Join the Journey through John

Over the next month or so Greg and I are going to read through the gospel of John. We would like to invite you to join us on the journey. We will make comments on each chapter and you can feel free to leave your comments and questions as well.
To get things started does anyone want to guess which John wrote this gospel? And what makes this gospel so different from Matthew, Mark and Luke?

The Camp Cold

"Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness." Hebrew 12:10

As many of my friends know, I've had this annoying camp cold for a looong time. Since the last week of camp, actually. It's a sinus infection that the doctors (seen them 4 times) can't cure: they're sending me to a specialist. I gotta admit, sometimes it feels like God's punishing me.

This time of year reminds me of Sept. 11th, 2001. "The day the world changed." (Well, it did for America, at least.) What struck me is that in the weeks and months after the attacks on the Twin Towers, some popular Christian speakers/pastors said that this was God punishing America for turning away from him. Some even went into specifics (allowing abortion, promoting homosexuality, and all those other controversial sins).

So what do you think? How does God discipline people? Is it possible that God sent this cold to punish me?

On Vacation...

Camp Director is a pretty amazing job. You get to spend all summer at camp, and then you get some vacation time in the fall. Darla and I and the kids are heading to the lake for a bit. It won't be my dream vacation, but it will still be very nice break from the noisy dining hall. What would your dream vacation be? Mine would be driving down to Kansas City to watch the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL team) play--and hopefully beat--the Denver Broncos. Some day...

"Jesus is a crutch."

Some people accuse Christians of using Jesus as a crutch for coping with life. I am not sure that I completely disagree with this statement. What do you think?

Deny, Die, Follow

How is the DDF challenge going? I don't know about you but I got a little distracted on the weekend. I started the 21 day challenge (of sending 10 minutes a day of listening prayer) over again on Tuesday. Three days later I am still on track. Have you heard anything? My last couple days have been pretty quiet.

Talkback Question of the Day!

Hey, here is a question for you...

What was the first thing you did when you got home after camp??


gil

RLBC Teen week was great!

My family (and dog) had a great week at Ranger this year. Thanks to all the campers and staff for making it a great time. We watched the DVD last night and it was good; although i sure look different on camera!
If you need to email me, it is gil@yfcsask.com - i would love to hear from you.

gil

Welcome Teen Campers, Staff and Future Staff

Camp is a place where many of us feel close to God. We talk about things that matter and meet people who are excited about their faith. Hopefully this website will be a place where you can stay in contact with some of your camp friends, while visiting about some of the most important things in life--knowing God.

A couple dates to put on your calendar are the following.
Senior High Youth Retreat for grades 9-12 (a shorter version of camp with a strong emphasis on worship and spiritual growth): September 22-24 - $40.00
Future LITs Retreat for grades 8-10 (an emphasis on leadership and spiritual growth): November 17-19 - $40.00
Registration forms for these retreats will be available soon.

In the comment section of this entry, Greg, Gil and I would love to hear some of your thoughts on what you learned or how God spoke to you last week at camp.

>>>Insert Clever Title Here<<<

Nothing like a good ol' church conference to get the evangelical blood flowing. When I was 15, our church hosted our denomination's annual youth conference, and boy oh boy, did we ever confer... with the opposite sex. But when we weren't teasing and wondering if that girl may be interested in a short-term dating relationship, we did do some constructive activities. One of these was to conduct a "God Survey" of people in downtown Saskatoon. We were all nervous at first, but after trying on perfume at the Body Shop at Midtown Plaza (hey, you have to do strange things to impress conference girls from Oregon), we talked to several people on the streets. I remember being shocked by the answers that many businessmen and shoppers gave. Shocked, that is, at how few of them denied God's existence.

When you grow up in an Evangelical youth group, you're kinda bombarded with the teaching that most of the world is filled with evolutionist athiests. But to the contrary, in most of the conversations I've had with unchurched folk, I've been surprised at how many believe God exists. And in the more in-depth conversations, (with both churched and non-churched people) I'm surprised at this recurring thought: "Yeah, as long as you're a good person, [no matter what you believe] you'll end up going to heaven."

And so, my question is twofold:
What should you say to a camper who tells you this?
What Scripture teaches that this is belief is true or false?
Oh, and you can't use John 14:6. That one's too easy.

Gone, but not forgotten

Hey everyone,

I gotta apologize for the lack of posts the last week here. We're busy with rental groups and moving out to camp, but now that we're getting organized, we're going to make more regular posts starting now. So check back often because we're baaaaaack!