Summer Celebration

Preview of Take Home Cards

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22

We want the Word of God to be taken home and applied from each lesson at Summer Celebration.  To help make this happen we have developed take-home cards for each day.  Check them out below:

Give-A-Ways (UPDATED)

Friends,

At Summer Celebration we are always sending you home with something at the end of the day.  Here are some previews for the poster you will receive this year.

Poster Front


Poster Back

See you in 31 short days…

Kid’s Choir Recording

A few pics from the recording with the kids today!

I can’t wait to share these songs with you all at the camp….and give you your personal copy of the Ten Commandment Album that we wrote just for this memorable week together!

Give-A-Ways

Friends,

At Summer Celebration we are always sending you home with something at the end of each day.  Here are some previews for the poster and wristbands you will receive this year.

Poster Front

Poster Back

Wristbands

Taking Summer Celebration Home

Campers, we realize the whole Summer Celebration experience can be a bit overwhelming with the games, drama, video, song and just plain fun.

We also realize that in the midst of such fun the main idea should never get lost.  That’s why at the end of each day’s events we will leave you with a take-a-way card with the slogan of the day and scripture memory verse.  Our hope here at Summer Celebration Central is that you will be able to review with your parents what you learned each day through the use of this take-a-way card.  In addition, we officially challenge you to commit the slogan of the day to memory AND memorize the Scripture associated with it.

Take a look at this year’s cards:

Also, be on the look out for your own Official SC Ten Commandment Poster!!

54 days and counting…

Camp Curriculum: The Ten Commandments

Many people think of the Ten Commandments as just a list of “do’s and don’ts” –DO this but DON’T do that!  But the Ten Commandments are much more than a list of do’s and don’ts.  The Ten Commandments show us what God is like…and what we are like.

WHAT GOD IS LIKE:
Exodus 20:3 is called the Prologue of the Ten Commandments.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  Exodus 20:2

It comes before the commands of God and is like an introduction.  It tell us who is giving the commands – God – and why God can give commands.  By studying the prologue carefully, we can understand a lot about God.

In the Prologue God says three things about himself:
1. I am the LORD
2. I am your God
3. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery

This all reveals that God is sovereign, self-sufficient, eternal and unchanging.

Because God made the world and everything in it, he owns all things and has the right to do whatever he pleases with it.  He is the King of all creation!

As the King, He is the one who makes the law of the land.

King God determined to give his people the law to tell them what was right and wrong.

The first four commandments show us

:

#1 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3
This shows us that God is greater than all other gods and he is worthy of our praise.

#2 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” Exodus 20:4
This shows us that God’s greatness cannot be shown by anything that man could make.

#3 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain”.  Exodus 20:7
This shows us that God’s name and reputation is precious because God is most valuable and worthy.

#4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
This shows us that we can rest because God is able to provide for His children.

The final six commands show us

:
#5 “Honor your father and your mother.”  Exodus 20:12
This shows us that God wants us to honor those who are in authority – those who have position over us – because God, the greatest authority, is worthy of honor.

#6 “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
This tells us to respect the life of others because God is the Creator of life.

#7 “You shall not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14
This tells us to be faithful because God is faithful.

#8 “You shall not steal” Exodus 20:15
This tells us that God gives us all things and knows just what to give us.  We do not need to take from others because God is wise and knows how much each person should have.

#9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
This tells us not to lie because God is not a liar.

#10 “You shall not covet.” Exodus 20:17
This teaches us that God is the greatest treasure.  When we have God we have all that we need.

WHAT WE ARE LIKE:
The Ten Commandments also tell us what we are like.  Have you kept all Ten Commandments perfectly?  No?  Neither has anyone who has ever lived.  Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned…” and James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”

Simply put, we are guilty sinners deserving of punishment.  This this the worse possible news we could ever hear.

So far we’ve talked about the Lawgiver (God), the Lawbreakers (Us) but there is One who we’ve yet to mention…

JESUS who is the Law-Keeper for us.

Won’t you join us this year at Summer Celebration to learn more about God’s law and celebrate the one who came to save us from the times we broke the law so that we might live for God in obedience?

Mrs B and I will be there along with the Tree House Gang and many others….and we just can’t wait to see you there too!

79 days and counting…

How Jesus Transforms the Ten Commandments

It’s a question many ask but few take time to answer sufficiently: “What place do the Ten Commandments now have in the Christian life?”

It’s an important question.  And it’s one that we will address with 500+ kids this year at Summer Celebration.

Beyond rote memory of all ten commands, beyond an understanding of the context these commands were given, even beyond a summary of these commands (Matthew 22:36-40); we will take time to unpack how Jesus transforms these commands and why this matters to us as children and adults.

The Summer Celebration Teaching Team has enlisted the help of a world class Bible scholar to guide us through the teaching of each of these commands with children.  This help comes in the form of Edmund P. Clowney’s book, “How Jesus Transforms the Ten Commandments”.  With his help navigating the whole of God’s Word, we will deliver these insights through entertaining/engaging/fun means (as we’ve become known for) to help this truth stick in the hearts and minds of kids.

The structure of what we will teach this year can be summed up in the following threefold statement:

The Lawgiver, the lawbreakers, and the Law-keeper for US!

One commentator on Clowney’s book stated the following related to these three categories:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 For many Christians, conditioned to emphasize our freedom from the law, Jesus’ words seem strange, even incompatible with the gospel of grace. If Jesus did not abolish the law, then how should we look at the Ten Commandments today? Clowney explains how Jesus intensifies the law and expands its scope to every situation in life. But as the author did so often during his ministry, he goes further, finding Christ in the law and showing how he fulfills it for his people. Thus believers will learn more not only of God’s character revealed in the law, but also of the gospel with its focus on Christ.

We look forward to unpacking these ten commands with you through song, teaching, games, videos and drama.  It’s shaping up to be yet another unforgettable week!

See you there!
Mr. B