‘Twas the Night Before Book Day
Have you ever videotaped your children when they first see what is under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning? That was what the children’s faces looked like last Tuesday at Guilford Elementary School. We surprised the students when they came in for “Picture Day” with 2,000 books piled on tables. The students were told that they could choose 3 books each to have for their very own. For many of these kids, these will be the first books that they have owned. They went back to their classrooms hugging their books and excited to be allowed to write their names inside – proof that they could keep them “forever and for always”. Many thanks to all who donated books to our first Book Drive for Guilford Elementary School, and a huge thank you to the volunteers who helped set up, assist the children, and clean up after the event.
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‘Twas the night before Book Day
When in the Guilford gymnasium
Tables were set up
for the big surprise yet to come.
The boxes were unloaded by volunteers with care
In hopes that kids’ smiles soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With no idea of the special day that was ahead.
For our people are caring, and they give when we ask
So we stacked up those books – a formidable task!
We sorted those novels, the fiction and non
Picture books, tall tales and stories from beyond,
Goosebumps and Pokemon and Jillian Jigs
Sports books, and math books and tales about pigs.
The teachers were skeptical
as they waited their turn.
Would there be enough books
so their students could learn?
When what to their wondering eyes should appear
Books and more books, (there was no reason to fear!)
There were more than enough for each child to have three.
The hard part, of course – Which three would it be?
More rapid than eagles,
The children they came
And they whistled and shouted
And called books by name.
“Star Wars, and Hardy Boys,
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Junie B. Jones, and a book about squids!”
“Do you have Curious George?
Oh we just love them all –
Choose a book, choose a book,
It’s like a book mall!”
We had to explain to each little peep
That these books were for them
To take home and to keep.
Forever their own to love and to read,
Our people were so generous to help fill this need.
Each child stopped to thank us with words, waves and hugs.
Each child made an impact – my heartstrings felt tugs.
So I thank each of you for your giving and love.
Such a great witness of our Father above.
Jr. High Fall FNL Events
Jr. High Friday Night Live events (FNL) are monthly fun, safe events where our teens feel comfortable inviting their friends and the Gospel and the truth about Christ is clearly presented.
On September 16th, we had Jello night, where we threw Jell-O, shot Jell-O, swam in Jell-O, and ate Jell-O. It was a blast, but also a total mess. We also got to talk about the messes in our own lives (e.g., divorced parents, lying to fit in), and the God who has come in human form into our mess, to renew and restore by dying on a cross for all of our sins, and rising from the dead to give us everlasting life. We had over 60 friends attend and over 10 indicate decisions for Christ.
On October 14th, we put on our own version of Minute to Win It. Erik Palmer hosted a series of games from the TV show for an excited crowd of almost 200 Jr. Highers (about half were visitors). We also had 20 middle schoolers from Cornerstone School in Anacostia. The teens played games, won prizes, and ate pizza. But as the games puts contestants under pressure to perform, we face a huge pressure to perform in academics, athletics, relationships, etc. Thankfully, God hasn’t left us alone in those pressures, and says our identity isn’t based on our performance (we will never be good enough to get to heaven), but on what He has already accomplished for us by dying to pay the penalty for our sins and rising to give us life. Please pray as we follow up with over 20 visitors that indicated decisions for Christ that night.
Below are highlight videos from both of the events. Please continue to pray for the seeds that were planted at these events and the new faiths that began.
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.
A Note from Our New Young Adults Pastor
My name is Wayne Johnson and I have recently been hired as the Young Adults Pastor here at Reston Bible Church. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you what is currently going on in this ministry.
First, as a new pastor at RBC, let me share just a little about myself. My wife Julie and I were married December 21, 1985, and together we have 4 children. Two have recently graduated from college and two are currently attending college. Julie essentially grew up attending RBC, so when we were married, I was introduced to the church at that time. Consequently, we have been a part of the RBC family for quite some time. In recent years the Lord has done a deep and marvelous work in our personal lives. (For more on that, you are welcome to view this video.)
Second, who are young adults at RBC? That is a great question, and here is how I answer that; anyone who is out of high school, usually that is about 18 years of age, up to, (and this is where it may be a little tricky, because I am finding out people vary on when they think someone is no longer a young adult) oh, 30-35 something? We seek to minister to all in that age bracket whether single, married, with children, without children, single parent, etc. Whatever stage of life you are in, you are welcome.
Julie and I are very excited about what the Lord is doing and we believe He is going before us as we seek Him for wisdom and guidance regarding what He wants for the young adults at RBC. Currently, the Lord is bringing together a number of men and women with a heart to serve in this ministry. As Julie and I meet with these people, we are seeking the Lord for direction, ideas and all kinds of ways in which He would lead us to follow Him in making disciples of all nations and what that means for this specific group of people at RBC.
We believe that sometime in November 2011 we will launch an all-new young adults ministry. Please stay tuned for more updates in the near future. In the meantime please be praying for us. This is a crucial time, as we need the Lord’s wisdom to build a ministry on a firm foundation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Wayne Johnson
Young Adults Pastor
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For questions regarding Young Adult Ministries at RBC, please contact Wayne Johnson, Young Adults Pastor.
VIDEO: First Fruits
First Fruits is a service project that has rallied the RBC church body for over 20 years. It is a unique serving opportunity for families, shepherd groups, and individuals to come together and make a difference in the lives and families of others in our area who are in need of help and encouragement. Join us and you will be blessed to see the tangible “fruits” of your labors!
Learn more & get involved at www.restonbible.org/firstfruits
Don’t Volunteer at Guilford
That’s right: I said “Don’t volunteer at Guilford.” At least, don’t volunteer if you just want to do a little something nice for the underprivileged or if you are checking off the “help the community” box on your weekly to-do list.
You see, should you volunteer at Guilford, something will happen to you when you meet these kids. No longer will you be able to keep your heart’s door closed to the reality of the poor. Everything that you have carefully compartmentalized into statistics and bar charts and percentages of those-who-qualify-for-free-lunches suddenly become …people. Beautiful, unique, gifted individuals who face challenges that most of us cannot fully grasp – challenges that are out of their control.
I spent the afternoon at Guilford Elementary last Friday. I was the special guest of one of the third grade classes, and now I know what it feels like to be a rock star or Santa Claus. I was treated like royalty, given lots of hugs, and kids fought for the privilege of sitting next to me in the classroom (a first for me!)
The children had written thank-you letters for the things that RBC is doing for them. Many of the kids stood up and read me their letters, and some read to me from their writing journals. I was touched to the point of tears. One boy told me that he has wanted to go to a museum his WHOLE LIFE, and this year he will be able to go on the field trip because of the people from our church who paid for it for him. He also told me now he can think better in school because he’s not thinking about his tummy being hungry. One child said I was “such a nice teacher.” When I asked why he thought I was a teacher, he said it was because teachers are the ones who love you and take care of you, so I must be a teacher since I was getting people to give the children snacks. Kind of makes you think.
Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t perfect little Stepford children with large puppy dog eyes. These are real kids. Charming, silly, serious, thoughtful, impish, studious, sometimes disobedient, always enthusiastic and energetic, children. What overwhelmed me was that all of them were respectful and grateful. Both the haves and the have-nots were appreciative of all that RBC has done for their school. There was no sense of entitlement. Just thankfulness. It was humbling to realize how infrequently I am just thankful for what I have been given.
So there you have it. Don’t volunteer at Guilford, because once you meet the kids, suddenly it becomes about people, not programs. It becomes about justice and mercy and grace and love and sharing it with what Jesus called the “least of these”. So don’t do it, because try as hard as you can, I don’t think you can close your heart door to the “least of these” once the Lord has opened it.
(Click on the images to the right to read a few of the letters from Guilford students.)