Once a month Theophilus is going to be playing Christian music at the Friday Night Purcellville Teen Center (VIBE.) They already had their first event which went really well. Nathan who is the band leader, has a great way of reaching out to his audience. He prayed for the kids and afterwards the band played basketball and spent time socializing with everyone. Many of those kids have been asking when they are coming back! The desire of Theophilus is to reach the youth with the gospel through music and personal interaction.

The Teen Center has an average weekly attendance of 150 youth from 6th through 8th grades. The founder of the Teen Center, Phil Message, always had a desire to make this a ministry, a way to reach the youth with the hopes of bringing them to Christ. Having Theophilus play Christian music for the teens meets the purpose and vision for why the Teen Center got started in the first place.

Nathan, Katarina, Michael, Caleb, Sam and John have a desire to see these kids come to know the Lord. God has blessed them with an incredible talent through their musical abilities and they are using it to give all the glory to God.

By Marion Esposito

Love marked your life to us
As you gave us your best years
Cleaning, caring, shaping us,
And drying all our tears

We deprived you of your sleep
with our aches and our nightmares
But you came into our rooms
And you settled all our fears

As we grew your sleep was still aloof
For a teen is just getting started,
When midnight strokes upon the clock
And we then desire wisdom imparted

When times were hard and we were down,
Because we lost or failed
It was you who cheered us to try again
and to struggle to prevail

We often took for granted
all those meals you planned and prepped
And we never gave a second thought
To all the gear you had to schlepp…

as you took us to the zoos,
and the movies, and the store
Sometimes with us excited and
certainly wanting more

But at other times complaining,
Ungrateful and unkind
But still you served and gave and loved
Even when we whined
As love so often does
We brought you joy-but also pain
Only thinking of ourselves
And what was to our gain

And you loved us with the love of Christ
Unconditional, to never cease
And you laid your heart out every day
To be spent out piece by piece

In irony, it’s so like God,
to reveal the Father, Spirit, Son,
But discover them lived out
Through a female’s life, called “Mom”

If Fathers led us all alone
Home would be functional
But with no pictures, plants, or spice,
but a rancid kind of smell…

Creative meals would soon become
Syrup and pancakes
And on a very special day,
For breakfast—chocolate cake!

And life would get very cold,
Being tough and regimental
And we would lose the nicer things,
And become hard and brittle,

BUT…
you bring beauty, peace, and warmth…
Tenderness and calm,
Our lives have been forever changed
Because YOU were our Mom.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Luke 10:38-42

Jack Gill

Mother’s Day poem that Jack wrote and read at the beginning of the sermon: Mother

You all know we provide coffee on Sunday mornings at our coffee bar near the kitchen. This is a taste of hospitality that we want to continue to provide to our church family and guests. However, it is also something that costs us over $7,000 per year to clean coffee/cream/sugar combo stains from the carpet, and it’s gotten so bad that we most recently had to use an even more expensive cleaning method to remove the stains.

I was made aware of a really great solution that a church in Maryland has tried…and it’s so great that it’s coming here starting this month. It’s our official Blue Ridge coffee mug with our church logo, a secure lid and a wide bottom that doesn’t tip over.

So heads up all you coffee drinkers because here’s the new plan to use these mugs:

• Each family will receive two mugs for free…to start!! Single adults will receive one free mug. Parents can decide if they want to purchase mugs for their children for coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
• Everyone will use these mugs on Sundays. No other cups will be available. Water bottles will be allowed.
• Everyone will write their name on their mug. Permanent markers will be provided.
• First-time visitors will receive a free mug as a gift with their welcome folders.
• If you forget to bring your mug on Sunday, you may purchase another one for $3.00 or you may take one from the Mugs Only Lost & Found tub in the kitchen.
• If you leave it here, it will be rinsed out, waiting for you to pick it up in the Mugs Only Lost & Found tub
• Until we all get into the habit, we will have people stationed at the doors and coffee bar to graciously remind you that no other containers (except water bottles) are allowed in the auditorium or classrooms.
• You may use your own coffee mug but only if it has a very secure lid. Regular travel coffee mugs, even with lids, can easily be tipped over, so using the church mug is preferred. And you won’t be as cool as the rest of us who have our “official” church mugs.

Benefits

• Big cost savings on carpet cleaning and wear and tear as well.
• Big cost savings on disposable cups and lids, since they will no longer be provided.
• Eco-friendly since it will significantly lessen our weekly trash load
• Provides a gift to our visitors, and hopefully serves as a reminder to return here when they see our imprinted mug in their cupboard.

Special Note – If you have a personal interest in hospitality or even just want to see excellent coffee service provided, we are looking for someone to take on this “ministry of care” to our church family. For starters, this of course would entail making the coffee each Sunday, as well as creating a warm and inviting area for fellowship. Many, many thanks to our faithful deacons who have provided this ministry for us for so long, but we all think it would be great to have a person or couple or family who have an interest or vision for this. If you’re the one, please contact me anytime (debbie@brbible.org).

Image credit: Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Romans 5:12

Jack Gill

By Jon Lung

I sat across from him in the assembly hall and watched him as he quietly held the hands of his translator and American “ge ge” (older brother). They had been like a family for the last week…the closest thing to a family that Li Xiao Feng had ever had. They swam together, danced together, ate together, and went shopping together; they had shared life with each other. But now it was time to leave. The week of fun had ended and goodbye letters were being read at our last assembly time. Tears began to fill Xiao Feng’s eyes and he held the hand of his volunteer tighter as the realization came that he had to go back to his life at the orphanage. He had seen love. He had known what it was like to be treasured and given value. His life had been changed forever because of this week. But what now? Is there hope for life after camp?’

Li Xiao Feng’s story is not uncommon for many of the kids that we work with in Bring Me Hope, but his story does have a happy ending. Asking ourselves how we can help these precious kids beyond a week of camp, we have been working to implement programs that follow up with the kids and advocate for them once they are back at the orphanage. The idea is that after spending a week with the orphan, the volunteer and translator know that child and his or her needs the best. They are the one’s who have invested in their lives even just a little and the kids become much more than just a picture on the internet to them. They become real lives with real, tangible needs that can be met.

This last summer, Robert, a college student from Ireland, came to camp and met Xiao Feng. He came to sincerely care for Xiao Feng and was challenged to do much more for him than spend time with him for a week. Robert returned home and began a campaign to advocate for his young friend. He talked to people he knew, spoke at gatherings about Xiao Feng and his need for a family to adopt him. Now after months of persistence, Xiao Feng has a family who plans on adopting him! These kids desperately NEED someone to be a voice for them. Bring Me Hope as an organization can’t follow up with each child that comes through camp, unless we can partner with people like you and other volunteers who have a heart to help.

Each year, Bring Me Hope does a nationwide “Nightwalk” event to raise money to bring kids to camp. People involved with BMH around the world and in China will all walk on the same night. This years Nightwalk is on May 18. If you are interested in participating, please contact me. Thanks! Jon Lung (jonlung2@gmail.com)

Our last meeting will be on May 6 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Purcellville Skating Rink. The cost is $3 per skater. Their web site is http://www.bushtabernacle.com/ If you haven’t been exposed to this ministry yet, you are in for a treat! Parents will be responsible for their own children. Verses can still be recited but you must make prior arrangements with your child’s leader. Food is available on site for purchase.

Our 15th Annual Awana Award Ceremony and Ice Cream Social will be on May 20 from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at Blue Ridge Bible Church. Please bring an ice cream topping to share. All ice cream will be provided. We will have a special slide show looking back at 15 years of our Awana history.

Also, at our Awards Ceremony, we anticipate presenting two Citation awards, the highest Awana honor. Our Citation Award is the most coveted accomplishment representing the completion of 10 books totally over 1,000 verses memorized plus reading through the entire Bible and summarizing each book. This award also requires service and missions projects along the way. We have only awarded eight Citation awards in our 15 years of running Awana at Blue Ridge Bible Church. This year’s awards recipients are David Garber and Christina Webster.

Thank you to all of our Directors, Leaders and Clubbers who worked so hard to make this a successful Awana year! We had 50 dedicated leaders who tirelessly came each week to listen to verses and model consistent godly character to the clubbers. Club nights could not run without their service. Please take a moment to thank each of them. Special thank you to our dedicated Directors who go above and beyond to make sure records are kept and awards are received. They take time each week outside of club to do all the work that ensures clubbers are rewarded. Kudos to Courtney Shipe, Shelly Farley, Leah Garber, Lauren Hyde, Jon Garber, Kyle Niewoehner, Tom & Chelli Monroe, and Todd Harris.

Congratulations to all our clubbers who memorized God’s Word. Our goal is to reach boys and girls with the Gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him. Please consider joining us again on September 9 when we begin our 16th year of Awana.

May 6 – 4th quarter, Club Party Night

May 13 – NO AWANA (Mother’s Day)

May 20 – 15th Annual Award Ceremony and Ice Cream Social

At the same time, each of them has been able to place a “deposit” into your lives, though they have never seen you, or met you face to face. It is 2 Timothy 2:2 taking place, in which Paul says to a young pastor:

And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.

This summer, I will be going back to Dallas Theological Seminary to finally complete my degree and training! For much of May through August, you will only see me occasionally as I pass through between classes. Seminary has been and continues to be a unique and wonderful equipping experience for me. However, this is a unique time for you as well, because you are going to have the opportunity to hear teaching from other sources as well!

While I am gone, Rich Shipe will be teaching you all from the book of 1 Timothy. He has been preparing now for nearly five months, and I think it will prove to be an excellent series! It is a powerful message that will challenge each person as they listen while Rich exposits this letter about ministry in and through the local church.

In the meantime, all of the various ministries will continue, and you will have the great opportunity to take what you either learn or are reminded of, and begin to put it into practice through your engagement in Blue Ridge!

For me, it is a good time of equipping, (though I do hate being away from both my own family and church family!). However, for those days that I am here, I hope to hear from each of you how God is working on and through you—for His Glory!

April 29th, 2012