Camp Update and Quiet Time Highlights

Tonight we will share video, pictures and an update on our Camp Ministry in Hawaii. We have some great pictures and exciting stories of our time of ministry on the Big Island. We are anticipating a good turnout tonight at 7:00pm. We will also have some light snacks to enjoy.

I am using an online version of the Word of Life Quiet Time Diary and really liking it! Today our Bible reading was in Romans 5:1-11. What a RICH passage of Scripture. Here's what I wrote in my online Quiet Time Journal.

What is the writer saying?

Now Paul lists the benefits of our justification by faith and they are MANY!
1) We have been declared righteous; we have been made right with God.
2) We have PEACE with God.
3) We have ACCESS into God's grace.
4) We REJOICE in our confident assurance of Glory to come.
5) We can REJOICE in our SUFFERINGS / Tribulations, knowing they work for our good and God's Glory.
6) We have the indwelling HOLY SPIRIT.
7) We are DELIVERED from future condemnation.
8) We are RECONCILED to God.
WOW! That is a huge bundle of benefits that are ours because we have been justified by faith.

 

How can I apply this to my life?

This passage is rich with truth that impacts everyday life.
Notice we have Faith, Hope and Love.

We also have Peace and Joy. I read in another commentary: “Peace and joy are twin blessings of the gospel: as an old preacher put it, ‘peace is joy resting; joy is peace dancing.’“ I like that! I can also have joy in the midst of my sufferings - how good is that? I can have that joy because I know that suffering is developing my character.

Lest these blessing lead us to think we are all that we are reminded that we were WEAK, UNGODLY, SINNERS, and ENEMIES of God. The blessings we have are all because of God's Grace!

Because of Calvary I have been declared righteous, I have peace with God, I have access to God, I can rejoice, I can rejoice in sufferings, I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit, I will not face any future condemnation and I am reconciled with God. What a wonderful life I have all because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

The Freedom of Slavery

While at camp I read John MacArthur's newest book: Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ  I enjoyed the book and was challenged to evaluate my life in light of what I read. Here are a couple of quotes from the book worthy of your time to think about.

* "Slaves did not have to worry about where their next meal would come from or whether or not they would have a place to stay. Their sole concern was to carry out the interests of their owner. In return, the master cared for their needs." (p. 27)

* "The Hebrew people had been delivered from one master in order to serve another. God would be their sovereign King, and they would be his loyal subjects. The Exodus did not rescue them from slavery altogether, but only from slavery to Pharaoh. Now they were slaves of God:" (p. 31)

If you want a book that will challenge your thinking and deepen your commitment to Christ then I would highly recommend that you click the link above and get a copy for yourself, you will be glad you did.

For His Glory,
Pastor Mike

Sunday Summary - July 24, 2011

Wow! What a day!

It is always a joy to ride home on Sunday evening with a heart full of praise and gratitude to the Lord for the blessing of another Lord's Day.

This morning I preached from Acts 9:32-43. We learned what a Paralytic, a Seamstress and a Tanner all had in common. Each of them had significant interaction with the Apostle Peter. The Paralytic was healed from eight years of paralysis. Tabitha, the seamstress, was raised from the dead. Each of these miracles brought many people to the Savior! Simon Peter lodged with Simon the Tanner which was a huge taboo for a Jewish believer; but God was at work breaking down religious barriers, so as to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.

We learned four characteristics of true Biblical miracles:
1) The Lord ALONE is glorified.
2) There is no SHOWMANSHIP involved.
3) The unsaved are impressed and often turn to Christ as their Savior.
4) Biblical principles are NEVER contradicted.

Well, that's enough about this morning. This evening was a HUGE blessing for all in attendance! Our choir along with a few guests and the congregation kicked things off singing "When We All Get to Heaven" and we sang it like we meant it - what a start to a great service! The choir then shared a couple of other songs with us; "Ten Thousand Years" and a rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" that is a favorite of mine. It is a soul stirring song! We were also blessed by the ministry of The Carver family and their "Appendage" (We love you Donna) Donna along with her sister Diane and brother in law Randall blessed our hearts with the songs they shared with us. Words can not adequately express how their musical ability, sweet expressions, beautiful harmony and Christ exalting message blessed us all. Next the Miller family along with Pam Green and Lee Burke took us "Down to the River to Pray" They sang acapella and did an outstanding job! We ended up with some Piano playing that was phenomenal! If you are familiar with Anthony Burger you would have an idea of the skill and passion we heard tonight from Trey Everett. That young man can flat out PLAY, I mean PLAY the piano! We concluded with the congregation once again singing "When We All Get to Heaven."

Of course, we are also grateful for the skilled musicians, staff and sound man the Lord has blessed our church with. A BIG thanks to Phyllis, Marlene, Lee and Ted! You all are Wonderful!!

Any good fellowship is going to involve some good food and we had that in abundance. Thanks to all who prepared and brought a treat to share with us. We all went home rejoicing over the good day of worship the Lord blessed us with.

And just think we get to meet together AGAIN next Sunday to worship the Risen Savior once again. As one of our church members says from time to time: "It doesn't get any better than this!"

Last Full Day of Camp

It's Friday and that means it is the last full day of camp. I am actually posting some photos from my first week of camp to give you an idea of all that is going on this week. I will put together a special presentation of camp pictures and camp highlights for our Sunday evening service on July 17th. As much as I am enjoying my time here I am looking forward to being back with our church family.

This morning I will preach a message on commitement from John 6:5-13 and tonight I am planning on preaching from 1 Thessalonians 5. Pray the Lord would use His Word in the heart's and lives of the children and staff.

After the Morning Bible Hour the children have "God and I" time where they spend some time in personal devotions.

God and I Time

Loving Counselors

Exciting games also fill a portion of our time at camp. Here's a couple of photos of the games.

Evening Carnival Games

The campers enjoy the wild, crazy, excitng and challenging games. It is fun to watch them run, laugh and enjoy this time of activity.

Last week we enjoyed a supper time picnic and I am sure we will do the same this week.

A Delicious Picnic Supper on the Hillside



Prior to the evening message I was able to have a "Magic" show for the campers and they really enjoyed the illusions and fun of this special time.

A Sponge Ball Magically Appears in Brooke's Hand

Following the "Magic" show we sang, then I shared a final challenge with the students. The campers were dismissed for a brief break and then returned for a hilarious skit night with side splitting skits put on by the counselors and camp staff. It was a blast!

The last day of camp is capped off by announcing the team winners. It is an action packed, fun-filled, high energy wrap up to another great week of camp.

Check back tomorrow for yet another update of our Camp Missions Trip.

Aloha,
Mike

Thursday Morning Camp Update

If this week is like last week, today is a wonderful day! The day begins with breakfast being delivered to the campers. Uncle Brian's Doughnut Holes (the size of Tennis Balls) covered in sugar and cinamon are OUTSTANDING! Add to that a cup of hot chocolate and you are off to a great start.

Here are a couple of pictures of "Uncle" Brian preparing the doughnut holes.

"Uncle" Brian and his Delicious Doughnut Holes

From here the Doughnut Holes
are coated in Sugar and Cinamon.
They are DELICIOUS!!

It is like a feeding frenzy when this special breakfast is delivered to the campers. Everyone enjoys this special treat!

Hot Doughnuts and Hot Chocolate to Start the Day

After breakfast and some morning acitivities we will all assemble for the Morning Bible Hour.

Morning Bible Hour

The rest of the day will be filled with exciting and challenging games, free time, time together as a cabin, more delicious food and around 7:00pm we will meet for the evening Bible Hour.

Each night we are blessed with special music by the Camp Counselor Choir. They do an outstanding job.

Counselor Choir

Thanks for checking in with us today. I'll have a few more pictures and a brief update for you tomorrow. Keep praying for us and we will also keep you in our prayers.

Aloha,





Mike

Wednesday Morning Camp Update

Today I plan to preach a message from the life of Daniel for our morning Bible Hour and tonight I plan on sharing an evangelistic message from John 3. Pray the campers will be attentive and that the Spirit of God would use the Word of God to change the lives of those who hear the Word today.

Also remember to pray for the counselors. They are with the students 24 hours a day during the time of camp. They have great opportunities to instruct and influence the campers in their spiritual growth.

The campers stay in one of two locations; a cabin or a "carport" type tent. Here are a couple of pictures of their camp accomodations.

Girl's Cabin

Typically there are about 8 girls per cabin. If you look close you can see their restroom accomodations in the back right of the picture.

Here's an outside and inside shot of one of the guys "tents"

Guys Tents

Hope Nobody Snores to Loud

The Operations Staff and Kitchen Staff stay in tents like these as well.

I have heard that it has been HOT back home. Since the camp is around 5,000 feet in elevation it has been quite cool at night and not to terribly warm during the day. So the thought of sleeping in a tent is not too bad here in Hawaii.

Check back tomorrow for another camp life update.

Aloha,
Mike

Tuesday July 5th Update

Each time I begin to write I look at my watch. I do so to see what time it is for each of us. Here in Hawaii it is 10:42AM which means it is 4:42PM back home. We have adjusted well to the six hour time difference. Hopefully our transtion back will go well.
Today we will head back to camp. Please pray for me as I will be speaking tonight and twice a day on Wednesday - Friday. Camp will end with breakfast on Saturday and the campers will head back home. We will head back to the Underhiles house for Sunday - Tuesday and fly home on Tuesday evening.

Last week at camp I taught through the book of 1 Peter. This week I will speak on various topics. Tonight's message will be from 1 Timothy 4:12 and I want to challenge the students to be an example of the believers with their Words, their Lifestyle and their Love. Tomorrow morning we will learn from the life of Daniel and then on Wednesday evening I plan to preach an evangelistic message from John 3. I will be glad to know that you will be praying for our ministry to the children and staff here at camp.

We are blessed with a GREAT group of counselors here at camp. They are from various Bible colleges and are doing a FANTASTIC job with the campers and the program. Here's a picture of most of the counselors.

2011 "The Winds" Camp Counselors

The camp counselors, kitchen staff, operations staff and program staff all work together so the campers will have a memorable and life changing week at camp.

Prior to each message we enjoy about 30 minutes of singing. I wish you could hear the campers sing! It is great hearing the children and counselors lift their voices in song. A "Praise Band" leads us in worship at each Bible Hour. The "Praise Band" is composed of a "Bongo" type drum, a mandolin, a ukelele, and two guitars and all of the voices of the children and staff. Here is a picture of the band...

Camp "Praise Band"



We have enjoyed our sight-seeing over the past few days and are now looking forward to getting back to camp. Back to the tent, outdoor shower, and everything elses that makes camp an exciting adventure!

While at camp we will have limited cell service (it all depends on where we stand) and no internet service. I do plan to post some entries to this blog that will be published in the days ahead. Once we return from camp I can post some more information about week 2 of Junior camp.

Let me leave you with a picture of an active Volcano that we visited yesterday. It was an amazing sight. There was no lava flowing but there were several areas where you could see steam coming out of the ground and out of the main mouth of the volcano. The crater is HUGE!

Halemaumau Crater

There was a rainbow that appeared while were at the crater that looked as if it landed in the crater - it was an amazing sight. You will also notice a white "speck" at the edge of the crater - that is a man that is hiking along an upper rim of the crater - that will give you an idea of the largeness of this crater. (If you "click" on the picture the picture will enlarge so you can see it better)

A Rainbow in Halemaumau Crater



Thanks again for checking in with us and keeping up with our camp ministry here in Hawaii. Check back tomorrow for another update.

Aloha,

Mike

Happy Fourth of July!

Here is a great quote from John Qunicy Adams.
"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day. Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday ofthe Savior? That it forms a leading event in the Progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation ofthe Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Saviour and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets 600 years before."

Let us celebrate our Country's independence while remembering our dependence on the source of true freedom...Jesus Christ!

We are grateful for the freedom to worship! Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday as we met with the O'okala Fellowship.

The Church meets in the local Post Office.

O'okala Post Office

Here' a picture of us after Church.

Our friends Phil and Cindy are on the right. Some of their church family were out of town yesterday. We enjoyed singing together and hearing a message from Ephesians 5:15-21.

We enjoyed lunch with the Underhiles at their home and then went out to see some sights in the afternoon. We enjoyed supper, by the ocean, at the Kona Canoe Club. Here's a picture of Marilyn and myself and a picture of our meal (the presentation was so nice we just had to snap a photo).

Marilyn & Mike at Kona Canoe Club



Kalua Pig Tacos

Many at Church encouraged us to enjoy ourselves on our trip. Well, you can see we have been doing that the past couple of days. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we head back for week two of camp.

I'll post a camp update tomorrow. And try to get a few ready to post while we are at camp. On next Sunday I will have more pistures from week two of camp to share with you.

We are heading out to a Fourth of July picnic with two other churches.

Aloha,
Mike

Any Comments?

It would be great to hear from you. You can post a comment through the comment section on the blog or you can send an e-mail to esbcpastor@gmail.com

I will only be able to see your comments on this weekend and next but it will be good to hear from you.

Later,
Mike

Good Morning

It is strange to wake up here at 6:00AM to the realization that our church family has just finished their morning Worship service. I am sure everyone was blessed by the choir and the ministry of Bob Skelton. I am so grateful that Bob could fill the pulpit in my absence and I know that our church family was glad to have him back at ESBC. He will also be back next Sunday (July 10) for the AM and PM service.

This morning we will worship with the folks at O'okala Fellowship. Our friend Phil Underhile came here to plant a church and we are looking forward to being with this growing fellowship of believers.

Yesterday we were able to see some sights on the Island. Marilyn was excited to see the highest waterfall on the island. It fell 1,450 feet. Here is a picture of the falls.

From where we saw the falls we continued down a steep, narrow, winding "road" to get to the ocean that is in the valley between these two huge hills. Here's a picture of the beach area looking down into it from above.

Once down at the beach here is a view looking right, as you are facing the ocean.

After Church we plan to see some more sights on the Island. Tomorrow we will meet with three churches for a Fourth of July picnic. On Tuesday, we will go back to camp for the second week of Junior camp. Camp will run from Tuesday to Saturday.

I will post some more pictures of camp in my next post. Once we get to camp we will not have any internet access so I will not be able to post any updates from camp although I will plan to post some that will publish while I am at camp.

Aloha,
Mike & Marilyn

Hawaii Camp Update

It is 10:50 AM on July 2nd as I post this update. We are off of the camp property and staying with our friends the Underhiles. We have known each other for over 25 years. Phil is the Camp Director.

Here are a few pictures that will tell you a lot about where we are staying.
The camp is between two mountains at 5,000 feet elevation. At night it gets into the 40's. Needless to say, it is a bit chilly in our home away from home.

Home Sweet Home

In the morning we walk about 140 steps to...

The Little Green House

What's inside the door of the Little Green House...

Near our tent is the "Shower" area, which is a 55 gallon drum tank with a pump hooked to a car battery to run water through the tankless water heater to deliver a warm shower.

The Staff Shower Area

Usually the camp staff guys keep the 55 gallon drum filled with water each morning. One morning we were running a little low so I added some water.

Thankfully the meeting and eating area is not so rustic. All of our meals and meetings are held in The Lodge.

Inside The Lodge is the meeting area, the snack shack, the camp office, and the kitchen.
Here is a picture from one of our meetings.

Teaching Through 1 Peter

Here's Marilyn helping to serve the children at one of the meals.

Prior to serving the meal you have to prepare the meal. The kitchen is rather small but the meals they prepare are FABULOUS! We are eating very well. I'll have to tell you about "Musubi" in a future post.

Here is a picture of Marilyn helping to prepare "Bento" for an evening meal.

After the meals, the dishes have to be cleaned. The "Outdoor" kitchen is where the diswashing takes place. Here are a couple of pictures of the dish washing crew.

Well, that's an overview of how we are living while we are at camp. In my next post I will give you a detailed update of how camp is going.

Thanks for checking in with us. I'll get a few more updates posted before we get back out to camp on Tuesday for week two of Junior Camp.

Thanks for remembering our camp missions trip in your prayers.

With Love,
Mike & Marilyn