Part of this task is first understanding and identify our spiritual gifts. This week’s podcast will quickly talk about how to help the the people in your group discover their spiritual gifts and start using them.

Luke 9:37-45

Jack Gill

Speaker: Tedd Tripp

March 30-31, 2012 at Blue Ridge Bible Church

Dr. Tedd Tripp draws on over 30 years of experience as a pastor, counselor, school administrator, and father in giving his valuable help to parents. Shepherding a Child’s Heart is about how to speak to the heart of your child. The things your child does and says flow from the heart. Luke 6:45 puts it this way, “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (NIV) Designed for parents with children of any age, this seminar provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child’s heart into the paths of life. Purchase his book here: Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Continue reading for complete details.

Plan to make this small investment in your family!

The cost is $20/$25 for single/couple before March 4

$30/$35 after March 4

Childcare will be made available. You must register for childcare by March 15.

Child care costs $10 for one child, $20 for two, $25 for three or more.

See below for additional details and conference schedule.

Space is limited, so register soon! Please note this conference is for adults only but we have prepared a terrific childcare program (0-12).

For those in need of childcare, we are offering a terrific program for children (ages birth to 12 years). Registrations for childcare must be done by March 15. Cost is $10 for one child, $20 for two and $25 for three or more. Your kids will enjoy our “Under the Sea” theme for the weekend, featuring a showing of the family film “Dolphin Tale” as well as sea-themed snacks, games, and fun activities. Friday night is movie night. Kids can come in their pajamas and enjoy “Dolphin Tale,” an inspiring true story of a dolphin named Winter who receives a second chance at life. Saturday morning the fun continues with plenty of games, activities, and Bible lessons that will captivate your little seafarer!

Register online here.

Pastor Tedd Tripp’s Biographical Information

Tedd Tripp is the senior pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, Hazleton, Pennsylvania. He was married to Margy in 1968. They have three adult children and nine grandchildren. Tedd is a graduate of Geneva College, B.A. in History, Philadelphia Theological Seminary, M. Div., and Westminster Theological Seminary, D. Min. with an emphasis in Pastoral Counseling. Tedd is the author of the popular child-rearing book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart.

Tedd has been an elder in Grace Fellowship Church since 1976 and pastor of the church since 1983. Before seminary Tedd worked as a contractor and in industry.

Tedd and Margy founded Immanuel Christian School in 1979 where Tedd has served as a teacher and administrator. Tedd and Margy still serve on the board of ICS. From 1985-1997 Tedd served as a counselor in the Lehigh Valley office of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. Since 1994, Tedd has maintained an extensive ministry as a conference speaker and presenter of Shepherding a Child’s Heart Seminars. His books and video and audio materials are used throughout the world.

Schedule and Session Summaries

Friday Evening

6:30- 7:00 Registration

7:00- 8:00 Getting to the Heart of Behavior

The major theme of Shepherding a Child’s Heart is that the heart directs behavior. In this session Dr. Tripp presents an overview of several passages that teach that the heart is the wellspring of life. Since behavior is heart driven (Luke 6:45), it cannot be understood or addressed biblically in isolation from the heart. What a child says and does is a reflection of the abundance of his heart. This session explores some of the common ways that we try to address behavior without shepherding the heart, helping parents gain skill at working back from behavior to the heart unmasking heart issues for their children.

8:15- 9:15 Helping our Kids See the Glory of God

Shaping influences of childhood are the events and circumstances in a child’s developmental years that prove to be catalysts for the person he becomes. Shaping influences, however, are only half the story. Children are worshippers so they interact with the shaping influences of life out of the Godward orientation of their hearts. Since they are worshippers children either worship God or idols. They filter the experiences of life through a religious grid. Since their Godward orientation will determine the ways they respond to the shaping influences of life, one of the primary tasks of the parent is to help their children see the glories of God. They are made to be dazzled and awed by God. The parent’s calling is to help them see the glories and excellencies of the one for who they have been made. Psalm 145 describes parenting as “one generation commending the works of God to another.”

Saturday morning

8:30- 9:00 Breakfast: coffee, tea and light breakfast

9:00- 10:00 Early Childhood: Helping our Children Live Joyfully Under Authority

These early days are wonderful for helping children understand that they are designed to live under authority. Kind and gracious authority is a blessing for children since they lack wisdom, maturity and life experience. Our task is helping them see that God, who is good and kind, has designed them to function as people under authority. God has promised wonderful blessing for children who learn to honor and obey Mom and Dad.

10:15- 11:15 Childhood: Helping Children Understand How to Identify Attitudes of Heart

There are many issues that arise in shepherding our children that cannot be reduced to living under authority. The Bible teaches that the heart has strayed long before the behavior strays. We must help our children understand the heart attitudes that are behind common behavior problems. Focus on the heart keeps before us the need for the transformation that grace brings. This session will present a paradigm for getting from behavior to heart attitudes and helping children understand ways that their straying hearts show how profoundly they need the forgiveness, grace and empowerment of the gospel.

11:25 – 12:30 p.m. Teenagers: Helping Young People Embrace the Gospel as their own Living Faith

This is the time to pass the baton of faith from one generation to the next. There are foundational issues in Proverbs 1: the fear of the Lord, remembering your parent’s words and disassociation from the wicked. The parent accomplishes the tasks of this developmental stage through rich biblical communication. We will discover that the finest art of communication is to understand the other person, in this case our teen.

We’ll get all the details up soon!

On arriving at Dublin Airport at 5:30 am, we got our vehicle and some breakfast, took a stroll in St. Stephens Green, and then drove to our friends, the Thompsons, for lunch. They have been involved in John 3:7 street ministry for many years. Each night that they go out to city centre, an average of 10-12 people accept Christ. They have been very involved in discipling people as well. Evie met their daughter Rebecca before we had been in the country, one day on our first trip 10 years ago. It’s beautiful to see these girls age in the pictures I take and grow into women who truly love the Lord.

After our warm welcome back, we headed an hour and a half south to Gorey in County Wexford. We stopped for groceries and supplies and on to our self-catering house. Soon after, several of the church members from Gorey came and we shared fellowship over Chinese take-out and tea, of course. At that point we had gotten not much more than a catnap in 32 hours. Keeping our eyes open was a challenge. But time is so short, and we did not want to waste any of it.

In the course of the week, we spent many times of fellowship every day, sometimes at our house, sometimes at others’ or out and about, such as taking an elderly widow friend to lunch. Some friends from past visits drove an hour or more to see us. When people speak of Irish hospitality, they do not exaggerate! We have been the happy recipients of much warm Irish hospitality and great meals. And our friend Ollie said that I make very good tea now, even for an American! Perhaps it has taken the whole ten years, but as small as it is, I consider it a triumph.

On the Sunday, Mark preached a sermon on bitterness, inspired by the teachings of Bill Parker. The response was tremendous and we understood right away that this was a teaching the church appreciated and felt they needed.

One morning, I led a talk at a women’s tea. It was attended by 30 women–off their chart in numbers. It was encouraging to meet so many new women, some of whom, hungry for God’s Word and fellowship, had driven an hour or more to get there. I had spent many long hours before the trip, praying about and writing the talk. I was surprised that the more I prayed, the more the direction changed. My specific prayer to speak the words that God most wanted the women there to hear was immediately answered as one woman thanked me publicly, saying it was exactly what she needed to hear and just what her pastor had recently taught about. Another woman piped up and said she didn’t even know the other woman or go to the same church, but that it was also what she needed and what her pastor had recently taught about as well. God is so good!

Mark and Jon Farris, who has traveled with us several times, gave a purity talk at a men’s breakfast. It was also well attended and challenged the men to live lives that honor God in all they think and do. We hosted a youth afternoon for younger children, teaching them five parables of Jesus and having them perform versions of them with drama and puppets. We also led a teen night where we showed the music video “You Are More” by 10th Avenue North and talked about God’s love for each of us no matter what we’ve been through or what we’ve done.

We brought as many Bibles as we could fit in our luggage with the goal of coming home with only our own, and less than that if opportunity permitted. We gave Bibles to those who did not have one at the events we worked with. We gave them out to people we met, like an elderly chap who helped us put oil in our car at the petrol station. Jon and Evie gave a Bible to an elderly couple that they have danced with at an Irish cultural night now three summers in a row. I believe we gave away all but one of the Bibles we brought.

Having had the privilege to visit Ireland six times in ten years, we continue to learn about the state of the Church there and see how it is changing. The abuse and distrust in the Catholic Church has continued to come to the surface in the last couple of years. And yet, many feel that to be Irish is to be Catholic. People are searching for spiritual alternatives. Some are turning to the ancient pagan Celtic ways. My Irish friend told me that last year over 10,000 people turned out to Bealtaine festivals on May 1 across the island. This involves worship of the same Baal talked about in the Bible. Others though, are turning to Christianity. In just the tiny new church we work with, having about 25 members, we saw that in less than a year from our previous visit, there were about six brand new Christians. We attended the weekly believers Bible study (they also have a weekly study for those just wanting to learn more about Christianity). There were many faces there unfamiliar to me. Men and women were coming from other churches because they were hungry for more study of God’s word. I was so impressed with their depth of discussion and even more impressed when, in talking to people afterwards, I learned that so many of them were brand new believers! They are well beyond milk and onto solid food. It is exciting to see people coming to the Lord and growing so deep in their faith. God is truly working in Gorey, Ireland!

We thank you, our church body at Blue Ridge, for your part in this mission to Ireland. Thank you for your prayers for our family and ministry while we were there. The church in Gorey asks for prayer for their continued unity, for maturing of the new Christians and for the many unsaved spouses and family members of their believers. Our family is also praying about the possibility of going back for a longer time, possibly three months this summer, Lord willing.

By Patrice Smith

Luke 9:27-36

Jack Gill

Jack Gill

Luke 9: 18-26

This youth retreat is led by a team from Liberty University. Worship and teaching times hosted at Purcellville Baptist, boys and girls small groups led by volunteers from Blue Ridge, overnight hosting by Blue Ridge families. Will include great teaching, discussion and prayer, service projects in the community, and tons of fun! Download the form and register today!

DNow Registration Form (pdf)

Deliver the form and payment to Blue Ridge Bible Church to complete your registration.

More details

When? Feb 24 @ 5:30pm to Feb 26 at noon

How much? $50
 (cost includes Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast and a t-shirt)

Registration deadline is February 15th

More info? Contact Rich Shipe at 540-338-2299 or rich@brbible.org

We hope to see you there!

Since it launched in December, we have now used Community Builder (CB) to invite and register women for the January retreat, which also conveniently included paying for registrations by credit card online. It was used to sign up people for the March for Life. Our LIFE group leaders are using it to communicate with their groups and to manage their rosters. Our deacons are scheduling worship service security teams. The Belize summer missions team is tracking their preparations to go this summer. Many thanks to those of you who are building the community and finding new uses for it. This is a “continuing education” project so watch for future demonstrations, or you can always contact me with questions or instructional needs.

One especially handy tool for everyone is the online giving. We offered that in the past through our previous software, but this one is even easier to set up and manage. It’s convenient, consistent, secure and deliberate, allowing you to give “cheerfully” rather than sitting in the worship service and realizing you forgot your checkbook…ooops again. So if you have not considered giving this way before, take a moment and check it out. Login, click on “give” and follow the prompts. Or you can go to your profile and click on “give” or “financial.” If you have any questions, just contact me any time.

Another use for CB is matching up people with special interests…or matching those who have a freezer to give away with those who are looking for one…or matching those who need some work done around their house with skilled people in our church family. We have started a group called “Bulletin Board for Needs” which you can request to join and then communicate with others in that group. We have also created “Workforce Ministries Lunch Group.” This is the ministry which holds monthly lunches for business people who want to integrate their faith with their workplace. You can request to join that group and William Kirkwood will send you updates and invitations. If you have a special interest and want to know if there are others in our church family with the same interest, contact me and we can set up a group for you. To see the current groups available, go to Groups > discover a new group > search, and the entire group list pops up.

Check out Blue Ridge Community Builder today!

We will celebrate Super Bowl Sunday on February 5 by a canned food drive for our annual “Souper” Bowl Sunday! We will join more than a quarter of a million young people around the country who use Super Bowl Sunday as a way to raise awareness of local hunger relief charities. The food we collect will go to Tree of Life Food Pantry right here in Purcellville. Urgent food needs include: canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned meats, canned beans, canned soups and chili, 100% juices, peanut butter & jelly, honey, rice & pasta, spaghetti and tomato sauce, macaroni & cheese, baking items such as flour, sugar, vegetable oil, pancake mix and syrup, cake mixes and frosting, condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise), breakfast cereal, ground coffee and tea.

Thank You Night is a chance for clubbers to express gratitude for those who influence and serve for Christ. We want to instill an attitude for gratitude.

On Heart Night we will examine the condition of our hearts. There will be a special council time message and some awesome treats!

Leap Day is only celebrated every four years. We will leap between activities all night long! Join us for some high flying adventure!

Just an administration note: When we have to cancel Awana due to weather, we will make every effort to call all our clubbers to inform them. The church website will have up-to-the-minute information as well. And don’t forget to follow the church on Twitter for all the latest information.

February 5 – Souper Bowl Sunday!

February 12 – Thank You Night

February 19 – Heart Night

February 26 – Leap Night

By Geni Hall