An Alabaster Encounter: 
The Heart’s Response to
the Lord Jesus Christ

© 2007 A retreat by Mary Beth McGreevy

 
What do you think is the one thing necessary in life?  Where do you go in a crisis?  Why would you joyfully give something worth your entire year’s salary to someone?  Jesus taught Mary of Bethany the answers to those questions.  Come explore those answers for yourself at the retreat entitled, “An Alabaster Encounter:  The Heart’s Response to the Lord Jesus Christ,” as we look at the three encounters between Jesus and Mary of Bethany in the Scriptures.

Session #1

Sitting at Jesus’ Feet—Luke 10:38-42 
            *The one thing necessary   

Session #2

Falling at Jesus’ Feet—John 11:1-46

            *The best response in a crisis

Session #3

Worshiping at Jesus’ Feet—John 12:1-8

            *The grateful response of the redeemed heart

Encouragement to Refresh Hearts
 © 2009 A retreat by Mary Beth McGreevy 

Discouragement is something we all face from time to time as we suffer the effects of this bad economy, or bad health, or a failed business, or a rebellious child, or a troubled marriage, or being just plain weary.  Sometimes we are discouraged not by something that has happened to us or to someone we love, but by something that we have done—or failed to do—some habitual sin, some weakness of character, some disappointing behavior or attitude we have seen in ourselves.

The apostle Paul knew the joy of being encouraged by other believers as well as the privilege of encouraging others.    He wrote to his friend and fellow worker, Philemon, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints” (Philemon 7).  This retreat is about encouragement to refresh hearts, so that we might learn about the joys and means of giving and receiving that kind of encouragement with its source in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

New!

In But Not of the World: 

Jesus’ Prayer for His Own

in John 17

a retreat by Mary Beth McGreevy  © 2011

“The world,” as the Apostle John uses the term, is the sum of the created order which has been shattered by the fall, is in rebellion against its Maker, stands under the judgment of God, and in which Jesus Christ appears as the Redeemer.  So what does it mean to be “in” but not “of” it?  In Jesus’ prayer for his own in John 17, he asks God to protect his followers from the world and also says he is sending them into it.  This retreat explores what that means for Jesus’ followers today:

Session #1

Because the world is a foreign field, we must be in but not of it—John 17:1-11a.

Session #2

Because the world is a battle field, we must be in but not of it—John 17:11b-16.

Session #3

Because the world is a mission field, we must be in but not of it—John 17:17-26.

(Mary Beth also is offering a 40-minute message on this topic, if your event calls for one talk.)

       Love So Amazing:  
   Sanctification by Grace

© 2008 A retreat by Mary Beth McGreevy

Where are you on the road of sanctification?  What does that road look like in the Christian’s life?  Trace that road in the life of the Apostle Paul from his first encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus to the end of his life when he considers himself “the chief of sinners.”  Along the way learn how God forges us in the furnace of suffering and the part we play in the process of sanctification.  By the end of this retreat you will see how the believer can rejoice in God’s “Love So Amazing:  Sanctification by Grace.”

     © 2008 Mary Beth McGreevy

The disciple Peter is famous for his disagreements with the Lord Jesus.  We relate all too well with Peter in his protestations, because we would have reacted the same way.  This retreat looks at scenes from the life of Peter from all four Gospels in which he protests to Jesus in ways that, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, we also protest.  We also can rejoice that Jesus holds firm against Peter every time, giving him a “no” answer but exactly the kind of Savior that Peter—and we—must have.