Pondering PROCLAIM Post-Script

I enjoyed and learned much from the Youth Conference, PROCLAIM. Thanks to Ben, thanks to the other leaders, thanks to all of you who were there, thanks to your parents who provided for and allowed you to be a part of the Youth Conference…and most of all, thanks and praise be to God!!! (c.f. Ephesians 3:20,21)

The place we were at was also a very good place to have such a conference and the hosts there were very pleasant…so thank God even for details like that. There are probably other [little or big] details that you can think of and praise God for…feel free to share them in the comments section*.

I know that after the last worship/teaching session, we had a time of games…several games of Frisbee (3 teams). Remember that?* Then we had to wash up and pack up. Then it was dinner time, after which we thanked the people who hosted us at Delaware Outdoor Adventure Center. We packed up the cars and we were on our way home.

The trip home was also enjoyable. I was in the van. How were the other vehicles?* Anyway, in the van, at one point Ben was trying to remember all the names of all the previous Youth Conferences. He couldn’t remember all of them. The ones I remember from the ones he could remember are DELVE (1 and 2), HIS, DEVOTED and PROCLAIM (and I don’t even know the order). Do you remember some or all the names of previous Youth Conferences?* Do you remember them in the order in which they were done?* I’m curious, so feel free to share all this in the comments section* (that’s my new refrain :)). And you can also share some good/funny memories from them.

For those who may be more adventurous or creative, can you think of any names that would be good for future Youth Conferences?* We can try to anticipate what they will be…in order* :). Have fun, and in all this, remember to give thanks to the Lord (c.f. Psalm 103:1,2; Colossians 3:17; 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; etc).

You won’t be seeing much from me in terms of posts for a while…except maybe in the comments section* :). I’ll check for comments…the leaders definitely check for comments. Personally I find it encouraging just to know that someone is actually reading this…and hopefully and seriously being edified (and the results include everything ranging from convulsive laughter to deep conviction). So please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment* :).

Pondering PROCLAIM 7

The previous post probably ended on a very challenging note, which is probably a good thing to lead us to a review of the final session we had. During this session, in talking about the Power for Proclamation, Ben addressed the Dilemma and the Solution in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He started by talking about how these days, of youth, are the days when you have much opportunity to serve the Lord and enjoy Him, generally with less hindrance than later. It reminded me of Ecclesiastes 12:1. So don’t think you are too young [to understand and preach the gospel to others]. Ben also reiterated the outline of the gospel, as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Is there something you would die for? Is there someone who would ‘die for you’? And ‘live for you’? If you are a believer, you think of Christ Jesus (now, these are some thoughts I had as I reflected upon this – Jesus died for believers in the sense of being punished on the cross for all their sins, and He lived for believers in the sense of living a perfect life, fulfilling all righteousness in God’s sight, and now those who trust in Him are clothed in His righteousness, not theirs. Jesus also lives to intercede for believers [c.f. Hebrews 7:22-28]). What do you live for? What would you die for? From 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, we see that Christ died, was buried, and He rose again. Some other verses to keep in mind, as this relates to believers, are Romans 4:25 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.

I remember, somewhere in the middle of this, Ben mentioning again that there’s, “probs with the bod” Do you remember that? :) Surely this is not all about us…God is the center. This was a good question from Ben; “Are we in it for God, or is it the other way round?” It would be sad if it were the other way round in your life. Then Ben talked about the Dilemma and the Solution. As shown from John 15:18ff, the truth is that the world naturally hates Christ and the gospel, and thus also hates you as well, as His follower. The dilemma is that you are commanded to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, yet the world is inclined towards hating it…and you [because of it]! There is pressure there, yet we should not be surprised.

Remember that at around this point Ben was trying to explain something and asked, “You guys know what a blog is, don’t you?” And someone said, “We have one!” That was funny :). Anyway, we did go on to finish up and Ben spoke of the solution. He referred to John 16:7ff and Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus Christ gave us Himself and He is with us always (Matthew 28:18-20). More specifically today, as believers we have the Holy Spirit (John 16:7ff). This has been true from the beginning of the church (c.f. Acts 1:8).

As I contemplated these things, I also came across the fact that even in the book we were mainly studying from there is reference to the Holy Spirit being the One who gives the power for proclamation (c.f. 1 Peter 1:12). It is from Him that we are compelled and empowered to speak the truth of the gospel…proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to the glory of God. Is that not encouraging?

Remember also that there was an encouragement to pray…for ourselves and for those who do not believe.

Here we saw the dilemma and the solution as we proclaim the gospel...the excellencies of Christ Jesus!

Thanks Ben

Pondering PROCLAIM 6

As we (that includes/means ‘you’) ponder the passages in the previous post and recype them (please*), we’ll continue pondering PROCLAIM, actually seeing why those verses are important.

After lunch and the verse memorization time, we went into split sessions; Danny leading the gentlemen and Katie B., I believe, leading the ladies. So I’ll speak from my experience in the gentlemen’s session. There were two main sections; 1) The gospel, 2) Questions that help you ascertain if someone is a Christian and how they understand the gospel.

With regards to the gospel, we learned that the gospel is the only power unto salvation (c.f. Romans 1:16). We also were exposed to the outline of the gospel as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

The two questions that help one to ascertain if one is a Christian and how they understand the gospel are:

1. Are you sure that you would go to heaven if you were to die today? (the Christian has the sure hope of heaven and truthfully answers ‘yes’; c.f. 1 John 5:13)
2. If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” what would you say? (the Christian understands that this is completely on account of Christ Jesus…particularly His righteousness. Now one can see the importance of His life, death, burial and resurrection)

It is of first importance to think honestly about how you would answer these questions. How would you answer them? Interaction with these questions encourages people to think about eternal things. The gospel has promise of eternal life and warning of eternal death (in hell).

After the split sessions, I believe that we all came together and did our best to recite the memory verses. Then there was opportunity to practice what had been learned in the split sessions: preaching the gospel to the role-playing leaders. Do you remember that?* Apparently Marji was the toughest person to preach the gospel to :). (it's a good thing it was "role-playing Marji" not "real-person Marji" :))

In real life, do you preach the gospel to others? Do you ask them questions regarding eternal things? Do you care?

Hello,
Review of Romans 15:17-33
What are the two things a servant of God should hope for?... More on this later.
Paul glorifies God and gives him all the credit for any Gentile souls he might be able to gain to Him.
He also does not dare to speak of those things God has not allowed him to experience. What does this mean? God will only allow you to share what you have experienced in your life. Can you share with others about living as a believer unless you're a believer yourself? CERTAINLY NOT!! This is a message for us my fellow young believers as well: To experience God, we need to be close to the things of God, such as reading and following His Word, prayer, fellowship with Godly friends.
Paul continues, having preferred to go to "Yugoslavia", where he's able to fully preach the Gospel, without the burden of other, perhaps incorrect teaching.
Now, he has his eyes to go to Rome, to the center of politics and religion at that time, to declare the Gospel there. But first on to Jerusalem, where he has a duty to the poor among the saints there. He asks for protection and deliverance while in Jerusalem, because he's aware of the dangers there. He is delivered from the dangers (he did get to Rome after all), where he's able to continue proclaiming the Gospel.
So...what are the two things a servant of God should hope for?? Death and reward!! Philippians 1:21

Pondering PROCLAIM 5

I believe what we did immediately afterwards was capture the flag. As in, the game ‘Capture the flag’, which was led by Tim Nash. I didn’t play at that point, but I think there were two rounds. Eventually Micah captured the flag (blue T-shirt on a stick). The story I heard was that, right at the end, 6 people advanced towards the flag area where one person (Marji; or one could say “two persons” [including Karsten]) was guarding and desperately calling out for help [from Peter]. That was the demise of that “team”. I noticed quite a few POWs, some injuries (not too bad, thank God), including Mr. Daniel Bigelow’s sprained ankle.

Anyway, it was all just warming up for lunch – which we had together. Then I think Tim and Cynthia had to leave. And the rest of us were working on memory verses. MEMORY VERSES??? Do you remember those? (all puns intended).

Oh ladies and gentlemen, this is the test. See how many of the memory verses we learned you can list in the comments section. Actually, I’ll make it easier (or harder; however you look at it); I’ll list the verse references in this post and you see how many you can recite/type (we could call that “recype”) in the comments section. Now, there are rules to this, so keep reading [after the listing].

Memory verses
Romans 1:16
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
II Corinthians 5:21
Romans 10:13
Romans 10:9

OK, so we’ll make it easier. Remember how Ben taught us to memorize verses? I believe it was “phrase by phrase” (cut it up into manageable sizes and understand what those parts mean as you put them back together) and “try to use several senses in the endeavor” (i.e. you can write and read the verse(s), speak them and listen to them, etc). Well, I’ll give one example:

Example of Scripture memorization using II Corinthians 5:21 (a phrase at a time)
He made Him (God the Father made God the Son, Jesus Christ)
Who knew no sin (Jesus Christ did not sin at all and thus did not “know” sin)
To be sin on our behalf (On the cross, Christ Jesus bore the sins of those who would believe, not because He had committed them, but as if he had committed them)
So that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (God has clothed us with His own righteousness – that of Christ Jesus)

The rest of the rules now are:
1. There are no points for 2 Corinthians 5:21

2. You obtain a point for every word that you get right

3. The authorized version for this exercise is the New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4. The first person to announce exactly why rule #3 is funny/a pun (i.e. “punny”) gets 5 points automatically

5. We will allow you to study (so you can quickly look these up), BUT…when you are recyping a verse, you should not have the verse in your eyes’ field of vision or within earshot. You can use brail if you want, but frankly, that will take longer to learn than these verses combined. ALSO, you should have been exposed to the verse (that doesn’t include you reciting it in your head) at least 5 minutes prior to attempting to recype it. I look forward to your truthfulness.

6. Your parents/family/friends can help you (study...and fulfill rule #4)

7. Should we have a prize [or several]? Suggest a prize…and you can only do so after attempting at least 2 verses.


Go for it (c.f. Psalm 119:11)

Pondering PROCLAIM 4

Well, the next day started quite early for me…actually, before daylight. Just a few hours after the events of the yester-evening, my cell phone [alarm clock] started ringing (probably around 3.30am or so). This first time that it rang, I apparently did not hear it…but others did, as I found out afterwards…and actually wondered if it was another ‘attack’. The second time, however, I did wake up to stop the alarm. Setting the alarm for 3.30am? – I’m funny like that. Anyway, that would have been all to the story except an hour or two afterwards, I awoke, and I needed to use the bathroom. Now, this is in a dark room with everyone sound asleep (there was actually some snoring). What happened next is what I found most interesting.

The movement that anyone made on the mattresses we were sleeping on resulted in quite an amplified sound and, more than that, it seemed to send a wave of movement through everyone else in the room. It was like a domino effect…and these mattresses were loud – at least with everyone being so quiet. So here I was trying to quietly get out of bed, yet each movement of mine was reverberated all around the room (the snoring also stopped at this point, by the way). I couldn’t believe it at first, but by the time I was taking my last two limbs off the bed, I was pretty sure that this phenomenon was consistent. Anyway, I got out of bed, being grateful that I was so close to the doorway to the bathrooms, but as I swung round into the darkness…it was dark! Too dark. I had an idea, so I snuck back, quietly chanting Ben’s instruction from the previous night, “stealth guys, stealth” :)…that’s of course when the young men were going to fight the ninjas in order to defend the young ladies (they seemed like warriors of a tribe). I stealthily retrieved my cell phone from my bed, the luminous blue light was sufficient for me and the rest is history. It was quite an ordeal.

Anyway, the gentlemen might also remember the ordeal of cold showers that morning – I’m still not sure what happened to the warm water in the gentlemen’s quarters*. Nonetheless, we all braved that and then the guys had a morning devotional time where they braved me sharing my testimony of salvation, etc. The ladies also did something separately*. We all then had breakfast together before the morning worship session with music and teaching from Ben.

I remember Ben starting by expressing that proclaiming the gospel is rooted in worship. This proclamation is of His excellencies. Thus we can be sure that a [true] worshiper is caught up in the excellencies of Jesus Christ. Yet on this issue of proclaiming His excellencies, we focused on what the word “proclaim” (1 Peter 2:9) actually means. This word (exaggello) is apparently only used here in 1 Peter 2:9 in the Bible. It means “To tell out” (The KJV renders it “to show forth”). This only comes from a life submitted to Christ’s authority.

The aim of proclaiming the gospel is to bring people from darkness into light (remember Acts 26:14-18?). Through this, people are converted (convert – change in nature/function/etc…of something).

Another word we looked at is “Excellencies”. I remember Ben using the expression, “God to the max” in His virtue, goodness, etc. Basically, it’s infinite (I believe Courtney was tasked with trying to imagine forever backwards and forever forwards – just to get close to understanding infinity). And remember that God is the reference point for goodness. And isn’t it amazing – you can never find a place where Jesus Christ is not excellent!

Anyway, we also learned that proclamation requires a vision of worship. And this is worth remembering; it is unnatural for us to see Jesus Christ as beautiful/excellent/glorious; we constantly need an adjustment of our vision…from THE BIBLE (c.f. 1 Peter 2:1-3). We saw that Jesus Christ is a Living Stone, choice and precious in God’s eyes. Should He not be so in our eyes as well? (c.f. 1 Peter 3:4,5)

Ben concluded, telling us that in the next session we would be looking at The Power of Proclamation.

Pondering PROCLAIM 3b

Well, the gentlemen’s quarters, although quiet, was not devoid of activity. All I remember is bundles of socks. Yes, there was some sock-throwing attack. Oh, it’s coming back to me now. Apparently, as mentioned by Tim the next day just before the game [capture the flag] time, just after the first watch the watchmen had spotted a band of ninjas on the horizon. Especially with the moon out as it was that night, not much goes unnoticed by the watchmen. They hastened with the report and immediately all the gentlemen (well at least most of them) sprung to prepare for action…always with great caution and stealth. So, off they went, quietly as ever and I sharpened my ears to listen to the sounds that would emerge – it really seemed intense. In contrast, it seemed the ladies in their quarters were oblivious to this imminent danger, swirling in song. Yet not for too long; the battle against the ninjas must have ventured near the ladies’ quarters because, interrupting the cheerful song and dance, I suddenly heard footsteps, like those of men running during war and shouts and screams – which persisted for only a little while. Then shortly afterwards I did see some of the young men re-emerge into the room (men’s quarters), seeming to have been a little ruffled (you know how battles are). However, there seemed to be an interruption to that too and they were on their way back out of the room following the shouts of, “They’ve got John. They got John!” So they went…to retrieve John.

To my surprise, the spattering that ensued shortly after that involved the ladies as well. I saw wet tissue paper flying through the door the pulling back and forth of one, John Metzger, etc. It is difficult to decipher what’s really happening when you are watching from a warm bed on the far side of the room and the door keeps opening and closing intermittently, but I have a few theories to explain all this; either:
1. The gentlemen in their efforts to defend the ladies, although resilient, had been pushed back right to the ladies quarters (for they were going to fight to the death if it came to that), and as the battle steered in that direction, the ladies finally came to realize what was happening and also thought to join in as best they could with shouts, screams, and the lantern…then they may have helped rescue John from the ninjas. OR
2. As the gentlemen were being pushed back, closer and closer to the ladies’ quarters, they defeated the enemy just as they reached the quarters (just in time). However, the ladies panicked and were confused and a clash between them and the gentlemen resulted…during which they (the ladies) took John – hence the gentlemen had to retrieve him and explain the situation (this could have been a very difficult task).

Now, I realize that these are just theories, of which we could have a plethora, but I just to share how I have thought through these things. I may very well be mistaken, but could any of you ladies or gentlemen with more insight and a better memory, or an actual witness, help in explaining what actually happened*.

Pondering PROCLAIM 3a

You know, I was tempted to title this post ‘from the caves to the computer’, but I restrained myself. Many of you might know that I had quite an encounter at the wonbyOne caves which I would not be remembering now if my dear friend Tim Nash had not come to my rescue with his Jeep…I definitely would not be remembering anything – I could smell death.

I don’t even want to go down that path right now, so we’ll go to another smell; it is that of s’moresJ. Yes, as we continue, as mentioned before (from here and here), on this post we will touch on the action-packed Friday-night-to-Saturday-morning adventure…and we start with the smell of s’mores. That was the smell that permeated the air when the bonfire had settled down a little bit, and people could actually make s’mores; slightly raw, golden brown/rightly roasted, slightly burnt, burnt, flaming burnt – whatever flavor you wanted. While that was happening, there was quite a bit of running around and screaming that was going on in the open field right where we had the bonfire. It was actually quite cool, being under the moonlight.

Yet friends, remember that all this activity is not what had always been happening at the bonfire. After our main session where Ben had laid out the outline of 1 Peter 2:9,10 – which represented the foundation for the conference – we went over to start the bonfire. Slowly but surely the flames rose as the fire grew. And as that was happening, Ben asked if there were people who would like to share with everyone (testimonies, from the word, etc) during this time of fellowship. A few people shared. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Peter did (sorry, I can’t remember what), and Karryn (thanking very much the leaders who faithfully lead wonbyOne), and Katie (as shared on the blog), I myself shared (appreciating wonbyOne and also sharing a little from 1 Peter 3:15, reflecting on what Katie had shared), and I can’t remember much else. Anyway, we had a good time of prayer and then we were to have s’mores…but not without a visit by ‘the skunk that never sprayed us’ (as we shall affectionately know it). We didn’t bother it and it disappeared in the darkness after a while. Good times

So, it is at this point that we started enjoying s’mores (with chocolate and Graham crackers). I remember that the chocolate ran out before the Graham crackers, but that really was a small matter compared to all the other activity that was happening…or was about to happen!!!

As the fire died down, we all started to head down to bed…or so I thought. I remember that Tim and Cynthia had some water and made sure the fire was completely extinguished. This was about the same time that Reed realized that he couldn’t find his pocket knife (we couldn’t see it in the dark, even with the moonlight, so the next day we planned to look for it – I wonder if he ever found it*). In any case, let me just say that I came back to find quite a bit of commotion in the gentlemen’s quarters (and that is not the coinsJ). This was all caused by one question – WHERE IS THE LANTERN??? Well, it appeared that by a subtle maneuver on the unsuspecting, the ladies had taken it to their quarters. I don’t know whether it was really that smooth or it was just because of a mistake*. Let me just say, I didn’t realize how big a deal this was, so started getting ready for bed…and the rest of the story is as is remembered from watching from my bed. Oh where do I start?
Let’s start at the singing of “This little light of mine” by the ladies. I should say that it definitely sounded normal at first, just like people who are enjoying themselves and singing “This little light of mine”…in the darkJ. And then, from my vantage point, through the slits by the ceiling level, I started to notice some light and shadows continuously flipping past from right to left. This, no doubt, signified that there was some sort of continuum in how the ladies were passing by the light, which I believe was from THE LANTERN! It must have been a circle, around the lantern*. The vibrations I heard and felt were not just those of the high pitched voices; there surely was some stomping or stamping on the ground. That must have been quite a circle.

Well I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the holidays. Just to review what was taught two weeks ago...

13Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.
14I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
16Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
17for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
20Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
21It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
22The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
23But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Ben did a fantastic job unpacking this passage of scripture. If you can remember Ben talked about two groups of Christians: those who are strong in faith and those who are weak in faith. However, Paul says that we are not to judge or look down upon our brothers and sisters in Christ over matters of conscience. An example of this would be Christians who believe that women should wear skirts instead of pants to look more feminine. Other Christians would say that it is ok for women to wear pants. This is ok because each group believes that he is serving the Lord through the way he (or she) dresses. However, if one group was to say to the other group " No, no, no, you're doing it all wrong- do it my way!" or thinks that he is better than the other person than you are sinning. This is a rather complicated concept and there is so much more that I didn't mention about this passage. So please, please, comment and one of us youth leaders will try to get back to you.