In the Junior High division, the Precious Pandas were crowned champions.

The tournament was special beyond the cause and community impact. Approximately 40% of the participating players were unchurched friends invited by Rock students. In addition to the fun and being part of something beyond themselves, these participants heard a powerful challenge and gospel presentation by Donnie Cohn. Friendships and community were solidified in the name of Christ!

Gallery of glory…

]]> http://impactloudoun.com/2012/05/dodgeball-for-a-cause-2nd-annual-catoctin-cup-winners-crowned/feed/ 0 http://impactloudoun.com/2012/05/embrace-loudoun-honored-as-2012-outstanding-volunteer-organization/ http://impactloudoun.com/2012/05/embrace-loudoun-honored-as-2012-outstanding-volunteer-organization/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 15:45:45 +0000 bwalters http://impactloudoun.com/?p=2277 By Howie Levine, Embrace Loudoun Ministry Leader @ MBC Loudoun

On May 1^st, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors recognized Embrace Loudoun as the 2012 Outstanding Volunteer Organization for having “demonstrated exceptional community change and filling a community need.”  McLean Bible Church – Loudoun Campus is a founding partner of this recognized collaboration in the Catoctin community of Leesburg that includes Catoctin Elementary School, the Loudoun Literacy Council, businesses and other non-profits.

On behalf of the partners, Howard Levin from MBC Loudoun and Embrace Loudoun accepted the award from Carol Barbe, President of the Volunteer Loudoun Board of Directors.

Representing the partners at the Loudoun County Government Center, and shown below from right to left are Jim Supp, Campus Pastor MBC Loudoun, Howard & Judy Levin, MBC Loudoun & Embrace Loudoun,  Tanya Bittenbender, Executive Director Loudoun Literacy Council, Denise O’Kane, Catoctin Elementary School Liaison, Deb Neely & Claudia Rabe, MBC Loudoun, Jennifer Baker, Catoctin Elementary School English Language Learning Director, and Darrell Melcher, MBC Loudoun.

For the past two years, MBC Loudoun’s volunteers have been involved in several unique activities including tutoring, enrichment and recreational activities for students, English Language Learning classes for parents, meeting physical needs within families (food, clothing, medical care, transportation, repairs, etc.), summer school & camp scholarships, special events, etc.  Through this service and the trusting relationships that developed, MBC Loudoun has become a valued part of the Catoctin community.  MBC Loudoun families are also fulfilling critical roles as ‘servant advocates’ (coaching friendships) for families that are struggling to thrive.  There have been approximately 35 volunteers who are making significant ongoing commitments and approximately 200 volunteers have participated to date.

Embrace Loudoun is a faith-based 501c3 non-profit organization that facilitates collaboration across many sectors of the community including churches, the public school system, businesses, government and non-profit social services organizations to:

• Remedy challenges in the community, families and individuals.
• Enrich the lives of people to help them thrive educationally, physically, relationally, emotionally, and spiritually.

The Embrace Loudoun strategy emphasizes Mobilizing Together and Caring One-on-one. The ministry relies upon maintaining awareness of needs by listening and observing, earning access by developing relationships and trust, and building ability by networking solutions.  Good deeds establish good will that enables sharing of good news!  Embrace Loudoun focuses on issues such as homelessness, hunger, education, aging, health, family life and human rights available to anyone in the community.

In the coming weeks we will add new posts that describe the relationship between MBC Loudoun and Embrace Loudoun in impacting our community outside the walls of our church.  We are seeking to become the best church FOR our community and a church who would be sorely missed if we were to leave town!

Last month’s Digging In was so successful – as we dug into Lon’s sermon about MBC’s 50th Anniversary with Pastor Jason Grate.

Personally, my favourite part of Digging In was when we were answering the question, “Why is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of paramount importance to yours & our future?” and Jason told the following story.

The morning started off fine. I had a full battery in my laptop, a full cup of Joe and my favorite seat at my favorite coffee shop. The coffee shop was in Eastown Grand Rapids and I was beginning a message on what I was going to teach at our church on Sunday night, the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15).

At 8:30 AM, two young men stumbled in through the door. When I say stumbled in, I am not just playing with words. They stumbled in. I was about to find out that drugs, alcohol and no sleep are what caused this condition. They sat down on the other side of the couch that I was sitting on and began to talk about how one of them had stolen some of his girlfriend’s money to buy the drugs that they were currently strung out on. Soon, the girlfriend walked through the door and a vocal argument broke out between her and her boyfriend. It got heated and she left. I began to pray for him.

So, there I was sitting on the same stained, coffee shop couch as the prodigal and I was fighting two popular emotions. On one hand, I was the Father in this story. I felt sorry for him and found myself having compassion for him. On the other hand, justice was taking over my thoughts as I thought of different ways I could make him feel horrible for his actions.

Here is the God moment. I found myself leaning over and sheepishly whispering to this little punk, “Having girl problems?” I know, profound words coming from a pastor! However, he said he was and we began to talk. We talked for the next three hours. We talked about how true forgiveness comes from the heart and how if he truly desired to be forgiven by this beautiful young lady, he had to truly be sorry.

Above the door in the coffee shop, there is a bell that rings every time a person enters or exits. I was in mid-sentence when the bell rang and there was his girlfriend. I watched through tears as he walked over to her, got down on his knees, started weeping and begged for her forgiveness. She extended her hand, like a queen, and he reached out and kissed it. Then they walked hand in hand to a table and he glanced my way and whispered, “Thank you” with quivering lips.

The reality is he taught me more than I taught him.

Jason used this story to illustrate how we, as Christians, need to be led by the Holy Spirit in everything that we do. He said he had many more conversations with this young man over the course of the next couple years and continually pointed him to Christ. He didn’t judge him, didn’t make him feel bad for his actions, he just loved this young man exactly where he was at.

You should come to the next Digging In – this next Sunday, April 29th at 12:15pm in The Rock. It’s a unique opportunity to learn more about your pastor’s heart and learn some things about your own heart.

Have you ever heard someone say during a church service or church gathering, such as a community group, where two or three are gathered God is with us too? I know I have, and in fact I have said this myself prior to understanding the intended context of Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

I think the reason we tend to take this particular verse out of context is because we don’t study the verse for ourselves. We don’t dive into the Scriptures to look at the original context. Or perhaps we heard someone quote Matthew 18:20 who we believe is more spiritual than us so we implemented their thought within our own speech.

Matthew 18:20 is just one verse in a series (v.15-20) that is addressing how to deal with a brother who sins against you. Or in other words, these verses are talking about church discipline, not about a church service, a home church or a community group when the Scripture refers to God is among us. In v.19, “Yeshua (Jesus) is teaching that when as issue is brought formally to a panel of two or three Messianic Community leaders, and they render halakhic (interpretation of the laws of Scriptures) decision here on earth, they can be assured that the authority of God in heaven stands behind them” (Jewish New Testament Commentary p. 57).  Additionally, having two or three witnesses present during discipline was not a new concept within Scripture (Deut. 19:15). John MacArthur says, “To use this this statement to claim the Lord’s presence at a small worship service or prayer meeting does not fit the context of church discipline and is superfluous.”

Lastly and most importantly you must understand I am not saying God is not in the midst of believers. In fact as a believer in Jesus Christ, God is always with us even when we are alone or isolated from other believers. God lives in us. 1 Corinthians 3: 16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” There are numerous verses that support the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 6:19 or John 14:15-31. So wherever you are this very moment God is with you if you believe in Jesus Christ and trust in him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. The point I want to make is when we want to emphasize God is with us in a corporate setting, Matthew 18:20 is probably not the most appropriate Scripture to quote.

I often hear people state that God will never give a person more than they can handle. Well, this statement is not true. The Scripture most people refer to support this statement is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Notice the key word in this verse is temptation as it is used 3 times. In Greek this word is “peirasmos,” which means to test, a trial or enticement.  Paul is not saying God will never put us in a tough situation, or he won’t give us more than we can handle, what Paul is saying is that God will never put you in a situation where your only choice is to commit a sin to get out of it.  It also important to note that 1 Corinthians 10:13 is talking about believers in Jesus Christ here, not unbelievers.

Many people in the Bible have been put in very tough or undesirable situations. For instance, Joseph was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers. Then he was accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife and was tossed in prison for a crime he didn’t even commit.  Job lost all of his property, his children and was stricken with sores over his whole body. Paul was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and put in prison (2 Cor. 11:23-28).  The Bible is full of stories where people were put into dire situations.

Here are some verses that prove Christians will go through tough circumstances:

• John 15:18-20 – “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
• 2 Timothy 3:12-13 –  ^“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
• 1 Cor. 1:8-10, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
• 2 Cor. 4:8-9, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

So the truth is we (Christians) may very likely go through very tough situations in life, but here are a few things to remember to get you through them:

1. Trust God’s heart to get us through our trials
2. Pray to God and ask Him for strength, comfort and wisdom
3. Don’t forget that God is wonderfully at work in our trials
4. Our trials could be even worse than they already are
5. Others are watching us as we go through our trials to see how we handle them. So set a good example and try your best glorify God amidst your trials (1 Cor. 10:31)
6. Don’t lose heart because the eternal glory that awaits us far out-weighs any present suffering we may go through (2 Cor. 4:17-18)
7. Remember the message of the gospel.  That it is a message of hope and of God’s mercy. There is nothing more glorious to reflect on in your trials than what Christ did for you and me on the cross

I’m Brian Walters and that is another myth that has just been busted.

In March, we had our very first Ugly Green Sweater Decorating Contest. We gave three groups of kids a sweater and things to decorate it with and let them the kids and adults go at it with as much enthusiasm as they wanted. The children had a riot, and we got some really creative results. The sweaters were anything but pretty.

This is the winning sweater and the winning team – Ezekiel, Jim (wearing the first prize sweater), Kelsey Wilson, Sarah, and Sharon Wilson.

Pastor Jim wore the ugliest sweater the next week before our Saturday night service and during announcements. Brian Walters, our Director of Adult Ministries, and I wore the other sweaters.

Our next Second Saturday Event is going to be a Scavenger Hunt. It will be on this coming Saturday, April 14th in the Café after service. I invite you to join us for a night of food, fellowship and community-building.

Faith, Rachael and Isaiah promoted the Scavenger Hunt for us this past weekend – and they want you to come and enjoy!

MBC Loudoun is blessed to have an amazing team of leaders shepherding our Weekend Host Teams!

Sunday evening, we gathered at the home of two of our leaders (our newcomer brunch hosts, appropriately : )). It was a valuable time as we…

• Fellowshipped together as a family over a themed dinner

SHEPHERD’S PIE

SHEEP-SHAPED BUTTER FOR OUR ROLLS!

• Freshened our roles as leaders as we reviewed our Leader Commitment in light of some great passages on shepherding (Luke 15:4-7; John 10:2-5,14, 16; 21:15-22; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-4; Ezekiel 34:1-6)

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ~ Acts 20:28

• Discussed this year’s theme of being a family expecting guests

• And adopted a new scheduling tool and community hub for MBC Loudoun’s Weekend Host Teams!

I am blessed by such amazing leaders who love the Lord, love serving Him, and bless our congregation as they do!

Throughout the centuries many people have tried to explain the Trinity through non-Scriptural examples. For instance, a triangle has three sides to it. Take away either side and it will cease to be a triangle. It is similar with the Trinity (Godhead). Take away one aspect and He ceases to be God. Another example is water. “In thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which three phases (for example, gas, liquid and solid) of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium” (Wikipedia). Water under pressure, in a vacuum and at a given temperature below freezing simultaneously exists as liquid, steam and ice, thus like the Trinity.  Or how about the example of the American government, one government but three branches: executive, legislative and the judicial.  Each branch is distinct, yet they form one government.

I’ve also heard people use the sun, an egg and the universe to explain the Trinity, but unfortunately, there is no perfect illustration to explain the Trinity of God.  We are finite creatures and God is infinitely smarter than us (Isaiah 55:8-9).  John Damascene (a.k.a. -Saint John of Damascus) said: “It is known and adored in Faith (the Trinity), not by investigating, examining and proving. . . . You have to believe that God is in three Persons. How sublime is this above all questions. For God is inconceivable.” There will never be a satisfactory explanation of the Trinity as it’s incomprehensible and is a truth for the heart that must be divinely revealed.

However, the Bible gives us pictures that show the Trinity in action and associated together, for instance at Jesus’ baptism, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22) or The Great Commission (Matt. 28:19) where we see Jesus say “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”  and at Jesus’ birth (Luke 1:35).

But the best example that may help someone understand the Trinity may be that of the institution of marriage, which comes from Scripture. In marriage two distinct, but equal individuals of the opposite sex, come together to become one flesh (Gen. 2:24).  This is very much like the Trinity in that each person of the Trinity is distinct, yet they are one.

Additionally, within marriage, like the Trinity, you see submission and headship. 1 Cor. 11: 3 says, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” Paul is stating here that the relationship of the husband and wife is patterned after the Father and Son in the Trinity that we see in Phil. 2:5-11. Jesus willingly submitted to the Father by becoming a servant leader.  Jesus did not have to be coerced to submit to the Father’s will. Tim Keller says:

“Male and female are invited to mirror and reflect the “dance” of the Trinity, loving, self-sacrificing authority and loving, courageous submission. The Son takes a subordinate role, and in that movement he shows not his weakness but his greatness.  This is one of the reasons why Paul can say that the marriage “mystery” gives us insight into the very heart of God in the work of our salvation (Eph. 5:32).”

In marriage we are to serve one another for the good of the other, devote ourselves wholly to the other, and sacrifice our needs for the needs of the other.  The dance of the Trinity does these things.  So while marriage is not the most perfect example of the Trinity, it may be the best example of it out there. If you have an example to explain the Trinity I would love to hear it.

Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming a new volunteer into our respite program called Break Out. As a volunteer for Access, you do not need any prior experience with children who have special needs. You just need the courage to take that first step that Jesus calls us to take when following Him. It reminds me of the scripture found in Matthew 14:27-29 when Peter is having to take that first step out of the boat. It is always the scariest one! However, you come to realize that not only are you furthering the Kingdom of God but what you thought would be God’s blessing to someone else is also a blessing for you. Here is an email from that volunteer:

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for asking my feedback … it was different than I expected … not sure what I expected … but I was exhausted when I got home and had one of the best night’s sleep! It made me realize just how lucky I am to have 2 “healthy” kids. As tired as I was after 3-1/2 hours, I can’t imagine how tired the parents are doing this 24/7. I now understand the need for Break Out and will be there as often as my schedule allows.

I am a big believer if we can just get people to DO SOMETHING they will be touched and Blessed and realize how much even the smallest thing helps further the Kingdom, so if my email touches one person and opens their heart to volunteer somewhere, please us it!

Ken

So this past weekend our campus pastor Jim Supp cast the vision for MBC Loudoun in 2012.  We are to be ‘A Family Expecting Guests.’  So I’ve been pondering what means to be ‘A Family Expecting Guests’ and the Lord took me in a completely different direction than I expected.

I believe the type of family we are talking about is not just the body of Christ, or an individual household, but we are talking about anyone who walks in our doors, believer or unbeliever, poor or rich, foreigner or American. Doesn’t God tell us as believers that we are to love our neighbors (Matt. 22:39; Mark 12:31) and that we are to love those who hate us even more (Matt. 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36)? Doesn’t God tell us to share in fellow believers burdens (Gal. 6:2)?

But the next thought I had about this topic was humbling to say the least.  What entered my mind was isn’t it easier sometimes to love your neighbor or a complete stranger than it is your own family member?  Don’t we have shorter fuses with family members sometimes than with a co-worker or someone we don’t even know?  I know I do.  What I realized was we don’t always treat our family with the love they deserve. For instance, my wife sometimes has to lovingly remind me to talk to her with the same gentleness, interest, sympathy, and love that I talk with individuals I counsel or new people I meet at church.

You see the Lord reminded me that I need to make sure I’m treating my own family the way they deserve to be treated. That being a corporate family starts in our own home. That no matter what each of us does during the day that we remind ourselves that our ministry really begins the moment we enter the door of our home. That each of us needs to bear our family’s burdens as much as we bear others.

So the next time you feel yourself treating someone in your family the wrong way, take a time out to cool down.  Lift the situation or cause of your frustration to God and if you treated a family member with disrespectfulness or in an unloving way ask for their forgiveness.