Now that I'm back from camp, I've realised how horrible my note taking was. So I've decided to re-write everything in paragraph form.
Our theme this year was trivial pursuit, and we talked a lot about following Christ being a battle.
Let's begin!
talkone: Prepared For Battle
This talk was an introductory talk, which stated that Following Christ is not a trivial pursuit. It's a battle against sin, the world and the devil.
1. Saved to serve
How is a person saved and why?
Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that by the grace of God, we have been saved through faith- not of our own doing or result of work, but a gift of God.
JESUS GIVES ME LIFE. -> because of what Jesus did, we have hope in eternal life, creating a new perspective and purpose in life.
But, for what purpose has He saved us?
a) He has plans for us.
b) He has prepared good works for us to walk in.
c) To fight the battle against evil.
But, if there's a battle, how has God equipped me for it?
2. Equipped to serve
God had equipped us with three different things to help us fight this battle, the Holy Spirit, the Body of Christ and the Armour of God.
The Spirit of God is sort of like a seal, saying that we are his people. It's been stamped in our heart and life. With His spirit, we are strengthened to do even the simplest of things, like praying or picking up the Bible to read. It's also a reassurance that we're not alone, for God is with us through his spirit.
We not only had the Holy Spirit, but also we also have the Body of Christ with us. In other words, the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ. How Ken Allen worded it was that "We belong to a large army of believers to be encouraged by." It's true, each and every believer of Christ is a soldier of God fighting against evil as well. We need to encourage each other, and maintain unity within us, to grow and mature in faith. Ken Allen didn't specifically quote this verse, but I though of it when he said we need to encourage each other.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.-Hebrews 10:24-25
Finally, we have the Armour of God. Each part of this armour,as stated in Ephesians 6:10ff, works together to fight against the evils of this world.The Belt of truth, or in other words the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, so we know exactly what we believe in. Breast plate of righteousness for which if we know the righteousness of Christ, we will also have the righteousness of living. Gospel shoes of peace, or the message of salvation, our immovable foothold in life, so we won't waver. Shield of faith soaked in the word of God as we believe in him. Helmet of salvation and finally the Sword of the spirit. However, we do have one secret weapon, prayer. The power of prayer is inconceivable, for no-one can stop you from praying. They may take away everything from you, but they can't stop you from praying.
So, that was talk one. It was quite a good reminder,knowing that God has equipped us with all these things in order to fight this battle. I mean, God wouldn't ever have you fight this battle of life alone. We are not alone.
Anyway, talk two will be up tomorrow :) (hopefully)
Our theme this year was trivial pursuit, and we talked a lot about following Christ being a battle.
Let's begin!
talkone: Prepared For Battle
This talk was an introductory talk, which stated that Following Christ is not a trivial pursuit. It's a battle against sin, the world and the devil.
1. Saved to serve
How is a person saved and why?
Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that by the grace of God, we have been saved through faith- not of our own doing or result of work, but a gift of God.
JESUS GIVES ME LIFE. -> because of what Jesus did, we have hope in eternal life, creating a new perspective and purpose in life.
But, for what purpose has He saved us?
a) He has plans for us.
b) He has prepared good works for us to walk in.
c) To fight the battle against evil.
But, if there's a battle, how has God equipped me for it?
2. Equipped to serve
God had equipped us with three different things to help us fight this battle, the Holy Spirit, the Body of Christ and the Armour of God.
The Spirit of God is sort of like a seal, saying that we are his people. It's been stamped in our heart and life. With His spirit, we are strengthened to do even the simplest of things, like praying or picking up the Bible to read. It's also a reassurance that we're not alone, for God is with us through his spirit.
We not only had the Holy Spirit, but also we also have the Body of Christ with us. In other words, the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ. How Ken Allen worded it was that "We belong to a large army of believers to be encouraged by." It's true, each and every believer of Christ is a soldier of God fighting against evil as well. We need to encourage each other, and maintain unity within us, to grow and mature in faith. Ken Allen didn't specifically quote this verse, but I though of it when he said we need to encourage each other.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.-Hebrews 10:24-25
Finally, we have the Armour of God. Each part of this armour,as stated in Ephesians 6:10ff, works together to fight against the evils of this world.The Belt of truth, or in other words the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, so we know exactly what we believe in. Breast plate of righteousness for which if we know the righteousness of Christ, we will also have the righteousness of living. Gospel shoes of peace, or the message of salvation, our immovable foothold in life, so we won't waver. Shield of faith soaked in the word of God as we believe in him. Helmet of salvation and finally the Sword of the spirit. However, we do have one secret weapon, prayer. The power of prayer is inconceivable, for no-one can stop you from praying. They may take away everything from you, but they can't stop you from praying.
So, that was talk one. It was quite a good reminder,knowing that God has equipped us with all these things in order to fight this battle. I mean, God wouldn't ever have you fight this battle of life alone. We are not alone.
Anyway, talk two will be up tomorrow :) (hopefully)
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