Turkey Outreach

It’s time for the 13th Annual McLean Bible Church/Adopt a Turkey Thanksgiving Outreach Project! The project provides Thanksgiving Dinners to less fortunate families in Washington, Virginia, and Baltimore. Turkey Outreach is a ministry of Frontline and McLean Bible Church in connection with Adopt a Turkey that works with close to 50 organizations to feed 7,500 families each Thanksgiving. We partner with everyone from faith-based ministries and shelters to Easter Seals and county services to accomplish this task.

When is it?
Turkey Outreach is scheduled for Saturday, November 22nd at 8:00 am.

Where is it?
Turkey Outreach takes place at McLean Bible Church on the lower level of the parking garage.

How can I get involved?
There are several ways that you can get involved in this service project which makes a tremendous impact. There are literally hundreds of volunteers who come together to assemble the boxes and meals as well as organize and distribute the goods. There are a number of locations where the distribution event has more of a festival type atmosphere.

Early Morning: We need volunteers to arrive at 6:30 am to help unload the food trucks and set up for the day. This is a crucial need because until the food is off the trucks the rest of the volunteers can’t start boxing.

Boxing Brigade: Like always you can come and join the assembly line of boxing up the Thanksgiving meals. We will be putting together 7,500 boxes so we definitely could use a lot of hands for this part of the operation. Serve alongside hundreds of other volunteers as we will unload tractor trailers of food to be assembled in boxes and then sent out for distribution. There is no need to sign up so just bring yourself, your small group, family and friends and come to the lower level of the parking garage. The event will most likely end no later than noon. If your group is interested in helping out with boxing just show up at the church at 8:00 am, when the boxing begins!

Meal Distribution: Your small group can go to one of the drop off sites to actually deliver meals to people. This will happen a little later in the day after the boxes have been assembled. If your group is interested in signing up to do this or to just get more information contact Mike at mike.kelsey@mcleanbible.org.

Drivers: We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to drive to deliver turkey boxes around the DC metro area. If you have a CLD, experience driving a rental truck, own a pick up truck, SUV, or van and are interested in helping this year, please send an e-mail to Brian Walters at brnwltrs@gmail.com.

Please Pray: Join us in prayer for our fundraising, opportunities for evangelism through personal contact and literature, opportunities to develop partnerships and future service projects with many of the organizations, project planning and logistics, and good weather.

Contributing Financially: Please consider contributing financially. A $25 donation, placed in the offering envelope, will feed approx. 10 people. You can also donate online by clicking here and selecting “Designated Fund” and then “Turkey Outreach” as the Sub-Fund.

Helpful Resources

If you would like to learn more about sharing your faith after reading though this devotional, below are several resources that we recommend. These are available in the McLean Bible Church Tysons Campus Bookstore. We also recommend registering for Christianity 301, which is designed to help you Share the Message of Jesus Christ.

Share Jesus Without Fear
William Fay

God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith
J.P. Moreland

Sharing Your Faith with Friends and Family: Talking about Jesus Without Offending
Michael Green

Questioning Evangelism
Corner Conversation
Randy Newman

7 Principles of an Evangelistic Life
Douglas Cecil

Like Your Neighbor
Stephen Sorenson

Holy Conversation
Richard Peace

Living Proof: Sharing the Gospel Naturally
Jim Petersen

Divine Appointments
Bob Jacks

How to Share Your Faith
Greg Laurie

Tips For Sharing Your Faith

Thank you for joining us over the past 31 days in spending time reading and praying about sharing your faith. Our hope is that this devotional has encouraged and equipped you to go out and share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Christ.

We hope that you will not only take what you have learned about sharing your faith and put it into practice, but that you will continue the discipline of a daily time of prayer that has been developed throughout the past month. Continue praying for our church and our city, and together we can impact this city for Christ.

Thank you again for joining us on this journey. Below are several practical tips for sharing your faith, along with some suggested resources, all of which are available at the Tysons Campus bookstore.

Share Jesus Without Fear

STEP ONE
Use Questions That Determine Where God Is Working
1. Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
2. To you, who is Jesus?
3. Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell?
4. If you died right now, where would you go? If heaven, why?
5. If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it?
“Yes” – Open Bible.
“No” – Do nothing.

STEP TWO
Let the Bible Speak
Read the verse aloud.
What does this say to you?
1. Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned.”
2. Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death.”
3. John 3:3 – “You must be born again.” Ask, Why did Jesus come to die?
4. John 12″6 – “I am the way.”
5. Romans 10:9-11 – “If you confess…you will be saved.”
6. 2 Corinthians 5:15 – “Those that live should no longer live for themselves.”
7. Revelation 3:20 – “I stand at the door and knock.”

STEP THREE
Close with Key Questions
1. Are you a sinner?
2. Do you want forgiveness for your sins?
3. Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and rose again?
4. Are you willing to surrender your life to Christ?
5. Are you ready to invite Jesus into your life and into your heart?
Be Silent…and Pray

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I have sinned against You. I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again. Father, I give You my life to do with as You wish, I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my hearth. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

From the Share Jesus Without Fear workbook.
Copyright ©1997, revised 2008 by LifeWay Press.
Used by permission, LifeWay Christian Resources, 2008.

How Beautiful Are Your Feet?

By Todd Adkins, DC Campus Pastor
ROMANS 10:13-15
[F]or, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Even in more modern times with the amazing work of Dr. Scholls and the proliferation of the pedicure, I would venture to say feet have not broken into the top ten list of most beautiful body parts. I’m not sure if there has ever been a time when feet were widely considered among the more beautiful parts of the body, but I’m quite certain it wouldn’t have been around the time Paul was writing Romans. In his day the vast majority of both city dwellers and country folk either went barefoot or wore sandals. People walked nearly everywhere they went and their feet took a great deal of abuse on dusty rocky roads and filthy city streets. In short, nearly everyone’s feet were just plain ugly and you would have had to be bringing some exceptionally good news to qualify for the beautiful feet category.

We often use Romans 10:13-15 as the basis for our sending missionaries to nations around the world, and certainly this application is valid. But we cannot forget our own responsibility of taking the gospel to our own corners of the world where we have been “sent” each day. Then and now feet remain the primary way we get around, and it is God’s intent that as we go, we “go” with the message of Christ. We have each been strategically placed, by God, in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and homes to be salt and light. Each of us has been called and sent to fulfill the Great Commission and spread the good news of the gospel of peace.

When is the last time you took a good hard look at your feet? What news do you bring to your friends, neighbors and co-workers? Is it the latest gossip, complaints, political opinions or trivial matters of everyday life, or is it something more? Ensure that the message you bring this day is eternal and is reflected by the life you live and the words you speak.

Prayer

Father, we pray earnestly to You as the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into Your fields to reap a harvest of souls turned to You. We pray that You would fill us with Your wisdom, Your power, and Your words so that as we go about our day we might be used by You to fulfill this prayer. May our feet be swift and beautiful and our lives a reflection of both the message and the messenger we bring. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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First Things First

By Ken Sun, Tysons Campus Director of Biblical Training
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-5
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

Think back to when someone first talked with you about Christianity, to the time when someone first introduced you to Christ. For some of us that may be hard to remember since it was such a long time ago! But, whether it was a long time ago or more recent, what did the person emphasize to you when he or she told you about Christ?

I’ve heard a lot of gospel presentations through the years. I have often heard people say that the gospel will fix one’s marital problems or addictions or loneliness and that’s why people should accept Christ. Now, in many cases people do experience these benefits when they become Christians. So, what’s the problem? Simply this: that is NOT the gospel message!

In this passage quoted above, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the true gospel message. This was necessary because heretics had infiltrated the church at Corinth and introduced false teachings. This was no small matter to Paul! In fact, he says it is a matter of spiritual life and death that people have a proper understanding of the true Gospel, because if they do not, then they have believed in vain (v. 2).

Now secular society does not like the concept of sin. To them sin is an out-of-date concept that merely makes people feel guilty. As such, we might be tempted to avoid mentioning sin when we talk about Christ with our non-Christian friends. However, we are NOT called to embellish the Gospel or to make it “more palatable”; we are called to share it accurately. Any presentation of the Gospel that omits the mention of sin and Jesus’ death for our sin is really no Gospel message at all! It may be pre-evangelism, but it’s not truly sharing the Gospel message!
Let’s keep first things first: the Gospel message is that Christ died for our sins according to Scripture and was buried and resurrected.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for sending Jesus to die for our sins! We cannot even begin to adequately express our gratitude. Please give us the strength to share Your Gospel message accurately even if it is unpopular. Help us to resist the temptation to water it down in any way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Prophet With an Attitude (So, What’s Up With That?)

By John Baber, Elder
JONAH 1:1-3a
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD . . .

In Jonah’s day, God spoke directly to His prophets. His instructions to His chosen leaders were always clear. Such was the case with Jonah. He understood exactly what God had instructed him to do, but he had his own agenda. So, Jonah ran away from the Lord, or so he thought.

Perhaps, as soon as you saw the Jonah scriptural reference for today, your mind immediately reviewed the whole story of Jonah and what the end results were. You may recall that all the endangered ship’s captain and crew came to recognize and praise the God of Jonah. After Jonah finally went to Nineveh and proclaimed the message God had given him, all the evil people of Nineveh and their king repented and recognized and praised the God of Jonah. In all, probably more that 200,000 people were saved from destruction. Jonah was not happy about that, because he wanted a different outcome.

Today we have God’s permanent written Word, and the message is the same for us as it was for Jonah – go and tell. There are such wonderful lessons to be learned from this story, but, of course, the entire Word of God is given to us for that very purpose – to teach us.

Just as Jonah was directed by God to, in effect, impact secular Nineveh for God, so we, as members of McLean Bible Church, are commissioned to impact secular Washington with the message of Jesus Christ. What is our personal attitude toward the commands Christ has given us? If we do what we are instructed to do and get the same results as Jonah, would we all not be overjoyed beyond our wildest dreams? We could, you know!

May each of us examine our heart and decide where we stand in sharing the saving message of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who knows, just maybe we might get the same results. Regardless, McLean Bible Church’s primary goal is to reach secular Washington with the message of Jesus Christ, so let’s rededicate and challenge ourselves as never before.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for teaching us the history of Your people gone before us. Thank You for teaching us how much like them we are. We ask You, Father, to give us the renewed courage, desire and, stamina needed to always tell others of Your loving kindness and Your Son’s saving work on the cross. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Sharing Spotlight: Kyle Leffell

By Kyle Leffell

I truly was lost in my ways before I chose to surrender my life to Christ. I was a successful soccer player who earned scholarships to various colleges and I thought I had what I wanted in life. However, I felt a void in my heart and I went seeking after anything that I thought could fill that void. I tried to fill it with things like drugs, alcohol, women and sports. I experienced things that some may never and should never experience in their lives.

In college I was engulfed in a social life of parties, women and soccer. I didn’t pay much attention to grades and I didn’t consider a relationship with Christ. The point of college for me was to play soccer, party as hard and as long as possible, and eventually earn a degree.

At the conclusion of the first semester of my sophomore year in college I looked at what I had been doing and realized I needed a drastic change. Before then I had always thought I understood what it meant to have a relationship with Christ. I had thought that you just say a prayer and that’s it. I didn’t think there had to be any life change or putting to death the sin that I had lived in. However, I realized that this understanding was incomplete and that I needed something more. I needed the heart of stone to be taken away and replaced with a desire to follow Jesus.

My stepmother gave me Lon Solomon’s testimony to listen to and I was able to relate to almost everything he said. It was like the Lord was whispering in my ear as I listened to it alone in my room. I gave my life to Christ in January, and the Lord has truly blessed me in so many ways. I’m surrounded by other believers and I feel a thirst for the Word like that described in Psalm 42, “As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

Recently I’ve felt the Lord calling me to China for missions. I spent the past summer doing campus outreach and I met some people from China who explained how great the need is there. Hopefully the Lord will open a path for me to go there and pursue that dream.

Ever since I came to Christ I’ve experienced a desire to share my faith. I want to share it with everyone hoping that just one person would understand what it means to really know the Lord. I realize that I was once truly lost but now I have been found, and that Jesus has filled the void that was in my heart.

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Motivated by Love

By Craig Proulx, Elder
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

The word evangelism can stir up provocative feelings in people. Years ago during a job interview, I was asked, “Is it true that you are an evangelical?” I replied, “Yes, if you mean that I love Jesus Christ and want to tell everyone I meet about His love.” I did not get the job. To evangelize is to spread good news. It presupposes that we have been given something good to say. Once we have a personal relationship with Christ we have a life-changing message to tell the world. However, without a loving and confident message, sharing your faith is almost impossible. The good news has to be something worth sharing. If the message is a theory or a seven step process, it’s not a life-changing message. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can give you the confidence to proclaim it, defend it, and live up to it. When put on the spot, do you get embarrassed and want to play down your knowledge and association with the Savior? Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. This means he had confidence in the gospel. If there was anyone who should lose this confidence, it would be Paul. He was imprisoned in Philippi, regarded as a fool in Corinth, stoned in Galatia, laughed at in Athens, and smuggled out of Berea. The skeptic may deny the gospel you proclaim or attack your faith, but he can’t honestly ignore the fact that your life has been changed. Jesus has transformed us, and we have nothing to be ashamed about.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church (2 Corinthians 5:14) he makes it clear that he is motivated by Christ’s love to share the gospel with others. This is a motivation that finds its genesis in the cross of Calvary. It’s a motivation that crosses all national borders around the world. It has been a consistent motivator for over 2000 years, and it has never changed. Christ’s love motivates us to tell others of that love. There is no more powerful motivator in the entire universe than love. Someone once said, “The one who has loved me the most has changed me the most.” God’s love has the ability to completely revolutionize your life. This is why Paul always prayed that his converts would keep growing in their comprehension of God’s love for them. Our motivation to share the gospel can wane if we are not careful. It must be cultivated by the work of the cross, reflecting on it, believing it, and absorbing the love shown there. As you learn what the Bible teaches about the cross and as you believe it more, the Holy Spirit enables you to experience the motivational power of His love in your life. You will not be able to stop talking about Him because, “you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:3).
Prayer

Lord, give me the confidence to proclaim the gospel and the motivation to share your love with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Speak to Them

By Mark Gottlieb, Elder
EZEKIEL 2:7
You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was a priest who was called to be a prophet of the Lord. In particular he is commissioned to declare to the house of Israel the terrible judgments that would very shortly come upon the whole land if they did not repent.

These words in the beginning of the Book of Ezekiel are the direct commands from the Lord to Ezekiel. It couldn’t be any clearer. We all know that God wants us preach the Good News of our Lord and Savior (Mark 16:15). Yet we are shy and reticent to actually do so.

When I became a new Christian about 22 years ago, I did share my faith with friends, but they didn’t respond the way I wanted or hoped. I almost felt like it wasn’t working, so I became reserved at sharing my faith.

The problem was I was looking at the results. Nowhere in this chapter did the Lord tell Ezekiel to speak as long as he sees results. Reading the passage again we see that it’s not outcome based. It’s a command. The Lord even describes the people as “rebellious, ” probably to let Ezekiel know that He is aware of the type of people he is up against. That description fits many of the people you and I come across each day.

It is our duty to, “…speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen…” It is the Holy Spirit who calls people to Himself, yet He chooses us to do the speaking.

I personally have found working with the “Jews for Jesus” ministry to be most rewarding for me. This group’s mission statement is: “We exist to make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide.” Today’s verse fits this group perfectly. They keep speaking the Good News. In the many “on the street” outreaches I have been on with them we just keep handing out gospel literature and asking the opening question, “Who do you think Jesus is?” If we can engage, great. If not, then we just go on to the next person. You’d be amazed at how many pamphlets you can hand out in a day on the streets of Washington, DC and how many great conversations ensue.

Trust that God’s words will not come back void. Speak to them.

Prayer

Lord, Your commands to share the Good News are clear, “…whether they listen or fail to listen…” Give me the heart to reach out to those who need to know You personally and to experience Your love. Give me the courage to open my mouth at the opportune moments You place in my paths. May I be Your instrument and may You receive all the Glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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And You Also Must Testify

By Richard Parke, Tysons Campus Pastor at Large
JOHN 15:26-27
When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Consider the context of the verses. The closing words of John chapter 15, verses 26-27, are a “bridge” between chapter 15 and chapter 16. This text is the second in a series of three lessons from the lips of Jesus Christ about the Holy Spirit. (See John 14:25-26; John 15:26-27, our passage; and John 16:5-15).

Second, consider the content of the verses. Fifty days later, the Holy Spirit (also called the Counselor, the Spirit of truth), whom the Father would send on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), would testify about Jesus as to who He was-namely the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The word “testify” means “to bear witness, to give evidence.” It’s the language of the courtroom, so a sense of obligation and seriousness is implied.

The Holy Spirit, however, would not act alone, for God does not operate in a vacuum. No, God chooses to use ordinary people like you and me! Here in these two verses Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit would work in and through the lives and the mouths of ordinary Christ-followers to testify about Him.

Finally, consider the conclusion. There was and there is no choice in this matter of bearing witness. Of course, in our text, Jesus was referring to His own disciples when He said, “And you also must testify…,” but-as is taught elsewhere in Scripture, and as always we must compare Scripture with Scripture-God commands every Christ-follower to bear witness of His Son! God does His part, always, but naturally He expects us to do our part, too.

The Holy Spirit…

1. Expects believers to obey God’s Word. (John 15:27)
2. Empowers Christ-followers. (Acts 1:8)
3. Emboldens believers to testify about Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:8-13, 29)

Prayer

Dear God, we thank You for the Holy Spirit who counsels us and who gives us words of truth about Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask You to make us faithful, obedient ambassadors as we take the gospel-the message of Jesus Christ-to secular Washington. We ask You to empower us with Your Holy Spirit so we reflect Your light in a darkened world, and we pray Your Holy Spirit will embolden us and give us courage always to speak the truth with love, with wisdom, with confidence, and with authority. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

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