Candles on the River: The Galilean Service

I spent time today working on a new little web application that I've been tossing around in my head for a while. I also went back to campmeeting and I'm really glad I did. This evening we went out to the riverside near the normal end of tabernacle service and we were led by the youth worship team (new guys this year, who really added a whole new dimension to it! It was great!!) while watching the candles float down the river.

I'm unsure about the origin of the name "Galilean Service". I know it must have something to do with Galilee. Let's google it...

https://www.eatonrapidscampmeeting.org/schedule/galilean-service/

This special service is a parallel to the Parable of the Sower told by Jesus, and represents the Christian walk. The seed that falls by the wayside and is devoured up by the birds of the air are similar to the candles whose flames get extinguished on their way down the river by the wind and dive-bombing June bugs. Like the seeds that fell among the thorns and the plants are choked out as they grow, the candles that get caught in the brush along the river’s edge will soon be snuffed out. But the seed that is sown into fertile soil and produces an abundant amount of fruit–like the candles that flow unrestricted, glowing bright and strong, will be a bright beacon in the darkness of night, as Christians are to be a bright light in a dark world.

It's really lovely. ♡

Sermon notes

I was finally able to catch a sermon by Rev. Carolyn Moore. Been looking forward to it and she did not disappoint. As usual, they're here in unedited form cuz I'm kinda tired, ahah.

Rev. Carolyn Moore

- Zipline friction braking analogy
- "Touch, don't grab" (lest you get yourself stuck or have the momentum yank your arm which will hurt)
- (Speaker's story) Despite knowing not to, out of fear, I still put the brake on.
- Applys to the rest of life
- Fear breeds death
- Spiritual authority comes from intimacy with God the Father. Authority, trusting that the line is calibrated for our good; Fruitfulness, riding the line without braking
- Exodus 33:7 - The place of intimacy
- Exodus 33:14 - The promise of intimacy
- Exodus 33:17 - The point of authority
- Exodus 33:18 - The prayer of intimacy
- Richard Foster: The desperate need for today is not for intelligent people or (???) people, but for deep people
- (Story: Regulation pushups)
- The repetition of discipline yields results
- We won't always reach our goal
- "I'm not where I want to be, but at least I'm not where I was." PROGRESS, not PERFECTION.
- What parts of our spiritual life can this apply to? Where are we aiming for perfection, rather than making progress?
- Exodus 33:11: [...] face to face [...]
- 1 Corinthians also has [...] face to face [...]
- Back to Exodus:
- The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14 NIV)
- (Exercise) close eyes, absorb that promise (a touch don't grab promise) He will be our rest
- Exodus 33:15-16: To paraphrase into modernity, (What makes us, the church, any different from any other well-run nonprofit?) It turns out, the only thing we have going for us is the presence of God.
- Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:14‭-‬15 NIV)
- Eph 4:15 is a revolution in just a few words
- It's time to grow up, Paul says: to heal, to go on: we won't reach spiritual richness if we don't challenge ourselves spiritually.
- Intimacy breeds →authority breeds → power breeds → fruitfulness exposes → the glories of God
- Prayer: "Show me your glory" -- it is not a prayer for glory, but a prayer for intimacy!
- DO WE WANT....To think His thoughts, receive His wisdom, live as close to His heart as is humanly possible