Download: SH1 2007 Tuesday Flowsheet

Tuesday Evening
Tuesday night was a struggle for us this year. Due to some issues that week, we ended up not coming on as strong as we had originally planned. Despite all that, I think that it was pretty memorable and meaningful for the campers.

The setup was supposed to be as much like a desert as possible. My original idea was to give them contemplative time in a room with flowing fabrics hanging from the ceiling lit up in reds and yellows, and to keep it as warm and uncomfortable as possible. We did use some sand.

We started out the evening with a dancer doing an interpretation of the Jesus in the Wilderness story, along with illustrations that I found online a couple of years ago (Si Smith's excellent series: 40) projected along the back wall. For music, we used some a track from Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to the controversial Last Tempation of Christ.
Click here to check out Passion:

The previous afternoon I felt lead to fast for 24 hours. Our original plan had us exploring the wildernesses in our lives that we need to encounter/conquer, but the group wasn't as ready for that deep of an exploration this year, so we toned it down a bit. Instead of having time for campers to share, I wrote this sermon during Tuesday afternoon and shared it with the group:

My first sermon - 40
What is your absolute favorite snack? Sometime you just love and you crave and you can’t get enough of? For me, it’s absolutely anything that involves peanuts and chocolate. It’s a combination of two things that were just ordained by God to be together… in my mouth. Turn to your neighbor and tell them what your favorite snack is.

So, I decided to fast today, for 24 hours. Now, just to be clear, fasting is not about some sort of eating disorder or becoming cranky. Camille was telling me earlier how some of her friends used to fast and they’d get all cranky about things and when she would ask them about something insignificant they’d be like, “LEAVE ME ALONE, I’M FASTING.” To me, that’s not really what fasting is about. Fasting is about spending a day with great focus and intent on hearing what God is trying to tell you, though right now peanuts and chocolate sounds really really nice.

So, what’s really going on with this scripture for today. Reader, will you read Matthew 4:1-2?
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and nights, he was hungry.

So Jesus was led by who? By the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Why would you need to go out there for 40 days and 40 nights and give up food and water and shelter? Just to test yourself? Just to be able to tell your friends at the local watering hole, “Hey, Guess what I just did?” Or is there something else going on here. Something bigger?

He goes out there for how long? 40 days. When a Jew in Jesus era heard this story, he would have paid particular attention to the number… 40. Can you think of any other time that the number 40 appears in the Bible?

It’s the story that we’ve been talking about already this week. It’s the story that kicks off the history of God’s people. Our people. If you are a Christian, then you can claim it as part of your story too. Your lineage goes way back as a child of God.

So, the Israelites go out into the desert, led by Moses. Reader, will you read Exodus 16:1-3?
The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them. “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”

I want you think about this for a moment. Close your eyes and visualize these things. You have just been freed from a couple of centuries of slavery. You have seen miraculous things. Plagues, a river that turns into blood, you made it through a night in which all of the first-born sons of your captors were killed. You escape and come to a river, now we know from earlier this morning how the Jewish people felt about water and now you’re stuck with Pharoah’s army bearing down on you.

Open your eyes now. And now, just 2 months and a few days later, we have whining and complaining and what is it that is drawing the people off track? Food.

So, God sends down manna from heaven for the people to eat. What is manna? Exactly, what is manna. The word manna, properly translated into modern contemporary English is this: whatchamacallit. Which come to think of it is a candy bar with chocolate and… wait a minute.. back on track!

So in Deut. 8, few books past Exodus in the Old Testament, we have Moses reflecting on their 40 year journey in the wilderness. He says, “Remember how the Lord led you on your journey in the wilderness for 40 years? 40 years of testing you in order to know what was in your heart. Whether or not you would keep his commands. Whether or not you would trust what He said. All to teach you that people do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Reader, please read again from Matthew 4:2-4
After fasting for forty days and nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to beome bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

So what is Satan’s first temptation? Food. And where have we seen that before? This is a story about getting distracted by our cravings, our appetites, our addictions, our lusts. And Jesus is saying that Israel failed this test, but he won’t. He will trust in God.

The simple idea here is that life is not just about getting our cravings and appetites taken care of, satisfying our urges. There is a whole other dimension at which a person can understand life. Life is not just making sure that all of my physical needs are met. God has promised to take care of us and there's a whole other dimension on which man can live.

You have a divine, sacred calling to be God’s people in the world. To be the citizens of heaven right here on earth, to bring heaven crashing into earth and show everyone what it’s like. What is it that draws you away from God or distracts you? Whatever it is and I can’t emphasize that enough, WHATEVER it is, God has already decided to love you and accept you. The scriptures say that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.

One of my favorite speakers, said this, “The most powerful phrase in the English language is, “me too.” Whatever it is that distracts you is distracting someone else too. Very probably someone in this room. It might be me.

- FADE IN MUSIC –

God already loves you, already values you, already considers you to be of immeasurable worth. Is there something that is distracting you from being everything God knows you can be?

I want you to spend the next few minutes talking about distractions that we face as human beings. It doesn’t have to be something that you personally are dealing with. Get together in a group of four and talk about it. What are some of the distractions. What are the things that people do to numb themselves into not feeling anything. Overindulging in food, whatever. Not the things that are normal parts of life. Enjoying food, enjoying great music. Talk about it.

Then Camille came up to split us into groups to learn different disciplines/prayers to help us deal with our wilderness times. We came back in and had each group share what they had learned.

Closing
For closing we used the Nooma Breathe video (I think I put in my Monday entry that we did this on Monday night, but it was actually Tuesday). A lot of the campers reported back that it really meant a lot to them. The video talks about how we are fragile beings created for a divine purpose. It's definitely one of my favorite Rob Bell videos.

Brainstorming Document for Tuesday:

Wednesday - Challenged on the Way

Campers will explore the story of Jesus’ journey to ministry through and temptation and learn being beloved of God.

Scripture: Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation—Luke 3:21-22; 4:1-15

21-22After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."

1-2Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.
3The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: "Since you're God's Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread."
4Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to really live."
5-7For the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, "They're yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I'm in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they're yours, the whole works."
8Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
9-11For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, "If you are God's Son, jump. It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone'?"
12"Yes," said Jesus, "and it's also written, 'Don't you dare tempt the Lord your God.'"
13That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.
14-15Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone's acclaim and pleasure.

Thoughts on the Scripture - WB

This daily theme really builds on Monday night in a big way, because it continues to focus on wilderness and wandering. I was listening to some sermons based around this story and it talked about fasting and how your mind starts to have crazy thoughts about food after a day or so and about how the story mirrors Moses and the exodus. God speaks a blessing over Moses and the Israelites, leads them across the waters, but they grumble and complain about not having water, then they get water and they start to complain about food. A first century Jew would recognize that Jesus experience in the wilderness mirrors the Exodus. So this could be a story about things that pull us off course, our appetites and cravings, maybe a website that we don't need to be visiting, or maybe a website that isn't a bad site, we're just spending too much time there, maybe it's drugs, sex, alcohol, anything that we are overindulging in to numb us. The story also is a mirror of the Garden of Eden, it's food drawing Adam and Even off course.See my thoughts from Monday night for a more complete reflection on the significance of this story in the scheme of things.

Preliminary Plan

Have the assembly hall be setup as a desert. Would be great to have a time in the evening where we talk about going into the desert, and about wilderness periods and how God uses our time in the wilderness to draw us closer to Him and make us depend on Him."When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. For forty days Jesus was tested by the Devil." Luke 4:1-2a, CEV
Jesus chose to go into the wilderness, not to go around it. This was the place where he had to confront his demons and be renewed and strengthened; be transformed.
What is the wilderness in your life that you need to encounter?

Brainstorm

• Dealing with deceptions, and challenges on the way.
• Talk Show?
• Use WB video from Prodigal Son Door Service with Temptations?
• Roadblocks
• Parents who aren't setting a good example
• Media
• Consumerism
• Evil
• Peer Pressure
• Loss (Loved One)
• Sex
• Self-Image
• Depression
• Self-Esteem
• False prophets
• School
• Busyness
• We need to communicate that whatever, you're struggling with, you're not alone
• Work in personal testimonies
• Ways to pray?
• Collect Prayers
• Lectio Divina
• Breath Prayers
• etc.
• From curriculum: Develop brochure on ways to deal with temptations (in small groups) and present it
• Song - On the Road Again - Canned Heat
• Song - Doubting Thomas - Nickel Creek - might make a great closing song
• Video - Nooma 14 - Breathe - Would make a great closing -15 minutes
  Talks about being a sacred creation
• "You can't be connected to God until you're at peace with who you are. If you're still upset that God gave you this body or this life or this family or these circumstances, you will never be able to connect with God in a healthy, thriving, sustainable sort of way. You'll be at odds with your maker. And if you can't come to terms with who you are and the life you've been given, you'll never be able to accept others and how they were made and the lives they've been given. And until you are at peace with God and those around you, you will continue to struggle with your role on the planet, your part to play in the ongoing creation of the universe. You will continue to struggle and resist and fail to connect." Sex God, Rob Bell (p. 46)
• Music - Passion Remastered by Peter Gabriel would make a great soundtrack to parts of the evening
• Song - God Believes in You
• Isaiah 35
  Joy of the Redeemed
  1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
  the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
  Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
  it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
• Thomas Merton Prayer Uncertainty, Lost
  MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
• Doubt
  From Mastering the Art of Living Talk on Faith and Doubt:
  He asks how many in the congregation have been Christians for a long time, but their biggest of leap of growth in their spiritual journey has been recently.Everyone has faith in something. For some people, it's just in themselves.

  If you had all of the answers, you'd be God. Being a mature Christian is sometimes about accepting that there are sometimes no good answers.

• Visual Idea : Signpost with Signs. Maybe as someone comes in and works in a personal testimony, they add it to the pole?
• Quote - The endurance of wilderness is preparation for great light -- St. John of the Cross
• Quote - I am an invisible man...I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind, I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. -- Ralph Ellison
• Psalm 63:1 (NRSV)
  O God, you are my God, I seek you,
  my soul thirsts for you;
  my flesh faints for you,
  as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
• Poem by teenager
  I am desperate, O Lord.
  My spirit is parched
  from worldly cares
  My heart tired and worn out.
  I feel abandoned.
  I stumble into enticing mirages
  in search of a cool oasis.
  Forgive my unbelief, my doubt,
  my questions, my lack of faith.
  You have seen me this far.
  You word says you will never forsake me.
  You have promised to be with me
  until the end of the earth.
  So make right the wrongs, Lord.
  Strengthen my spirit.
  Shelter me through this
  desolate, lonely wilderness.
  Let your divine wellsprings,
  streams of living waters,
  revive and refresh my soul.
  Fill me with the joy of your love
  once again.
  Quench my thirst.
  I long for you, O Lord.
• Psalm 13:1 (NRSV)
  How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
  How long will you hide your face from me?
• Poem - When? by Zack Baldwin, 17
  A missing note is holding back the song I want to sing.
  The needed joy I know is there just keeps on slumbering.
  My throbbing mind is drowning, upside down and lost.
  I'd trade today for yesterday, no matter what the cost.I'm searching past the pathway, screaming for the truth,
  for something to hold tightly, some never-dying proof.
  Lying through a laugh, I hold my head high.
  Dreaming of the past, I pass forgiveness by.

  A missing beat is holding back the flowing of my heart.
  Faithless, sinful melodies have thrown me back to start.
  My calling is a whisper where symphony once played.
  Living, loving moments have turned into counting days.

  Everything can change in the rising of the sun.
  The music will fit together,
  and my song can then be sung.
  The only question is, When will that day come?

• Psalm 43:5 (CEV)
  Why am I discouraged?
  Why am I restless?
  I trust you!
  And I will praise you again
  because you help me,
  and you are my God.
• Matthew 11:28
  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
• Closing?
  Uphill Battle Video
• Video ($15) - Jesus Was Tempted - Good intro to scripture:
• Video - Looping Desert Footage for Effect 1 ($6) Another ($6)
• Video - Good hazy effect for bathing the room in ($6)
• Flashing caution lights like you'd find on a roadblock