Aaron Osborne
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Homepage: http://www.restonbible.org
Posts by Aaron Osborne
The Simplicity of God’s Word
Feb 13th
At BreakThru, our Junior High ministry here at Reston Bible Church, we provide simple journals for the Jr. Highers to use to spend time with God. The journals provide a reading plan, a couple of questions to get them to think about what they read, and some space to write out a prayer to God. This is nothing amazing in concept, but it has been incredible to see what God is doing through them. Just last week, I got an email from a mom telling me how her son uses the journal almost every day, and she has been amazed as she has seen God’s Word at work in her son’s life. This email isn’t unique, as I receive something similar at least once a month.
A lot of times I am tempted to think that if God’s Word isn’t properly “packaged” and turned into something that grabs a teen’s attention, they won’t get anything out of it. But that mindset is like caring more about the wrapping paper than the actual present. God’s Word is “living and active” and is powerful to change lives. We can get distracted by all the glitz of the latest Christian book or podcast sermon. But whether I am an 11 year-old boy or a seminary professor, the Bible speaks and transforms all who will listen.
Summer Camp 2011 Prayer Requests
Jul 26th
As you may have heard mentioned in services last weekend, our Junior and Senior High youth are away for our annual Youth Summer Camp. Thank you for praying for us this week. We desperately need your prayers as we desire to see God move an act in our teens’ lives this week. Below is are several specific requests and an overview of theme this week so you can pray specifically for our teens to understand the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and begin to live it out.
Specific Prayer Requests
1) Safety and Protection – as we travel and as we have fun white water rafting, water tubing, caving, riding a hot-air balloon, etc.
2) Logistics – we have over 200 people at camp this year. Pray that all would logistically work out with transportation, meetings, meals, etc.
3) Open Hearts – many of our teens are apathetic towards God. Pray that they would be open to what the Lord wants to teach them.
4) Listening Hearts – pray against any distraction and that the teens stay awake during the messages.
5) Small Groups to Connect – pray for the teens to connect with each other.
6) Salvation for the Unsaved – we have many friends and non-believers coming with us this year. Pray they would each accept Christ’s free gift of salvation this week.
7) Energy for Staff – pray for supernatural energy for the staff.
8) Spiritual Refreshment for the Staff – pray for the staff’s personal times with the Lord, that they would be refreshing, and that they would be able to minister out of the overflow of what God is doing in their lives.
9) Unity among the staff – pray that our entire team of over 40 staff would be united in Spirit to care for and lead out teens.
10) Discernment for the Staff – many teens come with significant issues (personal or at home). Pray that our staff would be able to discern how to care for and challenge each of our teens in a grace filled manner.
11) Below is an overview of our theme. Pray specifically that our teens would see the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and begin to walk in it.
Our Theme: SUPER:natural
As believers we have all heard of the Holy Spirit, but how many of us really understand who He is or what He practically does in our life? Christ Himself says it is for our benefit that Christ leaves and sends the promised Holy Spirit (John 16:7). We are told if we walk in the Spirit, we will not gratify our sinful desires (Galatians 5:16). We hear about the Fruit the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) that should develop in our lives of love, joy, and peace and want some of those, but how do we get them? We hear about living in the power of the Spirit, but far too often tend to lead defeated Christian lives. We live for the next “spiritual high” but have no clue how to have a sustained walk with the Lord. We have heard so many truths about God and have so much knowledge, but do we have the basic skills of how to walk in step with the Spirit?
This year at camp, we will be learning about the Holy Spirit and what He does in our lives. With that in mind, our theme this year is SUPERnatural. Not supernatural in the Ghostbusters way of thinking, but as in SUPER (adj. – above, beyond, stronger than) natural (n. – the way things exist in nature without interference). This is about the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. On my own, I would not walk with God or honor Him, but thankfully He has not left me alone as an orphan (John 14:18). He gives us the power to live beyond our own natural abilities.
Youth Summer Camp 2011: SUPERNATURAL
Jun 17th
As believers we have all heard of the Holy Spirit, but how many of us really understand who He is or what He practically does in our life? Christ Himself says it is for our benefit that Christ leaves and sends the promised Holy Spirit (John 16:7). We are told if we walk in the Spirit, we will not gratify our sinful desires (Galatians 5:16). We hear about the Fruit the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) should develop in our lives of love, joy, and peace and want some of those, but how do we get them? We hear about living in the power of the Spirit, but far too often tend to lead defeated Christian lives.
This year at our our annual Youth Summer Camp, we will be learning about the Holy Spirit and what He does in our lives. With that in mind, our theme this year is SUPERnatural. Not supernatural in the Ghostbusters way of thinking, but as in SUPER (adj. – above, beyond, stronger than) natural (n. – the way things exist in nature without interference). Thisis about the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. On my own, I would not walk with God or honor Him, but thankfully He has not left me alone as an orphan (John 14:18). He gives us the power to live beyond our own natural abilities. Please be in prayer that our teens would understand the role of the Spirit in their lives and experience His power to transform us.
Summer Camp is open to all current 6th graders through those who just graduated from High School. The regular registration deadline is this Sunday (6/19). For more information click here.
Friday Night Live
Apr 13th
In the Jr. High Ministry of Reston Bible Church, we desire to create fun, safe environments where our teens feel comfortable inviting their friends, and the Gospel and the truth about Christ is clearly presented. This is why we hold our monthly Friday Night Lives. The activities vary each month from our own version of the game show “Minute to Win It” to a Photo Scavenger Hunt, and we use these themes to bring in the Gospel message.
On March 25th, we had a Photo Scavenger Hunt, where the teens went out in teams and needed to take specific pictures of themselves doing anything from smearing ice cream on their faces to pumping gas for a random person. The video below highlights some of my favorite pictures from the night. After we took the pictures, we came back to the church, ate lots of pizza, and talked about the things we are searching for in life. We can look to success, friends, relationships, athletics, academics, etc. to give us value and purpose, but ultimately what we are looking for in life can only be found in Christ, the one who has searched after us. Please be in prayer for the teens that heard about Christ for the first time that night.
This Friday, April 15th, we are having our next Friday Night Live. We will be playing capture the flag and some other fun outdoor games, have a bonfire with s’mores and hot dogs, and just enjoy a fun night together. Below is a parody video we made to promote the event with pictures from the fun we had last year.
While these events are primarily designed for Jr. Highers, we would love the whole church to be involved. If you are a parent of a Jr. Higher, please encourage your teens to invite their and explain the event to their friend’s parents. If you know a Jr. Higher, all are welcome. If you see a Friday Night Live in the bulletin, know that they are designed for any Jr. Higher to come. If you are interested, in volunteering, please contact Aaron Osborne. Above all, please be in prayer for the many teens that will come and hear what Christ has done for them by dying on the cross for their sins to restore a right relationship between them and God.
Welcome to BreakThru
Aug 30th
As RBC settles in to our new campus in Dulles, VA, several things have changed in the Jr. High Ministry (6th- 8th graders). Now that there are separate Jr. High and Sr. High rooms, both can meet during the 11 am service. With the new location and time also comes a new name – BreakThru.
While the Jr. High years are a key transition time in a teen’s life where they are starting the process of “BreakingThru” from a child to an adult, they are also foundational years in their walks with the Lord. In Jr. High, teens have the capacity to understand the truths of God, but for the most part are not yet being challenged by all the trials of the world. This is why the vision for the Jr. High ministry comes from Matthew 7:24-27. In this passage, Jesus says that anyone who Listens to His words and Acts upon them is like a man who Builds his house upon the rock. That house stands firm even when the winds and the rain come and slam against the house, because it has a solid foundation.
But just like laying the foundation for RBC’s new facility was hard work, laying a solid foundation in our lives is no easy task. You have to cut down all the trees and brush. You have to dig down through the loose topsoil. You have to BreakThru rocks and boulders in the way, till you can lay a level foundation on solid ground. In the same way, we want our teens to Listen to the Word and begin to Act upon it, and in this process they are building a solid foundation for their lives on God’s Word and His wisdom.
If you are a parent of a Jr. Higher (6th-8th graders), we would love for you to join us on September 5th during the 11am service in Classroom 3 in the Youth Building, for a meeting where you will meet other parents, get a clear overview of what we do and why we do it, and experience a little of what your Jr. Higher does each week at BreakThru.
We look forward to helping your teen lay a solid foundation for their lives on the rock of Jesus Christ, so they can be prepared for lives of knowing Christ and making Him known.
