July 27, 2010

Good Tuesday Morning –

Last week was a very special week for thirty of our children from Sierra Bible, as we headed up the hill into Kings Canyon for beautiful Hume Lake Christian camp.  For most of our kids, this was a first time away from home experience!  What fun they had, sleeping in real covered wagons, eating at the chuck wagon, trading at the trading post, playing lots of fun games and, of course, hearing from God’s word.   From morning until late in the evening, their day was filled with what all kids should experience – extraordinary fun and biblical truths from God’s Word.

Thursday night is our traditional decision night around a campfire.  I thought you might enjoy hearing some of our children’s responses.

I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my heart.

My decision is to ask Jesus to forgive my sins and ask him to come into my heart.  I have decided to stop lying and stop talking behind others back.

To allow God to help me with my daily problems.

To walk with God and to be in his army.  To grow more as a Christian by reading my Bible, praying and going to church more often.

I was putting Jesus in second place and I want Him to be first.

To surrender my life to the King – Jesus Christ.

I accepted Jesus into my heart tonight.  I am not perfect I am a sinner and I need Jesus because Jesus died on the cross so that we might live.  I want to go to heaven when I die.

What a joy it was to read the decisions that were made by our 9, 10 and 11 year old children.

Praise God for our children and for a camp like Hume Lake!

Have a blessed day,

Becky

July 26, 2010

I was thankful for the “Got A Problem?” Sunday yesterday.  It was really powerful to be challenged in this area of  “idolatry” and addictions.  I appreciated the worship, the message, Guy Holmes’ testimony, the special music & dance, the prayer time…it all seemed so real and vulnerable.

Let the words to “Hold On” by the Christian Band, “33 Miles,” minister to you today…

I’ve been there a thousand times,
I’ve felt the rain like a thousand knives.
And it hurts, I know it hurts!
I’ve been there like a fighter plane,
Trying to fly my way through a hurricane.
And it’s hard, I know it’s hard!

Don’t be afraid, You’ll make it through,
Just call out to me and I’ll come running to you!

Hold on, hold on!
When the current pulls you under,
And your heart beats like thunder.
Just give me your hand,
And hold on, hold on!
Until the storm is over,
And I’ll be fighting for you.
Just give me your hand and,
Hold on!

I’ll give you hope, I’ll give you faith!
And if it’s dark, I’ll light the way,
For you, for you!
By your side, until the end,
Until you’re standing tall again!
I’m here, I’ll always be here.

And if the tide, sweeps you out to sea,
When your strength is gone, and it’s hard to believe!

Hold on, hold on!
When the current pulls you under,
And your heart beats like thunder!
Just give me your hand,
And hold on, hold on!
Until the storm is over.
And I’ll be fighting for you,
Just give me your hand!

Pastor Michael

July 23, 2010

It’s the end of the week, and tomorrow our campers and counselors will be returning from Hume Lake Camp.  Tonight will be the last opportunity for campers to hear from the speaker and hang out with the friends they’ve made during the week.  Please pray for the Spirit to work in a might way during the day, and for the campers to be receptive to what God has to say to them.  Also, pray for safety as they drive home tomorrow.  Praise God for the awesome opportunity we have every year to be a part of this potentially life-changing event!

Thanks!

July 22, 2010

We are receiving great feedback from our contingency of SBC kids and counselors who are at Hume Lake.  I thought it was a good idea to remind you of our privileged responsibility of praying for them. You might also want to pray for Pastor Mark & Evalyn who are at Hume Lake, as well.

If you would like to see pictures of our contingency you can go to www.humelake.org.

The whole group will come back Saturday so be praying for travel mercies.  Your prayers matter!!

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

July 21, 2010

Please pray for Nate and Eric and our high school and junior high kids at Hume Lake Camp this week.  From the pictures that have been posted on Hume’s website, it looks like they are having an incredible time!  Pray for continued safety and good health for all, and lots of rest and energy for the counselors.  Also, please pray for God to speak into each of their lives and transform them from the inside out!  Blessings…

July 20, 2010

Please pray for Becky and her counselors as they speak Truth into the lives of our 4th through 6th graders at Wagon Train Camp (Hume Lake) this week.  Also pray for the kids to be receptive to what God has to say to them.  May they all come back with stronger relationships with God and with each other.

Thanks for praying!

July 19, 2010

So, here it is-boiled down, condensed, compressed, compacted, synthesized, reiterated, simply stated:

“Earn money by working hard and earn enough to help those in need.”

That was it, that was what yesterday was all about!  Need I say more?

Pastor Michael

July 16, 2010

Please pray for our 150 youth and staff, who are leaving for a great week at a Christian camp on Sunday morning!  Have a great weekend.

Pastor Mark

July 15, 2010

I just met with a wonderful couple.  They came to see me in preparation for a graveside service I will be doing in Calaveras County.

Have you ever had a divine appointment?  This was one.  The Lord was so present in our conversation.  There were tears shed, they trusted me with information that no one else will ever know, and God gave me things to say and scripture to quote that found an urgent place in their life that brought comfort and peace.  This was a Divine Appointment.

I wonder if every appointment is a “Divine Appointment,” and if I listened more intently to the leading of God’s Spirit and treated the time as sacred, God might just use me more often?

How about you?

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

July 13, 2010

The week, our children’s lesson will focus on priorities.  What do we hold most important in our life?   Where do we put our time, talents, energy and money?  Our children will hear a parable from Luke 12, where Jesus tells about a man who put all his time, money, and efforts into temporary things.  He was busy building barns for all that he gained from this world, and then suddenly he is dead!  All that he has worked for is of no value to him.  Jesus helps us see through this important lesson. . .that it is only what we do for eternity that has any lasting value or merit.

As I drove to work this morning, I listen to a great lesson on balance.  Are we so stressed out from our daily list of things to do, or so worried about paying bills and getting things done, that we forget that our focus should be on God and what we can do for eternity?  I pray not.  I pray that we will stop and listen to our children, take time for our neighbors, and even for ourselves.  To read God’s word, spend time in prayer and rest.

I like the poem by Forest Witcraft that says, “One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had, nor what kind of clothes I wore.  But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child.”    Yet, this is only true if we give our children eternal hope and perspective found only in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

My verse for the day is this:  “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.”   Psalm 119:10

Becky

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