Camp Service 7/15

Intro

— Thank You’s (Financially and prayerfully supporting us)

— Had an amazing time at camp

— Our theme was Be Still, Be Focused, and Be influential

— Pastor Eric Capaci did an awesome job preaching and giving us the word of God and you can go listen to our camp messages on Fort Bluff’s Facebook page

— I’ve been saying the same two things every time someone asks me how camp was, I say it was a ton of fun, and it was spiritually enriching

— And I think you will get a sense of both of those through our video and the teen’s testimonies

— But right now we are going to sing a couple of songs from camp, so I invite you to stand with us and sing with us

My Testimony

— Did yall enjoy that? I know I did

— It’s scary getting up here and speaking to yall so I appreciate those who were willing to do that for us.

— 3 years ago this summer, I was at my last youth camp as a camper...

— Now I am just so grateful and honored to have the opportunity to do what I do

— So planning for this service, I thought I would mention a few moments that had an impact on me specifically, while at camp

— One of the first things that came to mind was the worship, watching the teens sing praises to their Lord.

— When Abbie and I first got here back in February and we would do singing on Wednesday nights in the Youth…

— So we had a little mini series for 2 or 3 weeks on worship, what it is, what it means, how to worship and some of us began to sing a little louder and with a little more passion

— Oh, but when we got to camp, man God flipped the switch

— Y’all, they were singing loud, like LOUD, like I mean singing over the speakers right in my ear give me a headache loud, and it was AMAZING

— I’m serious, you’d be blown away by how they sang, they were raising hands and singing with passion, and Drew even started speaking in tongues at one point...

— Kidding, kidding, just a joke

— But seriously they were singing with so much passion, praising their heavenly Father and that just encouraged me so much

— Another moment that impacted me was seeing a young man named Eric sing...

— I’d like to end with a quick verse of Scripture if you would, take your Bibles and go to Matthew chapter 15

chapter 15 and look at verse 7

Matthew 15:7–9 KJV 1900

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

It is so crazy to me to think, that these words were written 2,000 years ago, and yet they are still so applicable to our Christian lives today, you could tell me that this was someone’s post from facebook yesterday and I’d believe you. Christians today, especially in our circles, get so caught up in this sort of pharisaical attitude of formal religious conformity that we forget to start at the heart with beliefs and try to force this good behavior.

We conform on the outside, without conforming on the inside.

We draw nigh to God with our words, we know all the religious christian jargon and we say the right words and maybe even do the right things, yet our hearts, OUR HEARTS, MY HEART, YOUR TEENAGER’S HEART, can be far from the Lord.

Don’t let these verses apply to you and your families, don’t be the hypocritical Christian that the world always points at and mocks.

Your teenagers just got back from a great week of spiritual highs, I pray that their heart is on fire for the Lord, but as their parents and family members you must first fan the flame and feed the fire yourself, but not only that you need to teach them how to fan their own flame and feed their own fire, to stay on fire for God.

Read the Bible with them, and teach them to read it regularly on their own

Pray with them and for them, and teach them to pray regularly on their own

Take them to church when the doors are open, and help them to understand that church is a priority

Can I say this, it is not the church’s main job to teach your kids how to be a Christian, yes the church helps and teaches them about Christianity but, but, true lasting Discipleship starts in the home. It is the responsibility of the parents to raise their kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to disciple them, and then we as a church are just a help along the way in that spiritual journey, but the main responsibility of discipleship in a child’s life belongs to the parents. There is only so much that the church can do to help your child grow spiritually, they need to see it at home too.

A sermon that is lived out speaks louder, and has more affect than a sermon that is preached.

I hope you’ll consider these thoughts tonight, to help keep that fire for the Lord burning in your family’s hearts.

Every year after camp we use that phrase, man I’m just so on fire for the Lord right now… but time goes on, we forget about God and what He’s done, the Devil attacks us, and that fire slowly begins to fade away…

How can I help keep that fire burning?

You don’t have to turn there but I’m gonna read a verse from Jeremiah chapter 20. chapter verse 7

Jeremiah 20:7–9 KJV 1900

O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, Every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; Because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, And a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, Nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

Jeremiah wanted to give up, it was too much of a burden to be a prophet now, people were mocking him, he felt like God had lied to him and abandoned him, but theres a tiny little word in the last verse there that changed all that.

“But”

But His Word, was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, so much so that he got over himself real quick and went back on to preaching.

Parents, grandparents, teachers, hide His Word in your heart to feed that fire, and give your teenagers the Word of God so it will feed that fire.

Teenagers, hide this word in your heart, feed that fire, read this word daily, don’t let that fire go out.

Bro Andrew