Church Camp 2011 Notes

This post is almost a week late, but I hope that what I've learnt during my church camp last week will be meaningful to you. A series of 5 talks were given by a church pastor over 4 days.

Camp theme: "Making the Lord the lord of our lives - our certainty in Him, our time with Him, our service for Him". In summary, it means putting God first in our lives.

Theme song: Crown Him with Many Crowns

Bible References:

• Talk 1: Retune our concepts (Col 1:17-18, Eph 1:9-10) - running a church in a secular or biblical model? 
• Talk 2: Reaffirm our target (James 1:22-25) - Lord of all we have 
• Talk 3: Realign our life (Col 2:6; 3:17) - the perfect relationship 
• Talk 4: Reshape our service (Matt 20:25-28) - gifts & abilities 
• Talk 5: Restart our commitment (Heb 1:1-3) - turning over a new leaf 

Talk 1: Retune our concepts

1. Is the church run like a secular company?

In this day and age, churches tend to conform to the pattern of this world and begin running like a company. Rank, salary, productivity, corporate meetings, board meetings, etc become the norm. Going to church is like going to work. It becomes a chore. There is no joy in service.

2. Is the church faithless and confused?

• Found the priceless treasure yet? 
• Who do we follow? Christ or man? 

When conflicts arise and stir up chaos in church, increasing division and resentment can eventually split the church. Pride and stubbornness get in the way and make us forget who we are serving. Are we serving God or ourselves?

3. Biblical model

• Is Jesus Lord? 
• Remember the church of Corinth?

Prayer and planning is crucial.

4. A chosen path: to honour Jesus Christ as Lord of all. Our response?

• Be positive. 
• Intentionally train as disciples. 
• Obey.
• Grow deeper. 
• Do not conform, judge or ignore.

Talk 2: Reaffirm our target

(I) Lord of our actions

• Are we doers of His word? (Faith without deed is dead.) 
• Guard your actions against evil. Do not conform to the pattern of this world. See Proverbs 23. 
• Are we a blessing to others or a stumbling block? 
• Are we tellers of His word? Sing for joy and share the good news. (See Psalm 33.) 

(II) Lord of our passion

See Matt 6:21 & Heb 4:12.

(III) Lord of our possessions

• Time 
• Money 
• Everything we have belongs to God. 
• We are to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us. 
• We were bought at a price. Therefore, we are to honor God with our bodies. 
• Start by having faith, then retune your lifestyle as the Holy Spirit guides you. 

Talk 3: Realign our life

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

- 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV1984)

Ever served the Lord for some time that it becomes dry and routine? Perhaps what we need is a renewed relationship with God. Just as 'R' comes before 'S' in the alphabet, so does relationship come before service.

Perfect relationship within the Godhead:

• equals submitting to each other 
• united and working together, living in perfect harmony with each other 
• each possesses a personhood, playing a different role 
• 3 timeless and equal persons having authority based on their relationship with each other (e.g. Father, Son, Holy Spirit) 
• God is a relational being

Pray scripture:

• Philippians 2:3-4 
• James 2:1 
• 1 Thess 5:11 
• Luke 5:5 
• Jeremiah 17:7

When relationships break down:

• Communication breakdown 
• Truth is violated 
• Integrity is forsaken 
• Time isn't invested 
• Risks are not taken 
• Control is the goal 
• Trust is broken 
• Self-interest is the rule 
• Manipulation is allowed 
• God is ignored and no longer God over our lives 

What then can we do?

• Place a high value on people. 
• Try to understand people. 
• Put others first. 
• Give respect. 
• Check your motives. 
• Don't carry emotional baggage. 
• Serve others gladly. 
• Invest in your most valuable relationships (e.g. time). 
• Constantly express your appreciation. 
• Give unconditionally. This point reminded me of what I've learnt from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. So *spoiler alert* here. The alchemists in the story live by the law of equivalent exchange - anything gained requires an equal sacrifice. But Edward(the protagonist)'s childhood friend, Winry, scoffed at the law when he proposed to her.

"I'll give you half of my life if you give me half of yours!"

"You want half of it? I'll give you all of it."

Talk 4: Reshape our service

• Focus on the purpose, not problems. 
• Deal with issues of fame & wealth. 
• 2 Corinthians 9 
• Psalm 42

1. In happy moments, praise God. 
2. In difficult moments, seek God. 
3. In quiet moments, worship God. 
4. In painful moments, trust God. 
5. In every moment, thank God.

We are Shaped for Service

S ... Spiritual gifts

H .. Heart of a person

A .. Ability

P .. Personality

E .. Experience

D .. Development

Spiritual Gifts

• 1 Corinthians 12:11
• cannot be earned for those who do not believe 
• distributed by the Holy Spirit, not just for our benefit, but for helping the whole church 
• we need to discover and use our gifts 
• what we don't use, we'll lose

Heart
Parable of the two sons (Matt 21:28 - 32)

• Our motivations (Matt 6:21) and passions reveal the real us. (Deut 11:13)

Ability

• natural talent is from God

Personality

• you have a unique DNA - there is nobody like you (John 17)
• we are different people serving as one - each person plays a different role, a different part of the body of Christ

Experience

• You have been shaped by your experience in life: family, education, vocational, spiritual, ministerial, painful experiences, etc.
• Serve God by serving others

Development

• Seek God's heart and mind
• continuous and consistent
• (Romans 12:1) Serving with thankfulness as a living sacrifice.
• Be faithful (1 Cor 4:2, Mark 9:42)
• No task is too small. (Matt 25:31-46)
• Ministry simply means using our particular shape to help someone

Barriers to serving the Lord joyfully

• self-centredness
• materialism - no one can serve two masters (Luke 16:13, 1 Cor 1:27)
• lack of confidence ("I'm not good enough") -> But remember, God uses the weak to shame the powerful

Prayer of faith
Psalms 33:12
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.

Talk 5: The Lordship of Christ

• Lord of creation (John 1:3-4) 
• Lord of revelation; Sustainer and Redeemer (Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Cor 5:17-18) 
• Privilege of honoring Him as God 
• Privilege of a U-turn (Isaiah 55:6)

Jesus gave us two ordinances:

a) Baptism

b) Communion / the Lord's supper

1 Cor 11:17-34

• remembrance of a self-sacrificing & an agonized Lord 
• acknowledging that Jesus overcame death and is an appearing Lord who will return 
• a time of repentance and forgiveness from our sins and our selfishness 
• a time of recommitment and renewal of:

-> our vows & pledges
-> our dreams & vision
-> our victories & defeats

Three-fold invitation

1. For non-believers 
2. For believers 
3. For believers in a storm

Isaiah 57:14-15

Comfort for the Contrite

14 And it will be said:

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!

Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”

15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—

he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

“I live in a high and holy place,

but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.