{"id":18381,"date":"2019-11-15T16:19:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T08:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/?p=18381"},"modified":"2019-11-15T16:19:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T08:19:29","slug":"familycamp-love-we-can-feel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/?p=18381","title":{"rendered":"FAMILYcamp: Love … We Can Feel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love you can feel<\/span>
\nBeyond words can say<\/span>
\nLove can renew <\/span>
\nAnd binds us today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bind Us Together in Love<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u201cThe church is not an institution for perfect people. It is a sanctuary for sinners saved by the grace of God. A nursery for God\u2019s weak children to be nurtured and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ\u2019s sheep, the home for Christ\u2019s family. The church is the dearest place on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

This statement by Charles H. Spurgeon captures my thought as I reflect on the experiences of our recent EMC Church Family Camp. From 15th to 17th June 2018 we were at the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort, Miri. The gathering of God\u2019s people as His family makes the place \u201cdearest\u201d no matter where we may be.<\/p>\n

I am sure the 144 participants, both young and old, would not hesitate to agree with me that we experienced the love overflowing. It is not what we do, but rather who we are. We are God\u2019s children. We are God\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

The theme song \u201cBind Us Together in Love\u201d written by none other than our dear pastor Gabriel became so very real to us especially as we sang it again after hearing the heartfelt sharing of some participants at the close of our camp. Will EMC continue to thrive and enjoy such loving relationships after the camp? But why not? We have come away from the Camp with precious experiences in unity and team spirit. Besides, we were also given many practical tips from the theme talks given by our Camp Speaker, our previous pastor, Rev. Samuel Law. Authentic intentionality, acceptance and breaking the communication boundary were some of the great tips.<\/p>\n

Our theme was taken from Colossians 3:14. \u201cAnd over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.\u201d Imperfect people in perfect unity? All the testimonies that were shared have proven it to be possible, in God\u2019s love! Col. 3:12-17 gave the inspiration for the theme song. And our pastor\u2019s sermon on this passage further reinforced the power of love.<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong> Ignited<\/span>
\nIt is God who ignites the love in our family. Col. 3:12 reminds us that we are chosen by Him, set apart for Him and loved by Him. All these add up to grace! This truth strikes a teenage girl who later shared with certainty that as the daughter of the King and thus, a princess, she\u2019s going to live like one. How great is the gracious blessing!<\/p>\n

God above<\/span>
\nBind us together in love <\/span>
\nHow good and pleasant it must be<\/span>
\nAs we live in harmony.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love… we can feel, and it is good and pleasant as stated in Psalm 133:1. That\u2019s the agape love, able to love in spite of. Someone once said, \u201cThe Church is not like family; it is family.\u201d Family, not as a metaphor, but a literal description. Our camp experience testified to that. All this is possible because of God who first loved us. That stirs us to love one another with action and in truth (1 John 3:18). That is the power which binds us together.<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong> Enriched<\/span>
\nAll of us enjoyed the camp so very much. How? It was through the way we related to one another during all our activities. Look at the ways we established our loving family during meal times, tele match, resort tour and talent night. Needless to say, the love overflowed at the water park with immense splashes of joy!<\/p>\n

From our observation, the motivating factors must have been the virtues described in Col. 3:13-14. Whether as a big family group or in smaller groups of 17 each, we could see compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness.<\/p>\n

We must give credit to our MJYF\u2019ers for their commitment and creativity in enriching the loving atmosphere. One of the best decisions made by our organizing committee was in delegating the MJYF\u2019ers to lead the worship times and tele match. Who says they are too young to take charge of such big responsibilities? We identified many potential leaders among them. No wonder one father shared that he enjoyed being \u201cdirected\u201d by the youths, his son among them!<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong> Deepened<\/span>
\nFamily love definitely deepened through undistracted communication during the camp. \u201cThanks for no internet nor phone line service at the rainforest resort!\u201d one teenage boy shared the first item from his \u201cLikes List\u201d. We saw people taking out their phones only for capturing memories.<\/p>\n

Another young father shared how he put away his cell phone for two days and spent much of his time with his 10 year-old son. It was their first experience of spending so much time together talking, playing, and interacting without distraction. They had never realized that the father-son time together could be so enjoyable and rewarding.<\/p>\n

The one-on-one interactions and uninterrupted family times certainly strengthened the family bonds. No wonder in relationship love is spelled t-i-m-e. We should make it a priority to continue to have regular phone-free family dates.<\/p>\n

What about deepening love as EMC family? This was the first time that we had all the sessions together as a family irrespective of our age groups. Our group morning devotion, the family devotion, the group tour and other activities were all designed for deepening the bond of love. We rejoice as one brother started to join our small group after the camp experience.<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong> Rooted<\/span>
\nLove must be rooted in the Word of Christ and through the filling of the Holy Spirit. Col. 3:16 speaks about the message of Christ and singing of spiritual songs. Thanks to the MJYF\u2019ers and the Sunday School team for leading us to worship in truth and in spirit. Singing the theme song with actions lifted us higher into the spiritual realm of love.<\/p>\n

No one will ever forget the Talent Night when the eight bible stories were enacted with amazing creativity. None had any prior knowledge of what we were expected to act out. In the limited time, all rose to the challenge. Together, each group came up with the most creative of ideas and ways and put together an unforgettable evening. All were undeniably spiritually blessed with all the splendid shows. One brother shared it was such a blessing to have met Jesus, Moses, Isaac, Daniel, and many other bible characters all in one night!<\/p>\n

All the skits were highly entertaining and amusing. Laughter and cheers filled the hall throughout the night. Can you imagine how Moses parted the Red Sea? How an eight year old Rebekah fed the camels and later met Isaac? How the lions in the den behaved with Daniel and then with those who falsely accused Daniel? How were the two fishes and five loaves divided? You should have seen the uncles and aunties dance to the tune at the wedding at Cana! Even our youngest participant, our pastor\u2019s 3 month-old baby was not left out in the action. We saw love in unity, rooted in the Word of God.<\/p>\n

Love<\/strong> Remembered<\/span>
\nThere are many memorable moments to be cherished. The impact of these collective memories will last a long time as explained by Rev Samuel in the theme talks. Our next Family Camp with be three years from now. However, in the meantime, there is nothing to stop us from intentionally planning to hold similar events regularly on a smaller scale in our small groups or our own families.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly we have achieved our goal over these three days. It is our identity as God\u2019s children in His kingdom that helps us to reach such reality. Col.3:17 exhorts us that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord. \u201cIn His name\u201d also implies that we have to power to do it, to love.<\/p>\n

Love… we can feel. That\u2019s why Pastor emphasized in his sermon on Sunday (the last day) that our church is like heaven on earth! No, we do not have to wait for another three years to have another experience of heaven on earth.<\/p>\n

Love\u2026You can feel <\/span>
\nHis love so wide changing you <\/span>
\nBroken and shame He can heal<\/span>
\nGod is alive He is real<\/span><\/p>\n

Wherever we are, as we love another in the name of the Lord, we are able to sing with gratitude from our hearts: Love\u2026 You can feel. Thank you Lord, for You are alive and You are real!<\/p>\n

Dr Wong Sung Ging <\/span>
\nEmmanuel Methodist Church, Bintulu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love you can feel Beyond words can say Love can renew And binds us today. Bind Us Together in Love \u201cThe church is not an institution for perfect people. It is a sanctuary for sinners saved by the grace of God. A nursery for God\u2019s weak children to be nurtured and grow strong. It is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[183,188,10],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}