referenced during the teaching.
On Sin & Killing Sin
Romans 7:21-23 – So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
James 4:17 – So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Psalm 51:5 – Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3 – Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.
Galatians 5:17 – For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Romans 8:12-13 – So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Colossians 3:5-6 – Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27 – So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Paul Grows in His Knowledge of Sin
1 Corinthians 15:9 (written approximately AD 55) – For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Ephesians 3:8 (written approximately AD 60 ) – To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…
1 Timothy 1:15 (written approximately AD 64) – The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
*Note that if you study the surrounding context of each reference above, you’ll see that as Paul grows in the knowledge of his own sin nature, he likewise expresses growth in his knowledge of grace, redemption, and forgiveness. He grows in his love and appreciation for Christ as he realizes more and more what he has been saved from.
For example:
1 Corinthians 15:10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. (In this section, you’ll see Paul mainly reflecting on the work God did in/through him by grace, despite his sin as an individual.)
Ephesians 3:9-10 – ...and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (You’ll see Paul expanding upon the mystery of God’s eternal purposes “unsearchable riches of Christ” and the “manifold wisdom of God” being revealed beyond himself to the Gentiles through the church.)
1 Timothy 1: – To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (Paul reflects on being “the foremost of sinners” in light of also being one who is entrusted with “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” through the great majesty, mercy, grace, patience and strength of Christ.)
On the Mind
1 Pet. 1:13 – Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Luke 24:45 – Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…
Romans 8:6 – For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
James 1:8 – …he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
*Joseph is a great example of the mind being prepared. When he is tempted by Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:6-10, he says, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). I believe this indicates he was holding a two-fold truth at the forefront of his thinking – sin is evil and God is holy. Thus, “as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.”
Others
Hebrews 10:14 – For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Ephesians 6:17 – … take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Philippians 1:6 – And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Biblical Eldership
As a follow-up to the teaching on May 29 regarding biblical eldership: With the desire to encourage you into a personal study of biblical eldership, please see the link below to a worksheet that contains a list of all the New Testament verses that discuss elders (and also the term “pastor”). You are encouraged to look at each passage and determine what title is used (elder, overseer, etc.), what is implied regarding role or function (although not all passages are explicit on this), and what additional observations you see from the passage.
Also, leave a comment on this post if you have questions about eldership or leadership here at RBC that weren’t covered in the message from May 29.