4/23--Easter Camp, Day 3

Today was my big day! I was preaching.

This marked my second sermon in Australia thus far (I blogged about the other one) and third overall. I was nervous because the topic I was asked to cover--how to give all your life to God--is HUGE! How do you boil the walk of a disciple into a 30 minute session? Not nearly well enough is the answer.

With such a daunting task ahead, I described a three step process for giving all your life to Christ. Stated quickly, I said you must first rise above "inferior" things and recognize that the things of this world are nothing compared to Christ and a life lived for him. Second, you must actively seek to KNOW God through prayer, study, and community. Last, you must strive to take on the image of Christ in all aspects of life. In so doing, you begin the life-long process of giving Him all of your life. I then asked crowd to come up and "nail" to the cross one thing that was keeping them from living a life more fully devoted to God (aka stick a "post-it" note with that thing written on it to a wooden cross I was holding). This went quite well as far as responses go and I think the point was powerfully received.

Here is the audio of my sermon (with pictures from the camp for you to look at): http://www.vimeo.com/23971808

Here is the outline if you are interested in it:

· A Matter of Perspective: Giving God All Your Life (Philippians 3:8-9)

o Reflect back on Thursday and Friday Night

§ We came to camp to talk about giving “All Your Life” to God. Last night, Jon spoke about our theme verses in Philippians 3 and discussed what a life lived completely for God might look like. Today, I have the opportunity to give you the “nitty-gritty” part of the weekend. We’re going to be diving deeper into the passage in question and developing the three steps Jon spoke of last night for giving God “ALL YOUR LIFE.”

§ The process, of course, can be a hard one. It demands that we come before the Creator, broken, and honest in our sincerity to follow Him and make him the sole end of our existence. It demands a change of heart. It demands a life lived apart from what the world tells you to, from what you secretly want to (no matter what you say). This will be a hard message, a convicting one I hope.

o So let’s look at the verses I want to focus on tonight: Philippians 3:8-9

§ ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

o Again, Jon talked about three steps to giving Christ All your life last night. I want to discuss those a bit more today.

o The First Principle: Rising Above Inferior “Gear”

§ Looking specifically at v. 8: “Indeed, I count everything as LOSS because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish…

§ Paul is writing telling us that everything that used to go into the “gain” column—his power, prestige, his “obedience” according to the law—now goes in the “loss” column.

· Perhaps he is thinking of Matthew 16:25-6 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?....

§ Everything else in life is pretty futile compared to knowing Christ and living a life for Him. Living for Christ and bearing witness to the truth of his love gives us meaning and purpose (remembering back to my sermon)

§ But we don’t see life this way! We put these things above him all the time though—why?

· Because we are horribly wicked, horribly fallen, horrible backwards. We are selfish and needy. We care about our wallets and our genitals than we do God and his Kingdom.

· We live in a world where kids care only about themselves and what makes them happy, where teens willingly break hearts and promises for the sake of personal gratification, where young adults make their careers into their God and all the material stuff of life becomes how they worship it, where old people are cantankerous and jaded, resting on their perceived financial, vocational, or relational success and not resting on God.

· Luke 14:33 says “So therefore, anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

§ But if we don’t count such things as rubbish and put them aside for the race that truly matters, the purpose that truly gives life, we have failed. We walk as purposeless, spiritually deadened zombies.

§ My friends, we must see the things of this world for what they really are…rubbish. Solomon, writing the book of Ecclesiastes, describes this well. Ecc 2:1-11

· ¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. ⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

§ The words of Solomon have never rang more true. Is he right? If he is, then the rubber hits the road here—what are you living for? If it is not God it is inferior gear. Your money, your DVD collection, your music, your video games, your athletic abilities, your intellectual capacity…rest on nothing! If it is not harnessed for God, it is meaningless. That is that. Pure and simple. And, my friends, you will never have a revitalizing, life-changing, mind-altering, world-shaping relationship with God until you rise above inferior things. God is so much better than our beating the next video game.

§ Just to clarify a point: I am not saying stuff is bad. I am not saying to sell all you have and give it to the poor (though Jesus himself did). I am telling you that anything not used to further the kingdom and anything put above knowing God more has filled a place in your life better left for God. This is where we fail. Rise above inferior things, my friends.

o The Second Principal: Know Christ

§ Once we see the things of this world for what they really are—rubbish, compared to knowing Christ, we start to really love Him. This love compels us to want to follow. This love compels us to want to be more like him. This love compels us to want to know him more. As the passage says, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

§ Knowing Christ, my friends, does paint everything in our lives apart from him in its proper light. When we know him and the power of his resurrection, we know what it is that gives life meaning and the like.

· Deut 4:29: "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

· (Jeremiah 24:7 NKJV) 'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

§ Clearly God wants us to know him and promises blessing if we choose to do so. So how do we know God better?

· We know God better by…Establishing a consistent devotional life of prayer and Bible Reading

o You can’t know someone with whom you never relate. We know this to be true. God has given us the unique opportunity to discover him in his word and to communicate with Him in prayer. Yet, because we refuse to see the things of this world as rubbish, we barely give God any of our day much less a small portion of it. We refuse to know him.

§ (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, {17} that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

§ Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

§ Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:11

§ Seeking increased knowledge of Him allows us to have an answer for our faith.

· Second, we know God better by….Establishing a life of worship

o This is not just the singing and dancing sort of worship, but the consistent worship of living a life in light of Christ. Our very being, our every breath eventually becomes an act of worship.

· Third, we know God better by…Finding a community of believers

o God did not mean for a person to live alone. Built within each one of us is an essential need to be accepted, to be a part of something outside ourselves. God calls us to be a body of believers, not to go off and be alone, but to seek him as brothers and sisters in Faith.

· And the trick is, you can’t really know God without all these parts in place. It is not enough to come on Sundays and sing a few songs to him. Nor is it enough to sit in your room and read your Bible constantly. These things are, of course, good in and of themselves. But…they do not give us the whole picture of what it is like to know God. Knowing God, quite simply involves ALL YOUR LIFE.

· So what part are you missing?

o Find the missing peace and you will find a peace in the world, I guarantee it:

§ (Hosea 6:3 NKJV) Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

o Like the author of Psalm 119….wow!

§ The Psalmist of 119 has found such peace and contentment with the world that he is willing to write over 176 verses about it in a very specific poetic form. He writes in verse 10: “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments.”

o The Third Principle: Adopting Christ’s Image in Daily Life

§ When we see the things of this life as rubbish and, thus, begin knowing him more and more a funny thing happens: We start to take on his characteristics and personality. This is an ongoing process of being consumed by God in all aspects of your life. This is the last principal of giving Christ all our life we are going to cover today. To give God all your life, you must begin the process of adopting Christ’s image in all your daily activities.

§ The passage says: “…in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

§ Isn’t that amazing! God’s righteousness become our own through Jesus Christ the Lord! This is amazing news for us as Christians. This righteousness helps us shed the things of the flesh and adopt the fruits of the Spirit.

§ Galatians 5:16-25: ¹⁶But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

§ Romans 12:2: ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

§ 2 Corinthians 3:16-18: ¹⁶But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

§ What does this look like in our daily life?

· Suffering (Luke 9:23 “And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”), maturing, etc.

§ We step out and start living in the power of Christ. Are you doing this? When people see you do they see you or do they see Christ? What is your testimony? It is my prayer that Jesus shines more and more through me as I grow in my love for him, that his image slowly covers my whole being. I hope this is your prayer to.

§ You can’t be giving your whole life to Christ if you are not adopting his image and crucifying your flesh.

o All of this is Christianity on God’s terms. Not yours.

o If you are working on these principles today, than you have started the wonderful, life-shaping process of giving God all your life. Congratulations. You are in good company. It is a ongoing process that we will never see the end of in this life, but it has its rewards none-the-less. If you are sitting here tonight and you have not given your life to Christ, have not accepted Him as your Lord and Savior…don’t worry. The great part about starting a journey is that it is just takes a conscious choice to do so. Just take the step and you are on your way. I encourage you, if you have not started that journey to talk with your life group leaders, Jon, or myself about how you can go about taking that step on your journey. If you are already walking along this path, as I assume many are you are, I ask that you examine your heart and see what is holding you back from giving all your life to God. None of us are perfect in this. All of us have something holding us back from giving him everything. Maybe it is some commitment to the rubbish of this world which you need to confess, remove, and replace with God. Maybe it is the fact that you don’t make any time to truly know God in devotion, worship, and community. Or, perhaps there are elements of the flesh which are still dominating your existence. Perhaps you need to make the conscious commitment to crucify that, remove it from your life, and adopt more of Christ’s image and not your former self. Wherever you are at, there is something.

o This is a time to respond to what you have heard. Come to Cross and nail…

I was pleased. I think it went well.

In Christ,

Chris

4/22--Easter Camp, Day 2

Good Friday...

The theme for this year's Easter Camp, "All My Life," was easy to fit with into the passion message in general. I think this is good, as I am told it is not always the case at the camp. But the passion week is so huge! It can never be spoken of too much. Praise God for the cross. Praise God for the Resurrection.

Good Friday started out with Jon Joyce's sermon on giving our whole life in light of God's sacrifice of His. I think, combined with the tone of the day, it made a good impression and got the kids to put that sacrifice in perspective. After this, we met with our life group to discuss the message. My life group had a bunch of familiar faces and quite a few new ones. They were all a blessing though. Justin (the rock-climbing stud) and his gf, Rikki, were my co-leaders. I let them do a lot of the talking :-).

Most of the afternoon I spent prepping my sermon (which I was to give the next day) and organizing the evening activities (of which I was in charge). I took a break to go for a walk with a bunch of people to the cliffs on the other side of the river. This was a good time. To get to the other side, we had to jump on a government, sponsored ferry. After the ferry ride, we hiked up the road and eventually hopped over the guard rail, starting to walk toward the cliff. Every year a group makes this walk to put up a cross on the cliffs across from the campsite. The view from the top of the cliffs was amazing. The swollen river stretched forever. Large paddle boats navigated up and down it. The cliff walls were stark and the height overwhelming. I am such a sucker with heights! Anyways. Enjoy the pictures from that days adventure.

After dinner, the group joined me in the meeting hall for a night of "theater sports." These are basically improvisational games a la "Whose Line is it Anyways?" or something like it. Jon had asked me a few weeks prior if I had ideas to spend a couple of hours for an evening. I told him that I had led these improv nights before to great success and he told me to plan on one for the camp. I was nervous about doing this, however, as Australian humor seems a lot different from American humor. Americans don't mind doing silly things and our humor can be rather base and low-brow. Australians are not so quick to emote. So I was really concerned the night would fail. But it didn't! I hosted through a number of games and everybody seemed to have a really good time. The only negative side was that the jokes got a bit crude at points. Such is the case with improv humor though.

After the improv session, I was scheduled to teach Swing Dancing to whomever wanted to learn. Apart from our theme of "All My Life," the fun theme of camp was "Retro." So, in that spirit, I volunteered to teach everyone swing dancing. I love it! The problem was: no guys wanted to learn and a TON of girls did. Teaching ladies how to dance with another lady is not ideal. But it had to be done and I just stepped in wherever I could. I was absolutely exhausted, but I ended up dancing well into the night with girl after girl. Soon the cooks found out that I was giving lessons and I even had the adults coming in to have a turn. I was soaked through with sweat and unbelievably gross. But I think everyone still had a lot of fun! I hope! Some of the girls were really quite good even after only a quick introduction. I promised to teach more the next day.

Finally, just before bed, we played a game of night capture the flag which I had organized. We played with glow stick flags. It was fun enough, but the small size of the camp made the game a bit too hard and mostly frustrating. Had I known how big the camp was prior to this, I might not have suggested the game. But you win some and lose some :-). The younger kids got to run off some steam and that is all that matters.

Shower.

I stayed up late into the night putting the finishing touches on my sermon.

Bed.

In Christ

Chris

4/21--Easter Camp, Day 1

The day started in Adelaide with Jon and I frantically making sure we had all the tiny details finalized and worked out for the weekend. I had to do some last minute shopping to pick up some things for some games I wanted to play with the kids. Everything went smooth. We picked up all the fresh produce, the meat, the dairy...everything! We arranged to have all the food, sound equipment, and the like put into various vehicles to make its way to the camp (everybody drove themselves). Eventually, I loaded my personal stuff in Steve Crocker's SUV and we drove away. Steve was going to be in charge this first night because Jon and Katie couldn't come up until the next morning (a prior obligation).

The drive up with Steve and Nicole was great. They are just lovely people and I am glad to know them. We found Iced Coffee for $1 too. That was amazing! First time I ever felt I had found a bargain in Adelaide ;-).

We got to camp later that afternoon. We had a quick meal of hot chips (french fries) and met with the owners of the grounds. They ran us through the rules and explanations (you know the drill).

Once most of the people had arrived and moved into their cabins, we brought them together in the main meeting hall for orientation and welcome. Steve ran them through the orientation a bit and then introduced me. Jon had wanted me to give a quick introductory message that evening on what our hopes were for the camp. Our theme for the weekend was "All My Life," centered around Philippians 3:8-11 : "⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

So for this small message I explained that we were going to look at the why and how we go about giving all our lives for God in light of the fact that he gave all His life for us. I used a bunch of silly stories and jokes to come to that point and really felt like I had hit some sort of a "stride" in talking to youth. It was good! I think it worked as an introduction and to set a tone for the weekend.

After this service, the kids went on a night hike while all the leaders met to discuss their role in the weekend.

The first night was really simple. I would become much busier in the days to come.

In Christ,

Chris

4/21-25--Easter Camp

The next several posts are going to be about Hope Valley's Easter Camp which I attended and in which I played a fairly significant role.

For many years, Hope Valley has put on an Easter Camp, spanning the entirety of Easter weekend at the Ankara Youth Camp in Walker Flat, SA. This is a weekend designed to minister to the High School and young adult members of the congregation and community. Walker Flat is about an hour outside the city on the banks of the mighty Murray River. It is a nice site for a camp such as this, but nothing like most camps in America. That is, it is not massive. It really is only a thin strip of land stretching along a section of the river. It is not particularly wide, nor is there a big playing area for games. In that sense it was very different to me, having worked at camps for a long time. The thing that really sets it apart, however, is its geographic location. The view from the camp of the river and the limestone cliffs which comprise the other bank is just stunning. It is quiet and peaceful. As such, it was the perfect place for a nice retreat, providing the environment and the time for natural introspection and growth. Look at some of the stunning pictures I include in this post and the ones to follow.

Australia has had a very rainy year. This has broken a long string of very dry summers and drought. As such, the natural water table in South Australia is just bursting to capacity with water and new life. It is good for the land and beautiful to see. The problem, however, is that the subsequent flooding makes places like the River Murray unsafe. The river carries a bunch of stuff downstream which could hit you and has a quick current. These two things combined made the river unsafe enough for the kids that they were not allowed to swim or boat in it as they usually would. Though this was a bummer to a lot of the kids, I think of it now as a God-planned thing. Without the stress and busyness of the water and water activities, the kids had to entertain themselves in community and had a lot of time to just get away and think. Thus, time spent together was better and time spent apart was more possible. So God took a lemon and made us some lemonade. I love it when He does that!

My good friend, Jon Joyce, as the young adults pastor, was in charge of the Easter Camp. He had been planning it for some time now and I helped him as much as possible with the logistics and schedule. Over the next few days, I would have a significant part in the programming and the speaking aspects of the camp. This allowed me to really take ownership of it and feel as if I was a valuable part of the event and not just another attendee. In some ways, I felt like a real pastor. It felt good.

A couple of other things for sake of setting the scene:

As this is mostly designed for High Schoolers and early Uni students, the young adults who came mostly acted as leaders. We broke the students up into life groups for the weekend and assigned leaders to each. I was assigned to a subset of the 12/3 group (of which I have spoken before). My group was great. Love them! The life groups met everyday to discuss the messages, share together, and life in prayer.

It's also important to note that the whole weekend is relatively relaxed. There is not a lot of programming to keep the kids busy and they can largely hang out and fill their time as they wish. Unlike an American summer camp where each group has a counselor with whom they must stay at all times, this was much more open. There are, of course, pros and cons to this setup. I think in this case there were more pros. It created a really unique environment.

Meals were supplied by us and cooked by some of the most delightful people in the church. I can't thank them enough for being so sweet and keeping my belly full.

Steve Crocker was the all around "man" for the camp, directing and making sure things ran on time.

Ok...that's about it. In the next few posts I will tell you about what I did at camp.

In Christ,

Chris

4/20--Steve and Nicole's House for dinner

Fajitas for the win!

Thanks guys for your hospitality. I love you both.

We spent the evening discussing plans for our upcoming camping trip. More on that in a few blog posts.

In Christ,

Chris

4/18--My Mystical Ascent

During the day on Monday the 18th, I had the opportunity to go rock climbing with Steve Crocker (whom I have blogged of before) and Justin Farrell (who is one of the most attractive, athletic, and outgoing people you'll ever meet!). Justin is an outdoor education instructor of sorts and often leads rock climbing expeditions into the hills immediately surrounding Adelaide. He and Steve were planning on doing some climbing for he first part of Easter Holiday and invited me to tag along. I am so happy they did.

I used to teach outdoor education back at Camp Michindoh in the States. I loved it. Easily it was one of the best jobs I have ever had. In that capacity, I taught a rock climbing course. So I am not unfamiliar to the world of climbing. Climbing on a real rock wall, however, without designated holds and such was a new challenge. Despite my fear of heights, I loved it.

Justin and Steve were actually quite impressed with my climbing abilities considering it was my first time on actual rock. They said it has something to do with the American spirit of "just do it." I might agree, but I think it has more to do with my spirit of wanting to try everything at least once. But perhaps that is part of the American psyche. At the very least, it seems many in Australia perceive it as such.

In any event, we started with some easy climbs and worked our way up to some very difficult ones. We spent the morning there and drove back so I could do more work in the afternoon. By the end, my fingers were aching! It was totally worth it though. If I ever have time to develop an outdoor hobby, this might be the one I choose.

Thanks for taking me guys!

In Christ,

Chris

4/15--The Central Markets

I have to backtrack a bit because I forgot a few exciting adventures. Such is the case when you fall over a month behind in blogging!

On the morning of the 15th, Jon and Katie took me to the Central Markets in Adelaide. Ever since walking through the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, I have loved going to big market places. It is just so much fun to see all the colors, smell all the smells, and hear all the banter and haggling. Markets are always bustling and exciting. In Michigan, we don't have many markets like this. Occasionally some farmers will get together to sell their wares, but nothing nearly as organized as a market district.

So when I heard Adelaide had the markets, I was very keen to go. I wasn't disappointed. Adelaide is a relatively small city and the markets were not huge, but there was a vast array of fresh goods there. The markets are also conveniently located next to Adelaide's tiny "China Town."

While in the markets I found one of the strangest things I had ever seen (Dragon Fruit). Has anybody ever eaten one of these? What are they like?

Here are some pictures of the market. My favorite part was the fresh fish dealer. It is so cool to see all the fish for sale and on display.

In Christ,

Chris