Camp Day 1 – Arrival
We arrived at Glorieta to some absolutely beautiful weather. The first day is busy, we got settled into our dorms and then kicked off camp with a great night of worship. Our speaker is focusing on “who God is” this week. We began the week in Matthew 3:1-4:1, the baptism of Jesus. He talked to our students about what we learn about “who God is” from Jesus’ baptism.
He explained why Jesus was baptized in the first place, so our students learned that Jesus was affirming what John the Baptist had been teaching, “that the Messiah had arrived.” He then showed us the 3 aspects of the Trinity, “Father, Son, & Holy Spirit,” in the story. It was great message to kick off the week.
After worship our students spent some time with their small groups getting a feel for what Bible study would be like this week. And then, we spent time in “church group.” Church group time at the end of the day is probably my favorite part of camp. It is so cool to see what the students are hearing and learning from the speaker and their Bible study leaders. It is amazing to see what God is teaching each of our students.
Last night several of their insights centered around the sacrifice of the Son in coming to Earth as Jesus. It is a great reminder for all of us, God’s sacrifice for you is not limited to the cross. He was sacrificing himself for you in the incarnation as well (when he came to Earth in flesh). He left heaven, a place that is perfect in every way, to come to Earth because of his great love for you.
Another insight that our students shared was the approval of God in the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus really marks the beginning point for his ministry. It was not only after his crucifixion that God was pleased with his Son. Right there, in the scene of his baptism the Father expresses that he is pleased with his Son. His love is not conditional on the completion of his mission. His love for you is also not conditional on your completion of his mission for you, in fact in our case, it is not even conditional on our perfection. It is grace that we do not deserve extended to us by our loving Father.
My future posts will include more pictures. But I am uploading a few for you here (it may take some time for them to upload, our service is not good up here): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UZSbiDCOhCGSwHKStJYjn37hn5mhB3hy?usp=sharing
