II. Pray for the People of Chile and Haiti
A. Survivors to be comforted and to get the medicine and supplies they need to get better or to stay healthy
B. Aid workers to have wisdom in knowing how to set up infrastructure to get aid distributed and to provide housing for the displaced
C. Medical teams to have strength, energy and supplies to treat the sick
D. Orphans to be comforted and eventually placed in mew homes with loving parents
E. Public health situation and sanitation — give leaders and aid workers wisdom and the supplies they need to manage the health risks
F. Peace and comfort for the people who are injured, sick or grieving
G. Wisdom for leaders and people as they figure out how to rebuild
H. Pray for people to give generously and for the funds to be used to directly help the people of Chile and Haiti
I. Pray for Christians of Chile and Haiti to trust God during this time of distress and to comfort others and tell them about God during their time of distress

III. Pray for IBC Elders and Pastors
A. Pray for our elders and pastors to have wisdom in leading the church
B. Pray that they would listen to each other and learn from each other as discuss various aspects of church life
C. Pray that they would grow in their unity and have a shared vision for IBC

IV. Pray for Venture Small Groups
A. Pray for groups to grow in honesty and in really getting to know each other and challenging each other to rely on Christ more
B. Pray for group members to trust each other enough to share their struggles
C. Pray for group members to be in each other’s lives during the week and not just at small group once a week
D. Pray for Venture people who are not in small groups to have a desire to plug into one
E. Pray for people in Venture on Sundays and small groups to be looking for and welcoming new people

V. Pray for a heart of leadership and service in Venture and IBC
A. Thank God for the people who are currently leading in Venture — sound guys, band members, Great Lunch leaders, the events team, small group leaders, small group members who serve as greeters, ushers, and info table people, people who make the coffee and clean up the coffee pots.
B. Pray for God to raise up people with new ideas for leading Venture in community outreach, small groups, and new Sunday morning stuff
C. Pray for people to serve in the IBC parking ministry, in IBC children’s ministry, in IBC’s youth ministry and in Venture

VI. Pray for Venture’s summer trip to Nicaragua — August 14-21 and for IBC Missionaries
A. Pray for the people applying to go to Nicaragua and pray for the team to come together
B. Pray for IBC Summer Mission Trips to Africa
C. Pray for the Student Ministries Mission Trips
D. Pray for Ruth Rhinier — teaching in Spain
E. Pray For David and Katie Black as they live in Canada and learn French in preparation for their ministry in Niger, Africa
Pray for Clay and Ruth Buttermere — missionaries in Macedonia

II. Pray for the Haitian People
A. Survivors to be comforted and to get the medicine and supplies they need to get better or to stay healthy
B. Aid workers to have wisdom in knowing how to set up infrastructure to get aid distributed and to provide housing for the displaced
C. Medical teams to have strength, energy and supplies to treat the sick
D. Orphans to be comforted and eventually placed in mew homes with loving parents
E. Public health situation and sanitation — give leaders and aid workers wisdom and the supplies they need to manage the health risks
F. Peace and comfort for the people who are injured, sick or grieving
G. Wisdom for leaders and people as they figure out how to rebuild
H. Pray for people to give generously and for the funds to be used to directly help the people of Haiti
I. Pray for Haitian Christians to trust God during this time of distress and to comfort others and tell them about God during their time of distress

III. Pray for IBC Elders and Pastors
A. Pray that they would listen to each other and learn from each other as discuss various aspects of church life
B. Pray that they would grow in their unity and have a shared vision for IBC

IV. Pray for Venture Small Groups
A. Pray for groups to grow in honesty and in really getting to know each other and challenging each other to rely on Christ more
B. Pray for group members to trust each other enough to share their struggles
C. Pray for group members to be in each other’s lives during the week and not just at small group once a week
D. Pray for Venture people who are not in small groups to have a desire to plug into one
E. Pray for small groups to be welcoming to new people

V. Pray for a heart of leadership and service in Venture and IBC
A. Thank God for the people who are currently leading in Venture — sound guys, band members, Great Lunch leaders, the events team, small group leaders, small group members who serve as greeters, ushers, and info table people, people who make the coffee and clean up the coffee pots.
B. Pray for God to raise up people with new ideas for leading Venture in community outreach, small groups, and new Sunday morning stuff
C. Pray for people to serve in the IBC parking ministry, in IBC children’s ministry, in IBC’s youth ministry and in Venture

VI. Pray for Venture’s summer trip to Nicaragua — August 14-21 and for IBC Missionaries
A. Pray for the people applying to go to Nicaragua and pray for the team to come together
B. Pray for Ruth Rhinier — teaching in Spain
C. Pray for Clay and Ruth Buttermere — missionaries in Macedonia
D. Pray For David and Katie Black as they live in Canada and learn French in preparation for their ministry in Niger, Africa
E. Pray for Blenda Chao — as she adjusts to being home after spending eight months in Africa

Each speaker at Q has to boil his or her presentation down to 18 minutes. Once he or she steps on the stage, a digital clock everyone can see is set to 18 minutes. Once the clock hits 00:00 – the speaker must stops whether or not he or she is finished.

After several 18-minute sessions, audience members can choose to go to one of the speaker’s talk-back sessions. A talk-back session is a time to question the speaker on his or her presentation, to share ideas, and to brainstorm about ways to put ideas into action.

What most struck me about Q is it left me with more questions than answers. Sometimes two speakers would have directly opposing views. Both were well-thinking people addressing the same issue and coming up with opposing answers. This paradox made me realize how important it is to really consider things – not just to think I know the answer.

In future blog posts, I’m going to try to give a thumbnail version of some of the issues Q’s caused me to ponder. Because of Q, I am reading Flickering Pixels – How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps. So as I’m using technology to write this blog, I’m wondering:

How does technology enhance my faith?
How can technology impede my faith?
How would God have me use technology?

My thoughts on these questions and more are coming soon….

On December 27 in the Venture worship service I will be preaching a sermon titled, “How Can We Trust the Bible?” There has been some interest in this question by people in the Venture community lately, so I’d like to address the topic.

Here’s the problem, though: it’s a huge topic. There are many different specific questions that could be addressed in the short time that we have. So, I’d like your help. If you have any specific questions about the trustworthiness of the Bible, please either post a reply here or send me an email at danny@venture-online.org with your question. With Christmas coming up, the earlier you send me the question, the better. I hope to be able to get to all of your questions.

To give you an idea, here are some of the questions that I have now:

-How do we know that the Bible is the infallible word of God?

-Didn’t men write the Bible?

-Why are some books included and others not?

-How much of the Bible is taken from other belief systems?

Thanks for the help. I look forward to our time together on the 20^th and the 27^th.

Spiritual Formation/Psychology:
I’ve done a lot of reading this year on psychology and the spiritual life. I read about psychology this year because I realized that I am mentally unhealthy in many ways. The main thing that I have learned from my reading is that I have everything I need in Jesus. These three books brought this wonderful truth to my life in their own brilliant ways.

1. Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp’s How People Change. This book is a fantastic look at how the gospel impacts your life. Right now. It gave me hope and insight this year as I struggled through different things.

2. S. Bruce Narramore’s No Condemnation: Rethinking Guilt Motivation in Counseling. Preaching, and Parenting. Is guilt from God? Or is it an expression of our moralistic pride? How do we deal with guilt and shame? This book is a careful treatment of these and other related questions.

3. Ed Welch’s Addictions- Banquet in the Grave: Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel. Whether you are an addict of some kind (alcohol, drug, sex, food, etc.) or not, this book is a great analysis of how the gospel can bring hope and change to us in our sin. It shows how all of our addictions and sins are idolatry. Welch talks about how we have a worship problem: we want to worship ourselves rather than God. His book gives insight on how we can worship Jesus and ask God’s Spirit to turn us from our idols.

Theology and Bible:
4. N.T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision. This book will put you right into the middle of the discussion on “The New Perspective” of Paul’s theology. Wright questions our traditional Reformation understanding of Paul’s letters in this book, which is written as a response to books and lectures by John Piper. I love this book because it is forcing me to go back to Galatians, Ephesians, Romans, and 1-2 Corinthians to see what I really believe about the gospel. (A word of warning: Wright does not hold to a traditional understanding of things such as justification and righteousness. If you want to balance his view, you might go to John Piper’s The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright. I plan on reading this book by Piper next year.)

Parenting:
5. Tim Kimmel’s Grace-Based Parenting. I found this book to be incredibly refreshing. I loved how he challenged me to raise my kids to be strong, not safe. I even learned a lot about God’s grace and love towards me when I read this book. It is beautiful.

Novels:
6. C.J. Sansom’s Dissolution. This mystery novel (first in a series of four) is set in the 1500s during the Reformation in England. A hunchback lawyer is sent to a monastery to solve a murder. I loved the setting of the novel, and the mystery was compelling. Also, the book forced me to think a little differently about the Reformation. (Warning: There is some bad language in the book. Also, you may not like the author’s take on the Reformation very much. I get the impression that Sansom is not exactly a big fan of the church.)

7. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This is a post-apocalyptic novel that features a beautiful relationship between a father and son. It’s probably one of the best pictures of love that I have read or seen in a long time. In the midst of all of its dreariness, the story brings great hope to me. (Warning: the book contains language, violence, and allusions to cannibalism.)

It’s the second annual “Breakfast for Dinner” Christmas party. We’ll have lots of lattes, pancakes and eggs. Dress in your comfy Christmas-morning clothes. Bring your favorite coffee mug to 6338 River Downs Road, and come for the Christmas fun.

Gum St. House
6216 Gum St.
Alexandria, VA 22310

WHEN?

Friday, October 30th, at 6:30pm

Hopefully you’ve already heard, but this Friday is the Venture Fall Festival.  You, your family, small group, and friends are invited to join us on a laid back evening of food, fellowship, and whatever fun our spontaneity may design.

So if you would like to come this Friday evening please let us know by marking your attendence, possibly noting an item that you would be willing to bring, and passing on this invitation to anyone else that you believe would want to join us.

We are planning on having a chili dinner provided by participants in our Chili Contest Cook Off.  So if you would like to participate as part of that event please sign up ASAP as the slots will fill up quickly.  If you are not able to sign up in time to bring something please check back later, since we may adjust needed items as interest changes.

For any other information you may contact:
Drew Henricks by email at Dhenricks@gmail.com
or
Amanda Edris at edrial14@gmail.com