PRAYER WARRIOR

Our Summer programs come to a close tomorrow. This week we had almost 110 campers for Family Camp II and another 140 who joined us for the Salmon Bake on Wednesday. We’ve enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces at LBC, including a few new ones. One conversation I had on Wednesday was with someone who had seen the camp from the public dock, but hadn’t experienced it personally. This was her first summer sending her kids to camp, so she signed up for the Salmon Bake. We hope we made a good impression. Pray that the influence of the Salmon Bake would bring people closer to the LORD.

Jr. High is an important age for teens to figure out what they believe and why. In today’s culture teens are faced with all kinds of pressure to conform to the patterns of this world. That is why our speaker for this week, Lydio Banana, chose to speak through the book of Daniel. It’s a book where the characters face pressure to change and become like the Babylonians around them. The book gives us stories of how Daniel and his friends chose to fear God above all else. Pray that these campers would lean forward in chapel to hear about God’s Word and focus on what matters.

We’ve reached the midpoint of Boys Camp II. Today’s schedule includes man skills. The cabin leaders are teaching these boys how to change a tire, how to rescue someone in the water, how to fix a broken toilet, how to give someone a handshake. What have I enjoyed watching this week? I’ve enjoyed seeing the cabin leaders bring and utilize their unique interests. One of the cabin leaders loves to mountain bike, and he connects with the kids at the bike track. One enjoys music and he connects with them using instruments. Another enjoys drawing. Another disc golf. I’m grateful for the variety of interests God instills in His people. 

The girls are alive, with the sound a singing! We are blessed this week to have Patti Craig leading the girls in worship. Usually when I share with people about LBC, I tell them about how we share the gospel with kids using the messages of the speaker, the conversations with cabin leaders, and the memorization of scripture for patches.

Our speaker for High School Camp is Dan Jester, who is now the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Burlington, WA. We always love having Dan come and speak because his heart to reach the lost is so evident. He is teaching the teens about the Songs of Ascent (Psalm 120-134) and helping the teens understand how the tabernacle points us to Christ. As I spoke with Dan this morning, he’s encouraged to have already had some amazing conversations with campers. Pray that Dan would have many more conversations this week and the Gospel would make it’s eternal impact for some of these campers.

Boys like to have fun. When the boys have fun on the boat and the waterslide, it seems to cure all their longings for home. There is at least one boy this week who is struggling with homesickness. Pray for him and others to have similar moments of great fun, as we hope it will calm their anxieties about being away from home for the first time. Our speaker, Nathaniel Buss from Shelter Cove Church in Modesto keeps the boys engaged with questions all through his messages. Pray that these boys would clearly hear the gospel message.

Family Camp 1 started with a blast of the shofar and 124 campers. We expect more than 60 extra people to join us for the Salmon Bake. (You can register here). It’s a full week and we are happy to see the camp full and families enjoying this wonderful place.

We had 32 girls this weekend at LBC led by our directors Jen Amrine & Cyndi Edvalds. Those two make a great team as they coordinate crafts and games to connect with the campers. Even though the weekend camps are short, there is still a chance for an impact. After reading through the camper surveys it was evident as to what was meaningful to these kids:

One question we don’t need to ask of Mary when we get to heaven is what she thought of herself. It’s clear from her song that she considered herself a servant of God. She also didn’t identify as more holy than others. She identified as a sinner in need of a Savior. In some renditions of the Christmas story, Mary gets exalted. Yet even she would resist those claims. Her situation is just like all of us who were born in a sinful state.

In the advent story, there is this odd experience from Zechariah. The angel, Gabriel, announced to him that his wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to a son and they were to name him John. Zechariah doubted and asked, “How can I be sure of this?” Since he lacked the faith to believe in the moment, Gabriel made Zechariah silent until the baby took it’s first breath. So then once John is born, Zechariah is finally able to open his mouth. He names the child John, and then continues to praise the LORD as he overflows with excitement for what God has done.

As you know, Lakeside Bible Camp is a place where the gospel is proclaimed to young and old. It’s a place where we concern ourselves with the spiritual well-being of families. It’s a place that God uses to harvest decisions to follow Christ. It’s a place that is used for God’s children to be baptized and publicly proclaim their allegiance to Him.

Long before Jesus came into the world, God knew exactly how He would enter into humanity. The incarnation didn’t happen by accident. The entire event had been planned out from the beginning, and the very person who would come into the World as a baby would be God Himself. 

“When the time had FULLY come”

God intervened by sending His Son when He determined to do so. We can see now that God had waited until the stage was ready for the gospel to go forth to the Gentile. There was a common empire, a common language, and a road system connecting it all together.

As we celebrate the Christmas season we remember the holy birth of Jesus. He had no earthly father, though Joseph served in that role. His birth happened as it was foretold by the prophet Isaiah 7:14. Not only was this a sign for us to be able to recognize that Jesus came from God, but the virgin birth also underscores the role of the Holy Spirit and it also affirms Jesus as both truly God and truly man.

P.s…If you’re church is in need of a pulpit supply for a Sunday, please don’t hesitate to have your church reach out to me. If I can make it work with my schedule, I’d love to come fill in or even just give an announcement. I find these speaking engagements turn out to be a great way to invite people to participate at Lakeside. Just send me an email: dcm@lakesidebiblecamp.org.