Homeward Bound Today!

We are planning to get back from Camp Shetek no later than 5:30 PM tomorrow to the downtown campus. We will call Bethlehem's church office with updates if this estimate changes significantly. You may call our receptionist at 612-338-7653 until 5 PM to find out if plans have changed. An update would not be forthcoming any sooner than 2 PM.

Our plan is to pull up, off load campers and luggage immediately and then let the buses leave. We would be well served if parents were able to arrive by the time we did to greet their children and stow away their luggage in personal vehicles.

Upon finishing with luggage, you are invited to enter the main hall and dish up some picnic style food (hamburgers with fixings, chips, cole slaw, lemonade/milk/water, and eat with us.

Once we finish dinner, we'll gather in the sanctuary to worship, introduce and thank our staff, hear testimonies from a few campers, evidences of grace from Pastor Bud Burk, receive a closing word from our camp speaker, Marshall Segal, and watch the camp highlight video.

I hope you can stay and enjoy this great homecoming family reunion event!

God is at Work and We are Blessed beyond Words!

Evidence of God's work this week literally poured out through tears, hugs, prayers, and testimonies around cabin group camp fires. There are too many good stories to tell here so I'll let Bud do his best tomorrow night. But know God has been at work. Yet, in many ways God has merely began or continued the work he was already doing. There is more in store, as always.

May God use you parents, peers, and other partners in the gospel work to continue to awaken faith and sanctify souls in our midst!

Marshall's Thursday Night Session Talk

Here's Marshall's fifth talk. He spoke to your youth about Living Together to Proclaim the Gospel. It's about believers as a people who exist to glorify God by proclaiming his gospel to each other and to those who do not yet believe it. Select the link below and have a listen...

Living Together to Proclaim the Gospel (Thursday Night Session)

Mark's Thursday Morning Bible Study

This is Mark's Bible study lesson to the young men this morning. The topic is: What is repentance? Do we trust in Christ rather than anything we delight in of the world? Then how do we overcome our fears and anxiety to share the gospel with our friends?

Listen to Mark's Thursday Bible Study Session

Karen's Thursday Morning Bible Study

This is Karen's Bible study lesson to the young women this morning. The topic was God's grace and not our works as the basis for our justification.

Listen to Karen's Thursday Bible Study Session

God has been faithful

I'm very tired tonight as is Bud. He went to bed early. I'm blogging only because I had a nap. A word which here means I collapsed unconscious for a short while in a reasonably comfortable place. Nevertheless my day needs to wind down. So here's a brief hodge-podge of thoughts regarding this day.

There are so many answered prayers. So many evidences of grace. So much sin and so many challenges as broken people sin against one another and respond sinfully to being sinned against. So many circumstantial blessings and burdens. We hope in Christ for them all.

Beautiful reconcilations, maturing faiths, beginning faiths, and baby steps toward faith. It's all grace. Even the recalcitrant heart on display in the crucible of camp is a grace to those who are being saved and to those who are pouring out their lives this week for the sake of the gospel toward them.

May God's Spirit come and hold sway for the glory of God in the face of Christ for our joy and salvation.

Oh, and I became the "Bunny Bunny" master. A dubious, but I believe honorable title.

Marshall's Wednesday Night Session Talk

Here's Marshall's fourth talk. He spoke to your youth about Living Together as a People. It's about applying the gospel to how we regard and respond toward each other; both within the body of Christ and without. Select the link below and have a listen...

Living Together as a People (Wednesday Night Session)

Mark's Wednesday Morning Bible Study

This is Mark's Bible study lesson to the young men this morning. The topic was how Christ's work and not our work save us and how Jesus purchased for us promises from God. A special emphasis was made on certain promises that comfort us when we consider sharing the gospel with others.

Listen to Mark's Wednesday Bible study Session

Karen's Wednesday Morning Bible Study

This is Karen's Bible study lesson to the young women this morning. The topic was the resurrection of Jesus and his coming again to judge the world.

Listen to Karen's Wednesday Bible study session

God is the Giver of Sweet Sleep

We sent the camp to bed early last night (no late night game) and slept in this morning. I trust the Lord gave the sleep the campers were beginning to need as early excitment and energy began to give way to long-days-in-the-sun fatigue. Camp days are long and demanding. So to avoid the feast and famine of fluctuating energy levels we took an extra long night of rest and sleep. Already I see it paying off for the staff. They work hard and relentlessly and it's good to see the Lord renew their strength.

I ask that you too would relentlessly do the work of prayer on our behalf asking God to work with power in the remaining half of this camp week so as to draw the hearts of the children to himself. May he do this and even more. May he build us into his temple, a dwelling place where fellowship in Christ binds us together and causes us to love each other radically at great personal risk rather than cowering or basking in the fear and approval of man and so selfishly serve only ourselves.

May God do this before our very eyes even as he has already been doing. Soli Deo Gloria!

A Scorcher Today, A Solution Tomorrow, Lord Willing!

Please be in prayer for the effectiveness of our evening sessions. The worship is edifying, the testimonies powerful, and the preaching full of winsomely presented truth. However, just as there are those given the grace to delight in it and benefit by it, there are those who resist it and seem disengaged during out sessions.

The heat today, which reached between 86-88 degrees, served to heat the chapel to even higher levels before our evening session. Add over 100 people and the heat only seems to build and not disepate, even as the evening cools. This uncomfortable warmth becomes a distraction even for the most interested and some campers seem to check out altogether. This is a spiritual battle first and foremost, which ought to move us to seek God to act on behalf of his Name. It also calls upon us to bring practical relief. We know the campers are well hydrated, but not being able to cool down in the evening can bring more than distraction, but also discomfort.

To this end we are going to attempt something we've not done before. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we are going to move our session from the chapel to an outdoor, open sided pole-barn following our singing. This ought to provide us with cooler surroundings for both physical well-being and greater potential to focus on the important truths being proclaimed. But no solution is without drawbacks. Be in prayer for God to use this act of love and compassion toward our campers and staff to promote the gospel tomorrow night.

God has made this possible through wise counsel and advance provision. Having Josh Griep along providing sound and media support has been a blessing beyond imagining as his excellent, redundant preparations and expertise will allow us to have amplification and good sound in both the chapel and pole barn simultaniously. We thank God for Josh Griep and his attitude of service toward us all!

Marshall's Tuesday Night Session Talk

Here's Marshall's third talk. He spoke to your youth about Living Together because of a Payment. It's all about Christ and the cross and the salvation of God for his people. Select the link below and have a listen...

Living Together Because of a Payment (Tuesday Night Session)

A Word of Encouragement from Pastor Bud

My blog today is a bit shorter than yesterday (a sign of camp weariness – happy weariness)

I want to point out three things today and one prayer request:

1)       Josh S. shared God’s story of grace upon his life to the campers this morning.  He helped them understand that it is God who saves and that it is God who changes hearts.  Josh was simply truthful, humble and powerful in his words and the Spirit was upon him.
2)       Mark S. taught this morning to the boys, on the power of sin, the greater power of the cross of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus.  He is gifted in his ability to point youth to these grand truths.  He said that if we reject Jesus throughout this life, then it becomes a rejection that is everlasting.  May God grant grace to each heart so that this would not be so.
3)       God was moving last night during worship in song.  You should see how these gospel messages are being supported through Christ centered God glorifying worship.  What a blessing it is!

Prayer request: while we are seeing evidences of grace (and we are!), we are also seeing some evidence of spiritual battle.  The truth is that the evil one hates me, hates the team, hates you, your prayers and your children, BUT GOD “is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”, Psalm 73:26.    May the team find God’s grace sufficient and strong to honor Jesus in every circumstance and in every relationship and may God make His Son’s name great here.

This is heavy stuff, but true.  Now let me end with these words – on the lighter side:

The sun came out yesterday and it was hot, what a blessing!, the lake water felt wonderful, the mosquitoe bites are increasing, this morning’s biscuits were the best, is anyone taking a shower?, yesterday’s fun provided great memories, I miss my pillow, serving together as a team is a great experience and yes, there are smiles to go around…summer camp is the place to be.  Wish you were here

Pastor Bud

Karen's Tuesday Morning Bible Study

This is Karen's Bible study lesson to the young women this morning. The topic was the saving power of the cross of Christ.

Listen to Karen's Tuesday Bible Study Session

Mark's Tuesday Morning Bible Study

This is Mark's Bible study lesson to the young men this morning. The topic was the saving power of the cross of Christ.

Listen to Mark's Tuesday Bible Study Session

Time for Bed!

Campers were sent to their cabins at 10:15 PM to get ready for bed, have cabin devotions, and go to bed with lights out by 11PM. However, getting them to sleep seems to be another matter. Pray for the grace of renewing sleep for everyone this week.

Getting to bed "early" tonight, Lord willing,
Kevin

Marshall's Monday Night Session Talk

Here's Marshall's second talk. He spoke to your youth about Living Together with a Problem and the problem is sin! Select the link below and have a listen...

Living Together with a Problem (Monday Night Session)

God is a lavish God; in Christ!

Thank you for your prayers! God sent clouds and rain to check our pride, humble our hearts, and send us to the throne of grace in a time of need (albiet a small one). But in another way nothing God does is small. Its always for his glory, which is never small. Today, he used the opportunity to lavish us with sunshine, warmth, clear skies, and cool breezes. Where did it come from? It wasn't in our weather predictions. It came from the storehouses of grace of our God. Today he was pleased to send comfort and ease as a display of his goodness to any who needed to be reminded, refreshed, or simply have doubt removed. May the doubts of many be removed this week. So both the dark clouds with rain and the clear skies with sunshine were good for us today. And God would have provided other grace if it rained all day as it may even tomorrow. But we will endure in joy for we know the Lord is good. All the time. Because of Christ and his cross. Glory indeed.

Mark's Monday Morning Bible Study

This is Mark's Bible study lesson to the young men this morning. The topic was the authority of Jesus as the Son of God.

Listen Mark's Monday Bible Study Session

Karen's Monday Morning Bible Study

This is Karen's Bible study lesson to the young women this morning. The topic was the authority of Jesus as the Son of God.

Listen to Karen's Monday morning Bible study session

Evidences of Grace Observed by Pastor Bud

Dear Parents,

The evidences of grace here are already quite clear – be encouraged!  Let me share a few of them with you and then ask for your prayer support regarding one specific thing:

You will see a theme to these evidences of grace today.  The theme should go something like this: “God has blessed you parents with a team who is spiritually mature, who loves one another, who loves your kids and who loves being loved by Jesus”

Evidence of Grace:
-          One of our counselors forgot her luggage, can you imagine!  This was discovered about 20 minutes before the main session began, a very busy moment for such a thing to come to light.  I witnessed our Director Kevin, give her his undivided attention in this moment (looking in the internet for solutions – UPS…), even though he was about to go step up in front of the group for our first session.  While this was happening, Megan our photographer offered some of her stuff to help.  Both tending her need in the moment.  Evidence of Grace: Colossians 3:12-17: love and compassion.

-          RT and the worship team led well with songs that had lines such as this:
o        “Your grace is enough”
o        “Lead me to my knees…lead me to the cross”
o        “Jesus Messiah, Name above all names, Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel, the rescue for sinners, Jesus Messiah, Lord of all…all the glory to You God, all our hope is in You”
o        Let’s dream – what if every one of our campers would be granted grace so that these lines would truly become their own!
o        Evidence of Grace: Philippians 4:8, where we are told to think about whatever is commendable and worthy of praise.

-          Marhsall: evening teacher
o        His hope: “My hope is that we would grow deeper in our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ”
o        His prayer: “May we love one another well and pursue Jesus”
o        His charge: “Image God”.  Our purpose is to display who God is, for “He created us to see Him and enjoy displaying Him”
o        Evidence of Grace: Philippians 4:8, where we are told to think about: whatever is true and pure.

-          Karen: one of two morning teachers.  She:
o        Is passionate and joyful for truth, drawing the girl’s hearts out as she teaches
o        Is earnest and enthusiastic
o        Simplifies deep truth without losing the truth
o        Longs to be astonished at Jesus as she prays that the girls would also be astonished
o        Revealed Jesus’ glory as the Son of God having authority over all things
o        Evidence of Grace: Psalm 34:1; 145:4, “Come O children and I will teach you the fear of the LORD…one generation shall commend Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts”.

These are just a few of what I call “God sightings”, and I haven’t even said anything about Joe’s testimony, the prayer time with the assistant counselors and…

Prayer Request:
As I type, it rains (and has been for while now).  Would you please ask God to grant our program leaders joyful wisdom in creating plan B, and even C.

A final word:
The pancakes are great, the hot dogs were wonderful, the mosquito bite on my leg was predictable, the sweaty smell of boys brought up long lost memories of my youth, with all this moisture I realized that some of these girls actually have curly hair…ah yes, isn’t camp great!

Wish you were here,

Pastor Bud

Rain Looms, Spirits Rise

God graciously kept the rain away yesterday and gave us a sunny, warm day. Today the sky is overcast and we feel drops every so often. But rain is a gift as well providing it's own challenges, blessings, and opportunities. Pray that we may steward rainy days well through ostentatious displays of praise and gratitude to God for his grace, even when it doesn't seem ideal to us. For, we know it is ideal weather to serve his purposes, and his purposes and plans always perfectly glorify him. That we wouldn't miss out on God's joy for us by spending it murmuring. That we would be creative. And for camp morale to be maintained by keeping our joy rooted in the beauty and wisdom of Christ and not on the weather.

Pray that God would keep lightening away and for safety today in all our endeavors!

Marshall's Sunday Night Session Talk

Greetings! Here's the link to Marshall's first talk. He spoke to your youth about Living Together with a Purpose and that purpose is to glorify God! Take the time to have a listen...

http://hopeingod.org/retreat-message/living-together-purpose-sunday-night

Welcome to our 2010 Youth Summer Camp blog. Come back often to see daily blogs from myself, the camp director, and Bud Burk, the camp pastor. You will also be able to find links to session messages, Bible lessons, and camp pics.