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

mensministry@restonbible.org

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Starting September 20 at FUEL, we will begin a 10-week study called Starting Point. If you know anything about Starting Point, you probably know it is designed for people who have questions about faith as well as those who want to learn about basics of the Bible and Christianity. So why are we going through Starting Point at Fuel? During this time, we will have the opportunity to re-explore the foundational aspects of the Christian faith in a way that is relevant and engaging while also strengthening community among our men. Our desire is that we could continue to be rooted in our walks with Jesus and that going through the Starting Point curriculum would also open up venues for sharing our faith.

www.restonbible.org/fuel

We invite you to join the men of RBC this fall at our annual Men’s Retreat where we will be challenged to live out the abundant life (John 10:10) in the context of Christ-centered community. This year, we’ll hear four addresses from Steve King, Senior Pastor at Cherrydale Baptist Church in Arlington. Pastor King will be speaking on Strength in Numbers. We will study Ecclesiastes 4 and see how relying on Christ-centered community can radically change our walks and thus our personal, family and corporate lives. Like as individual aspects of our walk such as faith, hope, love and the word, we will also see how prayer and evangelism are stronger when utilized in unison.

http://www.restonbible.org/mensretreat

The retreat this year with John Lynch was fantastic! It was such a clear declaration of God’s Grace and presented in such a living and dramatic fashion. Trusting God for who He says I am is the only way to live this life. On my worst day, I am “Christ in Dave” and clothed in His righteousness all because He led me to Himself.

My desire is to see all the men at RBC – or everyone for that matter – live from these truths. What a wonderful fellowship we would have. Knowing the Truth sets me free, and free to really love others from the strength of God’s grace on and through me.

Many thanks to all those who prepared for and ran the 2010 RBC Men’s Retreat. It was fabulous!

Where and in whom do you find your identity? Jobs, family, friends? Join us September 17-19, 2010 at the Reston Bible Church Men’s Retreat. John Lynch, the teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix, AZ, joins us this year as our keynote speaker. More information and online registration can be found at www.restonbible.org/identity