Again, more notes from this year's youth minister conference via Reg Cox
-Celebration transforms us
-we are poor at celebration
-But celebrating the micro-steps plunges us forward, it gives us strength today
Why celebrate?
-It transforms our character
-Celebration and thanksgiving build our character. It takes our eyes (focus) off what we do not have, and places our focus, our trust and hope on what we do have
-Slave thinking has got to be eradicated from our lives, before there is crossing
4 Stages in transformation : foundation for faith legacy
1. commeration (4:1) Remembering with respect
-involved standing stones "masseboth" (mass E bah)
-commeration involves celebration
-archaeologists discovered over 167 "masseboth" pile of stones ---> commerate
These stone piles were erected for two reasons:
a. sign of a covenant between 2 groups
b. to evoke questions, to stimulate stories
-Joshua 4 -- "the masseboth" is a testimony of the power of God
(just a note here: I thought it would be neat if each day somewhere in the day, if we could collectively assemble a masseboth to commerate what God has done for us each day while we are camp and let it serve as a perpetual reminder of God's working at LU JO!!)
-600 years of waiting, the nation now commerates the fulfillment of God's promises
2. The crossing (4:10 ff)
-the crossing signals the shift in character, identity
-4:13 -- on the west side of the Jordan -- no longer idenitfied by the cruel things done to them in the past
3. Confirmation:
-to verify, to establish the certainty of
-Joshua 8:30-35 -- the confirmation involved the whole nation
-faith legacy is borne sustained by the Word of God
-"Renewing our vows" if you will
-They affirmed their desire to be God's and God's alone!
4. Consercration: to be set apart as sacred (:5:2 ff) [Ron does a great job reflecting on this weird male bonding moment]
-Most challenging
-Set themselves apart as different, embarassing, bloody buisness
-God renamed the place to signify that He rolled way the shame of Egypt "Gilgal"
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2 comments:
What would you think about doing the ritual of the twelve stones at the beginning of camp (as at NCYM)?
That would be great! I think this would serve to remind the kids each day of our theme.
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