Immanuel Lutheran Church - Benson

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Romans 8:9

Paul wrote these words about 2000 years ago to settle a division in the Roman community between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.  This gathering of faithful believers had fallen on hard times, and Paul wanted to help.  He had not started this group, and he had never been to Rome, but felt that he could make a difference to the problems they were facing, because he had successfully settled similar divisions in other churches previously (see the two letters to the Corinthians).  Plus, Paul was on his way to Rome, and wanted to prepare the people to receive him.

But the community in Rome had fallen on hard times because the Emperor had expelled the Jews from the city, and then allowed them to return.  Upon returning, the Jewish Christians found that the Gentile Christians had changed things: they changed the way they worshipped, changed the interpretation of the Law, changed EVERYTHING!

The Jewish Christians thought that they were better than the Gentiles because they kept following the Law.  The Gentile Christians thought that they were better than the Jewish Christians because they had moved beyond the law, and could act however they chose.

Paul, in the first part of the letter to the Romans proves through impeccable logic that neither position is better because both positions deny the power of Jesus Christ.  It is only through faith in Jesus Christ - trusting that he is the Messiah, that through him we have become reconciled to God - that our sinful self will be drowned through the waters of baptism.

This puts us in a conflict, however, with our sinful self that still rises from the dead to torment us, and the Holy Spirit who leads us into righteous paths.  We suffer through this conflict day after day because we know that after our death, when our physical desires will finally be ended, we will be raised up to new life in Jesus Christ.

This is the basis then for Paul’s claim that God’s Spirit is in us all.  And aside from being a joyful reminder to us about the promises we have received, this claim is also an admonishment to us, to remind us that even in our disputes, the unifying factor is not the decision reached, or even the action taken, but the Spirit who dwells in each and every one of Jesus’ followers.  This means that, in all of our current debates and disagreements, it is not whether we are right or wrong, whether we agree or disagree, but that we are united through the Spirit, and remain in the unity that we have been given.

And so we pray for the Spirit to be in our lives, to direct our days and our deeds, so that we are not lost to the desires of the flesh, but to remain always united under one Lord, Jesus Christ!

Yesterday remained beautiful for us to play “Bonkers.”  This game included four of the camp counselors throwing socks filled with flour at the kids as they ran around trying to accomplish various silly tasks as directed by the remaining counselors.  I took a lot of pictures of the random activity going on.  Here’s a couple:

Catching the water

Sit-ups

Singing and dancing

After Bonkers, we had a beach party and campfire.

Having fun at the lake

Down the water slide

Everyone in!

We had a wonderful chapel service last night with communion (that Pr. Al and I officiated!), and then play time until around midnight.  We’re getting everything packed up now and going to get on the road after lunch, still expecting to arrive around 5:30.  Expect us all to be tired!

Yesterday was a wonderful, sun-shiney day.

Sunshine at the camp

Sunshine at the camp

After two days of almost straight rain, the kids were thrilled to have time for outdoor activity.  The counselors shifted the entire day around so that they had the morning to do all the things that they put off for rain, starting with a nature scavenger hunt.

Since we didn’t have Bible study time in the morning, I took a mid-week break and had an adventure of my own.  At the camp, Pr. Al continued to take pictures of all the expoits going on.  He’ll have plenty of pictures to show later.  And I’ll have more to post from our adventures today.

After the light storms we had last night and early this morning, we’ve had a wonderful bright day today as well.  So after Bible study time this morning, we’ve been playing outside and having a blast!

We’re now waiting, biding our time for some game called “Bonkers,” which I’ll show you what that looks like later.

Well, we’ve had another rainy day up here at camp, so we’ve been entertaining ourselves the best we could with indoor games and activities.

Ping pong

Carpet Ball

I saw some kids brave the waterfront, but they didn’t look very happy about it!

In class time, we’ve been learning about “Honest Talk,” a Bible study in four parts talking about gossip, slander, honesty, and listening.  Our teens are really interested and engaging in this, as a way and place to learn more about language and the way we use it.

We just got done with a talent show, but none of our kids volunteered for anything.  It was pretty exciting, especially to see and hear some of the kids who wrote their own music to their own songs!

We’ll try and get some more pictures up tomorrow, although some of our youngsters seem a bit camera shy!

Have a great day!
Pr. Bryan

Last night, we had some play time, with the kids running like mad people through the yard.  Here’s some pictures:

Group shot

Playing around!

And Pr. Al was caught in his natural state, taking pictures:

Pr. Al taking pictures

Today has been raining most of the day, so we haven’t had many pictures yet.  We’ll get some though, and post them later!

Pr. Bryan

Well, we packed up and left around 12:30.  Twelve kids plus two pastors, plus two vans equals:

Group picture

The trip was about four hours, with Pr. Al driving the van with the luggage and the rest of us packed into the only van with air conditioning:

On the road

We all got here fine, got checked in with about 200 of our new closest friends:

Behind us in line

In front of us in line

We enjoyed getting to meet new people who will become new friends by the end of the week. 

I’ll post some more later!
Pr. Bryan

“Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”
Hosea 6:3

Since it is now spring time here in the midwest, we’re seeing a lot of rain.  Days become overcast, humidity becomes oppressive, and those of us with joint injuries just know that rain is coming.

But we also know this because it’s spring time in the midwest, a time and place for planting, tilling, working the soil, and waiting and watching things grow.  We know there will be days of rain and days of sun, days of warmth and days of cool.  We know this because we have seen it, over and over again, year after year.

The ancient Israelites knew the times of the land as well.  In their agrarian society, living close to the land, eating what the land provided, they knew the times and season.  They knew that, every spring, rain would come and water the earth and make things grow.  This happens year after year, season after season.  It happens.

In the same way, the dawn appears each morning.  Now, some mornings it’s harder to see, or maybe we don’t see the sun at all, but we know that the earth follows its path around the sun, spinning as it goes, so that the sun appears, and we have hours of daylight.  We know this happen because we have seen it, year after year, day after day.  Baring evil plans like this one, where Mr. Burns blocks out the sun, we will always see the sun rise.

Check it out here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/22244/the-simpsons-sun-block-burns

These are the examples the prophet Hosea gives us as examples of God’s steadfast love for us.  Just as the rain comes in the spring, every year to make the plants grow, so God’s love for us follows a regular pattern and makes us grow. 

Rain, after all, is a constant reminder to the Israelites about the providence of God.  Just a glance through the Old Testament will demonstrate how much the ancient people depended on the rain for their lives, and how the rains were a sign of God’s providence.  From the book of Job, we learn that God is the giver of rain for all the earth: “He does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.  He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety” (Job 5:9-11).  And from Deuteronomy we learn that the lack of rain is a sign of God’s judgement: “Take care, of you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshiping them, for then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain and the land will yield no fruit; then you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you” (Deuteronomy 11:16-17).

Jesus too teaches us that rain is a sign of God’s love, but differently than our ancestors.  This is, of course, a sign of the different emphases that the earlier writers expressed.  Job, wondering about the majesty of God in a world that allows suffering, proclaims that the rain given is a great and wonderous work of God.  Deuteronomy, in regulating actions and behaviors, warns that not following the laws will bring about drought and famine.  But Jesus, teaching us about the wideness of God’s grace, tells us, “You have heard that it was siad, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:43-45).

Rain, for Jesus, Deuteronomy, Job, and Hosea (and most of the rest of the Bible, but that’s too long to list here), is a sign of God’s steadfast love for all people, good or bad, righteous or unrighteous.  It is no longer just a sign for those who know the Lord, but an example or the wonderous love God has for all of creation, even those who are enemies of God.

And this is good news for us, those who are suffering under the weight of our sins.  Our sinful humanity makes us God’s enemies.  But God still gives us rain and sun, and most of all, his Son, to turn us from enemies to adopted children.  If God will send life-giving rain on us evil people as well as the good people, and we are children of God, how can we not love even our enemies.  This is our calling, as those who struggle to know the Lord, to understand God’s desire for us, as evidenced by the rain that God sends for all creation!

 So the next time it rains, remember the glorious promise that God makes through this water from heaven, that all earth is claimed under God’s wonderous rule, that all people, good and evil, are loved by God.  And give thanks to God that even you receive the rain, as a sign of God’s love for you!