Did you know that marriage was the first institution established in all of creation? God established the marriage relationship (Gen. 2:24) prior to establishing the institutions of the church, governments or any other institution we have today. Marriage is the foundational institution of social order. The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote that the covenant of marriage should emulate Jesus Christ’s own love and relationship with his church, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

As by evidence presented above, God values the marriage relationship above all other relationships that exist, this includes our relationships with parents, friends and our children. Since God places such a high value on the marriage relationship, we should take an opportunity like the Marriage Conference to invest in our marriages. Whether you are just starting out in your marriage or have been married for decades, it is always good to spend time strengthening and deepening your relationship with your spouse.

Gary Chapman, who is the key-note speaker, says you should attend the conference for the following reasons:

First, to keep your own marriage growing. Marriages either get better or they get worse. They never stand still. Most people prefer a growing marriage. Secondly, to equip you to minister to other couples who turn to you for help. In the church and in the work place, people turn to friends long before they go to a counselor.

Finally, it will be a great time to reconnect with your spouse. If your spouse has the love language of “quality time” or “receiving gifts” then surprise them with tickets for the conference.  You could even make the conference into a staycation by spending the night out.  So what are you waiting for?  Sign-up now before the event sells out. You can get the group rate information by CLICKING HERE.

There are just some things in life that don’t need any explanation. Watch the video below, as it gives a glimpse into the many ways God worked in and through all the students of The Rock that traveled to the Dominican Republic in the name of Christ.

by Kathy, Rhonda, and Wendy, Dinner Groups Team @ MBC Loudoun

I’m sure we all can relate to our mom and dad yelling at some point in our lives, “Dinner is ready, come and get it!”  Or perhaps these days this may be communicated via a text message!  But in the 1800’s they rang what was called a dinner bell so everyone that is out and about would know it is time to come in from work or play to eat dinner.  Well, we are ringing the dinner bell for you all to come and sign-up for the fall session of MBC Loudoun Dinner Groups.

We will kick-off Dinner Groups with the First Annual Dinner Group Chili Cook-Off to be held on Saturday, September 17, from 4:30 – 6:00 pm to initiate our Dinner Groups.

Why is MBC Loudoun interested in Dinner Groups?

At MBC, we believe passionately that every Fully Devoted Follower of Jesus Christ needs to have strong and vital relationships with fellow believers.  Dinner groups are a valuable way at MBC Loudoun to connect with others in biblical community. It is very encouraging to see the body of believers stepping into community with one another.  The unity of the Christian community derives from and is guided by the gift of the Spirit that lies at the heart of its life together (Acts 2:42-46; Hebrews 10:24-25).

What is my commitment level to Dinner Groups?

Each Dinner Group member will participate one time a month (October/November) to meet in a host home or point of gathering as decided by the host.  The dinner can consist of a potluck, out to eat at a restaurant, a picnic in the park or any other creative dinner outing that you can come up with.

If you want serve as a host of one of our Dinner Groups, we need people to host either in October or November, or if you have the gift of hospitality you are more than welcome to host both months!  Host duties are primarily logistical, and include scheduling the details of the dinner (time, date, location, whose bringing what, etc.).

We will then come back together as a large group on December 3 at 10:00 am (please mark your calendars) for a Cookie Exchange to end dinner groups until Spring, when we will do it all over again meeting new people for fellowship.

How do I sign up for a Dinner Group?

We will have sign-up forms in the bulletins on August 27/28, fill that out and drop it off in the lobby at the Chili Cook Off sign-up table.  There we will have sign-up sheets for bringing chili, corn bread, desserts, and accessories.  Sign-ups can still continue after that online at the dinner group site:   http://mbcloudoun.org/dinnergroups until September 7.

There will be games, prizes and, chili, of course, at the cook-off and you will also have a chance to meet the other people in your dinner group and start to plan for your October dinner.

Children are welcome, but there will be no childcare at this event.

Who is welcome to join a Dinner Group?

EVERYONE

Wait…..I have more questions:

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Rhonda Etter at home: 571-223-0498 or by email at loudoundinnergroups@gmail.com .

We want to thank you for this opportunity to serve our Lord in this manner and anticipate a wonderful turnout for Dinner Groups.  We are blessed that God has called us to minister to you in this way.

by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

This past weekend Jim preached about The Potter and the Clay from Romans 9:15-21. This is a sermon not to be missed because it speaks to a foundational truth of God’s Word and provides us a great reminder that God is the true Potter.

One thing that really stuck out to me in Jim’s sermon was when he mentioned that our culture today is very human-centric. Meaning we have become a culture that is all about “self.”  If something inconveniences us we get upset because it throws a kink into how we believe our life should be.  We believe we have the right to be happy all of the time when the reality is that God does not promise us this kind of life and it is He who chooses how to shape and mold us (Isaiah 45:9; Rom. 9:21).

As I chewed on this point while driving to work I wondered if I put others first in my life, even over my own needs and desires. Then I came up behind a car that was driving the speed limit and I got upset with the driver. Right then the Holy Spirit convicted me on this frustration, saying “why are you upset Brian?  Is it because this person inconvenienced you? Is it because this car got in your lane? And didn’t you JUST get a speeding ticket a few weeks ago?”  Ouch and Ouch!  Yes, its true, and I confess that I can be a little hardheaded at times. :)

At this very moment I realized that “YES” I do have a “ME” mentality that is focused on what pleases me and makes me comfortable. There is nothing wrong with someone who is obeying the law and in fact, it is what I should be doing. I should be thanking this person for setting a good example. In this moment I realized the reason so many of us struggle with patience is because we hate it when things don’t go according to our plan, our schedule and our reality. We forget the world doesn’t revolve around us and we are quick to elevate ourselves above others.

My point is that we all need to examine our lives and search our hearts and ask ourselves “am I too centered on me and not enough on others?” If Christ laid down his life for us (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 3:16), putting aside all his wants and needs for the benefit of the entire human race (Phil. 2:3-7), we as Christians should model this type of love and selflessness to others too. So the next time you lose your patience with someone ask the Lord to show you why.

So what area of your life do you need to be less focused on yourself and more focused on God?

by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

I understand true faith believes that the God of Scripture is the only real and true God that actually exists and I understand we please God by walking with Him in faith. But how do we know when we are supposed to step out in faith?  Do we step out only after praying, or only when the Holy Spirit leads us to step out?

Hebrews 11 goes on to list Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Gideon, Samuel, etc., as examples of men and women who did step out in faith and took risks for God. Did you ever imagine what people of Noah’s time thought of him as he was building this huge boat?  There is no biblical proof of this, but I’m sure people talked behind his back saying this guy is a nut job, crazy and out of his mind to be spending all of his time building a boat. But Noah continued to do what God called him to do (Gen. 6:14-22). Noah followed God regardless of what others thought about him or said about him.

When I accepted my position at MBC Loudoun many people told me I was crazy.  They told me I was insane for leaving a “safe” government job for a “non-profit” job.  The told me I was nuts for depending upon people’s tithing for my salary to be paid.  Again and again the world was telling me this was a huge risk and my flesh was screaming don’t do it, but God was calling me to take this job so I chose to follow Him.  I was absolutely scared but God has been faithful to provide everything AnnieLaurie and I need (Psalm 55:22; Phil. 4:19).

Just like Noah we too need to follow God’s guidance and because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we believers receive this guidance through the prompting and directing of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26; 1 Cor. 2:6-16).  So the answer to above questions is we need to do what the Holy Spirit directs us to do no matter how uncomfortable it may make us.  While following the Spirit’s guidance we need to cover what God asks us in prayer and we need to pray with full confidence that God will answer this prayer.  Also, if we believe we are to do something without the Lord’s prompting we should definitely lift that up to God to make sure we are doing His Will and not what our flesh wants us to do.

I’ve heard many times the best place to be is in the will of God and this is so true. Remember, our time in this world is short and yes some risks God calls us to take may be very scary, but if we search our heart we will see the reasons we are scared are of the flesh and not of the Lord (John 14:27).  Be bold brothers and sisters and take those leaps of faiths God is calling you too.

by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

At first glance I thought describing the word of God as growing was a strange expression to be used here.  Surely, Luke did not mean the Bible was going to grow bigger and bigger. So when I looked at the Greek for ‘word’ in this context, which is ‘logos ‘I discovered that Luke used the masculine grammatical gender of’ logos here, that can be defined as the content of what is preached about Christ or about the Good News.  This specific rendering of the word ‘logos’ could also be found in Acts 19:20 and Colossians 1:5.  In other words, Luke was saying the Good News of God was being told to non-believers more and more every day.

This makes sense because as God’s Word is proclaimed on fertile soil (Mark 4:20) more and more people will come to faith in Jesus Christ. The result of more people coming to faith is more disciples, and in this particular case, more Jewish priests were coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Did you catch that? Re-read the last sentence if you missed it.  Hello, Jewish priests are converting to Christ.  The Jewish priests were the ones who wanted Christ crucified (Matt. 23:6; 14-14; 57-67). If this is not an evangelistic impact in a community I don’t know what is!

So you are thinking, I get what you’re throwing down Brian.  I understand we need to tell others about the Good News and that the Holy Spirit can make a believer out of anyone, but how can I live this out in my life?  Great question and my answer to you this week is … DC Schools Project on August 20.  You can volunteer at the DC Schools Project by clicking on this link HERE.  This is a great way to serve with your whole family and helps your children, even at a very young age, to begin to understand what it means to serve others.  When you are there take every opportunity to tell students, principles, teachers or others in the community who may be involved about why you are there. Let’s be a FORCE in the community and not an idle player.

by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

“The pious lives of Christians did not give me anything that the lives of men of other faiths had failed to give. I had seen in other lives just the same reformation that I had heard of among Christians. Philosophically there was nothing extraordinary in Christian principles. From the point of view of sacrifice, it seemed to me that the Hindus greatly surpassed the Christians” (Mahatma Gandhi).

Doesn’t Gandhi’s quote make you wonder what type of pious Christians he was watching? Were these men and women really Christians? I guess we will never know the answers to these questions, but what matters for us today is how we live as Christ followers right now.

One thing we can glean from the verse in Colossians is that our work is a testimony to others of our love for Christ. What Gandhi is basically saying is he noticed nothing different from observing how Christians actually lived out their lives compared to people of other religions. Actions of Christians did not match their words. Gandhi even goes as far as to say that the fruit of people of other religions seemed even more abundant than many Christians he was watching.

Whether we realize it or not we are each ministers of the gospel wherever we work or whatever we do. Our ultimate goal is to glorify and honor God (1 Cor. 10:31; 1 Peter 4:10-11). Yes, we don’t always get it right (Romans 3:10), but we should all strive for excellence in whatever we do because we were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20), but also because we are called to be salt and light in this world (Matt 5:13-16) and we don’t want to be a barrier that causes someone else to stumble. Lastly, our work is done in service to God and he deserves nothing but our best.

Let’s take the time today in prayer to ask God to look at the condition of our hearts and ask Him to reveal to us areas in our life we may not being doing with excellence. Let’s approach Him with a teachable spirit and be ready to hear something we may not want to hear. I know there are areas I can strive to be better in for His glory, so what are those areas for you?

by Susie Battle, Director of Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

I am excited to welcome aboard Amelia Sipress to the MBC Loudoun staff team! She will be serving part time as our Associate Director of Ministry Teams. Amelia hails from Canada – London, Ontario, to be exact. So you can probably guess that she loves to watch hockey and loves the Toronto Maple Leafs… and spells favourite with a ‘u.’ Speaking of favourites, her favourite bible verse is Philippians 3:8.

Amelia accepted Christ when she was 4. After high school, she attended a one-year Christian internship in Texas called The Honor Academy. Her internship helped prepare her for ministry… and introduced her to her partner in ministry, her now husband, Tristan. They attended college near each other in Canada, where Amelia earned her Bachelors of Sociology from King’s University College (affiliated with the University of Western Ontario).

Tristan and Amelia love the mountains – Amelia thinks there is something about the beauty of them that draws her closer to the Lord – so they prayed for a job opportunity in Washington. Then Tristan got a job offer from McLean Bible Church – not quite the Washington they were thinking of! We are blessed that God answers prayers according to His plan, and we are excited to have Tristan as our audio engineer, and now Amelia as our Associate Director of Ministry Teams!

… and their dog, Makita (yes, named after the power tool!).

Welcome, Amelia!

by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun 

“To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).

Does anyone remember the show “Ripley’s Believe It or Not”?  This TV show highlighted bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that watchers might question the claims of the event or item, but things they showed you were always real and true. In the same way, while it may seem strange or impossible right now, if you are a believer in Christ, God has a special and unique work he wants you to do for him. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Therefore, every Christian has a God given ministry. In Christ, even the shyest believers become bold evangelists and others with limited education or experience become teachers and preachers of the Word of God. The Christian who seems socially awkward or who is a weight lifter with a tough exterior each have a God given ministry. Even a Christian in prison has a God given ministry. Every mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, granddad, friend that is a Christian has a ministry God is calling them to serve in no matter their role or status in society.

Let’s take a few examples from the Bible to prove this point.  Take the apostle Peter for example. Peter was a fisherman (Matthew 4:18) with no education (Acts 4:13) and God used him to teach, evangelize and shepherd the Jewish people. Or how about Saul who persecuted Christians (Acts 8; Galatians 1:13) until he became a believer in Jesus Christ.  He got a new name (Paul), a new assignment from God to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15) and ultimately ended up writing most of the New Testament (e.g. – Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon.) Paul was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) and one of the worst persecutors of Christians, but God changed his heart and ended up using him in a mighty way to bring glory to God and make the gospel known to many.

So now you are thinking, ok great Brian, God has given every Christian a God Given Ministry, but how do I know what that ministry is for me? Well, I am glad you asked. I recommend that you take McLean University Christianity 401 which begins on September 25 at MBC Loudoun (Note: Registration for this class will open in the near future.) This class will help you learn about spiritual gifts and how you can put those gifts to work for the Lord here at MBC Loudoun. You see, God gives each member of the Body of Christ unique and special abilities to accomplish the work God is calling us to do as his church (Romans 12:5-8; I Cor. 12:4-31; I Peter 4:10-11). This class helps us understand what those gifts are so we can then leverage them for the edification of the Body and the accomplishment of the work of Christ in the world (Romans 12:3-8; I Peter 4:10-11).

Even if you have been walking with the Lord for a long time, I still recommend you take this class, even if you have taken a spiritual gifts test or class like this in the past because the Holy Spirit apportions gifts as He deems important (1 Cor. 12:11), so they may change over time.

Believe it or not, if you are a believer in Christ, God has a special ministry for you.  So what’s your ministry?

by Susie Battle, Director Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

We thank God for the impact Lauren Payne has had on staff at MBC Loudoun over the past two years.  She has been a great partner in ministry and an integral part of the excellence of our mission trips since they launched and our Saturday night service since its launch.  I especially enjoy that she exudes the peace of Christ.  While I miss her in her staff role, I am excited for her to transition home to be a full time mom with the arrival of their second child any day!

Thank you, Lauren!  And may God bless you and your family!