HDWN? Summer camp crash course!

What’s up y’all?! I believe congratulations are in order… We made it through another Monday! Go us! Isn’t God so good?!

This week’s post is very special. I had the amazing opportunity to teach a Bible workshop class at Mountain T.O.P.’s Summer P.L.U.S. program. Together, the campers and I explored who Jesus was, how much He loves us, and what He did (pun intended) to cover us in that love. This week’s blog will be a rundown of what the campers and I learned about God… maybe you’ll learn something new too!

Each (very early) morning, the campers gathered to do a morning activity and pray… Middle-schooler prayers are by FAR my favorite type of prayer; they’re short and sweet, getting right to the heart of what’s important. They go a little something like this, “God, thank You for this day. Thank You for my friends. Please, let us have a good day at camp. Amen!” From then, it’s off to the races. 

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During our Bible workshop, my pre-teens/teens and I explored 4 major themes: (1) John 1:1, (2) The 7 “I Am” Statements of Jesus, (3) The Sermon on the Mount, and (4) John 3:16. In this post, we’ll give a mini rundown of a week’s worth of lessons!

Day #1: In the Beginning…

John 1:1 is one of my absolute favorite verses. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer myself, but this verse is so beautiful to me; that wherever you cut the word of God, it bleeds the blood of Jesus because He is the word! This sparked a lot of discussion about time travel and different dimensions, believe it or not. After explaining to the kids that I am not in fact a member of NASA or Space Force, the youngins still had questions: “How can this guy be God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (you know, that Trinity thing), and now He’s the actual Bible too????” 

I tried to explain the only way I knew how… by asking these kids if they’ve ever used 3-in-1 shower soap. Now, you might be questioning my methods here, but let me explain! In a 3-in-1 shower soap, you’ve got shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. It’s all right there in the same bottle. Let’s say you squeeze some 3-in-1 into your hand… even though there are 3 separate components, can you separate them? You know, put the conditioner in one place, the shampoo in another, and the body wash in yet another? No silly goose! While all of the ingredients have different purposes and names, they’re not only inseparable, but all working towards the same goal ~ helping you get clean and smell good. In the same way, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have different names and characteristics, they are inseparable when it comes to their purpose and love for us.

As soon as the kids latched onto this idea, they dove into the next question: “Well, what about the Bible then? How was God with the word and the word at the same time? And what does it mean “in the beginning?” The Bible was written before it even happened?”

Man, nothing like a middle-schooler making you question everything you thought you knew about anything. Wow, these guys might have well been Sherlock Holmes with how deeply they were investigating this verse. Here’s the best I could put it: The Bible is a love letter, not a rulebook. Sure, it has lots of laws in the Old Testament and lots of boundaries and guidelines in the New Testament, but at the end of the day, it’s a love story written across thousands of years. This love story has been in the works since the beginning of time; God knew as soon as the fall of man happened that humanity would need redemption…. A way to bridge the gap sin had created between God and His children. Because of this whole 3-in-1 shower soap thing, Jesus was there at the beginning. The love story of the Bible - the sacrifice of a perfect savior, Jesus - was in action long before the physical words were ever written. John’s “in the beginning” is a direct call back to “in the beginning” in Genesis. To show that the word, the love of Jesus, was there from the dawn of time and will be constantly there until the end of it.

Day #2: The 7 “I Am” Statements

I asked my campers, “If you were going to introduce yourself to me or describe yourself to me, how would you do that?” Immediately a chorus of, “I’m Jacobe! I’m Sierra! I’m McKinley! I’m artsy! I’m lazy! I’m cool! I’m funny!” rang out. The common thread through all this? “I AM!” 

In Exodus 3:14, God reveals Himself to Moses by saying, “I AM WHO I AM.” Fortunately for anyone trying to get to know Jesus, He describes Himself seven times with “I am” statements. I sent the campers on a scavenger hunt through their Bibles in order to  find and discuss the seven “I am” statements Jesus makes.

#1: “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.”  - John 6:35. Here, Jesus is comparing Himself to the manna that God sent the Israelites while they were wandering the wilderness. In the same way that God sent this heavenly bread every morning to His children, Jesus is our daily provision.

#2: Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12. Our world can be a dark and dreary place. Thankfully, Jesus provides light, so that we can see through this darkness. Now, I’m not saying He’ll light up the whole path start to finish at one time, but He will show you the next step to take. 

#3: “I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” - John 10:9. Fun fact: In ancient Israel, sheep were many times kept in stone-wall enclosures. There would be an opening in the wall to allow the sheep in and out; however, this opening wasn’t for a gate as we think of it today. Instead, the shepherd himself would lie down in the opening to ensure that the sheep were safe and that wolves would not enter. When Jesus tells us that He is the gate, He is not only saying that He is the door to enter the flock (or the kingdom of God), but the ultimate protector putting himself between us and the outside world.

#4: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, I know the Father.” - John 10:11-15. This goes hand in hand with the previous “I am” statement, taking it to an even deeper level. The shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know their shepherd; it’s an intimate relationship. The shepherd is willing to die for the safety of his flock, and the sheep follow his voice out of trust. In the same way, Jesus laid down His life for us, and it is because He is so good that we can trust Him to lead us to the places that He as the shepherd determines are good.

#5: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” - John 11:25. Jesus Christ is life more abundant! Here, we can interpret death in two ways: a literal death and a spiritual death. When we surrender our spirit to the Lord, we die to ourselves, are transformed through Christ, and live a new life as an adopted son or daughter of the Most High. Even more, if we believe the Gospels and live the truth of Christ, even when our physical bodies die, our souls awaken in eternity by His side!

#6: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6. This is such a powerful “I am.” Here, Jesus is telling us that there is only one way to enter into God’s kingdom - THROUGH HIM! He is the only path, He is the holy truth, and He is the breath of life. 

#7: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.” - John 15:1. The last of the “I am’s”! Jesus is the true vine - we survive (and thrive) as branches connected to Him. Fruit is a sign of a surviving branch, and good fruit is a sign of a thriving branch. If a branch doesn’t produce fruit, it has to be cut off. But, if a branch produces good fruit, it still has to be cut… but instead of cut off, it is pruned so that its fruit will grow larger, sweeter, and more abundant (just like how we go through hardships and triumphs in order to grow our faith!).

Day #3: Who’s blessed? I’m blessed, you’re blessed, we’re blessed!!!

On Day 3, my campers and I went over the Sermon on the Mount. Who wanna be blessed? Jesus tells us who the blessed are and what they will receive. 

The Sermon on the Mount is wonderful evidence that a walk with Christ isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. In fact, Christ tells us what to expect here - mourning, persecution, hunger and thirst… and goes on to say we are blessed for it!

I won’t go through the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 like I did the “I am” statements, but I’ll tell you about a really cool experience we had with verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” We did an exercise where we (1) apologized and (2) forgave. I explained to the campers that we forgive because He forgave us. The results? Everyone felt lighter. I had one camper tell me, “You know, Miss Kennedy… I didn’t want to say sorry to her (another camper), but it felt really good after I did it. And it felt even better when we forgave each other.” Those two spent the rest of the time at camp as thick as thieves. It was such a reminder to me that one of the brightest ways to shine the light of God and one of the best ways to look more like Jesus is through forgiveness.

Day #4: John 3:16 - What does that mean?

John 3:16 is one of the most widely known and often quoted verses in the entire Bible. But how often do we truly sit down and think about what it means? Let’s break it down!

For God so what? Loved! He did not enter the world to condemn it, but to SAVE IT through His LOVE!

How much does He love us? Enough for Jesus to be stripped, mocked, spat at, beaten, lashed 39 times. Enough for Him to carry that wooden cross and the weight of our sin on His striped back. Enough to be hung by large nails and pierced through the side. Enough to bear our shame, which was so dark that the entire world darkened. Enough to die, and enough to rise again!

And what happens to those who believe? We won’t perish! We will get to experience life more abundantly here on earth and eternally with Him in heaven. We will be content in our circumstances, have peace beyond all understanding, and be known by our Creator. PRAISE GOD!

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Being a part of this camp meant the absolute world to me. Hearing all of the campers wild questions, awesome ideas, and bright "light-bulb" moments was SUCH a blessing.Those kids were rockstars, and, hey, you are too!

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And would you look at that… In just a few minutes, you’ve gone through an entire week of camp. I call that a successful crash course! Look at you go! 

Remember, this blog is for the glory of God and for your encouragement. I’ll love you til the cows come home! I’ll see y’all next week! Remember to send me ideas or questions you have for the blog!

Jesus loves you! Byyyyeee!