Campfire Revival

 

This is the sermon I preached at our annual Camp Luz Sunday. It served as a bit of an intro to Campfire Worship that began the next week. Since then an enthusiastic bunch of camp lovers have joined me just outside or in the wing on Sunday nights at 7pm. I committed to 4 nights and it has gone well. Lord willing we will continue in October-I hope you'll join us :)

Over my sabbatical I was able to come and take in several camp worship experiences here in the chapel or out by a campfire and it took me back to my roots. Not only as a pastor but as a child of faith.

 As you have heard me say many times I came to Christ through Camp Luz, but it was only this summer that I was struck by the timeless way we worship at camp.

The first night I showed up and we were down by the lake campfire, it was getting dark the bugs were starting to bite and we were singing songs and suddenly it felt like 1978 again-when I was an 8 year old mini camper!  

 You see camp worship transcends generations. I sat there surrounded by a bunch of little kids and young, crazy counselors singing the same songs I did when I was their age. There's a couple reasons for that.

FILL IN: This is why camp songs are so good: First off, all of them are fun to sing, second all are biblical and many are straight scripture.

 Something powerful happens when we sing the scriptures. Not from a book or a screen but by the repetitive call and response of singing together.

Burning songs into our hearts and minds, has worked for as long as people have sung songs. If you know the songs, you sing along-if you don’t just hum, whistle or clap-or just enjoy listening till you catch on :)

So, this is how I'd like to sing with you this morning!

These songs will range from silly to serious and I would invite you to join me as you wish and know that the louder you sing and the more you move, the better you'll feel so we'll start with a warm up, a little morning exercise called “Head shoulders... “ -b/c you have all that let’s…

-Rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4)      “ OK now…

Where’s all my camp people-come on up and help me sing and do motions…”

-Jesus loves me clap… and you can clap to all these songs!

-Who’s the king D

-Medley: I’m gonna sing, when the saints, swing low, this train  D

-Jesus is a friend, clap, 5 a foot, rub a back, G (John15:15)

-Pharaoh Pharaoh   G  “A burn’n bush… Well me and God’s people… Well Pharaoh’s army was… “

-Peace like a river???  D  (Gal. 5:16) Love… Joy…

“Now let’s slow it down a little… have a seat “

-The donut song  G   “let’s take up our offering as we tell God how good he is… “

God is so good???  D   he cares for me… I love Him so…

Lord prepare me  D  (2 Cor.6:16) 25 minutes

Let’s begin prayer… by counting your blessings…  confessing your sins… and committing to prayer all those we love and the concerns we may have... now help us hear what you have to say to us today…

Our Bible verse for today is John 3:16-feel free to open your Bibles to it, look at your bulletin or if you have it memorized we can just say it together… For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!

The singing was marvelous on those nights I was here, at camp for worship, but the preaching was also wonderful. I was here one night and the preacher was talking to these Junior high kids. He told them about the love of Jesus and how Jesus came to earth, faced all the trials and temptations we do, but never sinned. (2 Cor.5:21)

 Jesus healed people and fed people and told them God loved them and strangely enough that made some wicked religious people very angry. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. He knew this was going to happen all along. (Acts 2:22)

But he went through it anyway because he loves us and he wanted to make a way to heaven for us. He did it by rising from the dead on the third day after he was killed and living forever. Now he asks us to follow him.

The preacher that night simply said to these Junior highers sitting in this room if you want to commit to following Jesus tonight stand up- and half the room did!

It was so powerful and I rejoiced. Now were their kids there who didn't know what they were doing or we're just doing what their friends were doing? Most likely yes.   

But there is no doubt in my mind that there were also kids who were ready to follow Jesus and knew exactly what they were doing.

Why do I believe this? Because I was that kid! Committing my life to Jesus at camp, then at other times recommitting my life here at camp-in fact, whenever a preacher offers the chance, it's a good thing if you feel you are not where you should be or you want to be closer than you are, that’s how you do it! Stand up and commit or recommit when the call comes…

FILL IN #2: So here's what I want you to think about: Is the Lord  moving in your heart right now to commit or recommit your life to following him? In just a minute or two I'm going to ask you to stand up just like those Junior high kids did.

 But here's the really great part we are going to have a baptism in a little bit and if you'd like to be included in that, we can talk about it on the way to the pool. I believe the spirit may be stirring others to begin to follow Jesus and become part of His family, even today.

FILL IN #3: Baptism is the Biblical and timeless celebration of that commitment to Jesus

Right now, I will ask you to bow your heads and pray with me… and as we pray if you are making a first-time commitment to follow Jesus right now, I would ask you to stand up...

if you are making a recommitment of your life I would ask you to stand up...

if you are willing to pray for those who have made these decisions stand up...

Oh Lord we lift all those who are committing their lives for the first time or recommitting their lives again to you-help each one to take the steps they need to draw near to you-maybe thru baptism,

praying with someone or getting deeper into your Word the Bible-Lord what ever we need to do to be faithful-show us now and we’ll do it!

Amen, you may be seated

Again if you have made a decision today and have never been baptized before I would invite you to consider it and talk to me as we transition to the pool. But first I'd like to cast a vision.

 I didn't realize how much I missed campfire worship until I experienced it again. Let me be clear it has nothing to do with the physical camp fire. The holy spirit is often depicted as a fire-and that’s the fire I need from camp style worship-maybe you do too?

 I've been out on my front porch singing those old songs and wanting to share them with you like I did this morning but I don't want it to stop here.

 I don't want it to be once a year. The worst thing about camp is that you get it for a week and then you had to go home and camp ends. Even worse-this year there was a whole week of camp that was cancelled when covid hit the staff! (Around 30 kids missed camp) As adults we get camp for one Sunday morning a year-this is not enough for me!

 What I am proposing is for the next four Sundays I'm going to be at SMC singing songs like this, with anyone who wants to show up, probably preaching the sermon from the morning in a wilder way and praying as we feel led. If that sounds like something you would like to be a part of show up next Sunday night at 7PM under the maple tree by the wing and we’ll keep the campfire going...

Now let's sing a (couple more?) song before we go down to baptize…  

And we’ll end like we started with Phil 4:4… Rejoice in the lord always  (40m.?)

Baptism service (take your bulletin for the song “I’ll fly away”)

-Logan shares his testimony-we do vows-he is baptized w/ Dan (in pool -singing I’ll fly away- or poured in chapel)-he is given his bible and then prayed over, then ask for year of prayer-bless the meal-Johnny Appleseed