The director of the camp I'll be preaching at the next two weeks sent the following to her supporters...I relay it to you hoping you will join us in prayer...thansWill you pray with me every day for the next two weeks -- as we go to TFC Camp? Imagine the inside of a chapel turned into a cave. The windows have been covered - the walls are covered with crumpled brown paper to look like rocks. The front of the chapel is covered in brown paper too. The ceiling has been covered with black gossamer. It's dark and it's dreary. Imagine it's the first day of camp - you are a student and you are sitting inside this very unimpressive chapel for the evening rally. You've done some of the normal stuff of a rally. Played a silly upfront game, watched some silly videos, listened to a testimony, and were led to worship by the praise and worship team. And then they shut the lights off -- and it's dark in the chapel. Suddenly a light comes on from the back of the chapel. And up front you see the Camp team - they look like they are chained together - but they have their backs to you. All you can see is their backs and the shadows dancing on the wall, and then in the darkness, you hear this story being read:Cave AllegoryHave you ever wondered about life? A long time ago, a philosopher named Plato -- in attempting to explain life -- told the story of prisoners who have always been confined in a cave.They are chained inside the cave, facing the back wall, unable to turn their heads. Since birth, they have only been in the cave, and they have no knowledge of the outside world. There is no natural light in this cave, so the walls are dark and damp. All the inhabitants of the cave can see are the shadows thrown up on the wall by the light of the fire behind. All they can hear are the echoes of real-life activities bouncing off the walls of their cave. The cave prisoners are fascinated by the shadows dancing on the wall. They are convinced these shadows are real and that if they pay a lot of attention to them, they will understand and be able to free themselves from their chains. But they don't understand they are looking at mere phantoms of real life. However, from their chains, they talk about the shadows, taking great pride in their thoughts and opinions. And so, they spend their days watching the shadows - engaged in the shadows - thinking the shadows are real. Because, for the prisoners in the cave - they believe the shadows are all that exists.One day, someone comes into the cave and breaks a prisoner free from his chains - to rescue them and pull them into the light. At first, the prisoner fights and resists being led out of the cave, but the rescuer drags them outside of the cave for the very first time. The now freed captive is blinded by the light outside the cave and is confused and overwhelmed. The dazzling sunlight hurts his eyes and disorients him. He finds this new environment uncomfortable and scary. And as his eyes adjust -- he finds himself seeing things he has never seen before. When he is told the objects in front of him are real, and that which he had thought was real his whole life was only shadows and mere reflections, he cannot believe it. He sees actual flowers and the colors of birds. He observes stars and the vastness of nature - the complexity of a human being. His whole life he had only been looking at shadows and now he is finally able to really see. As his eyes adjust, he stops and looks closely at the reflections in the water, he examines the objects directly in front of him, and finally, he turns his eyes toward the Sun, realizing its light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.He finds his heart filled with compassion for those still chained in the cave, so he ventures back into the cave, compelled to share his discovery. But the journey into the cave is difficult because he is no longer used to the darkness. He finds himself stumbling in the darkness, falling into the cold damp walls as he has entered back into a world devoid of the source of light. His entrance back into the world of the other prisoners is also not met with gratitude but with disdain and rejection. The inhabitants of the cave listen to his description of the world outside in the light and they ridicule him. They think his journey out of the cave has made him stupid and blind. When he attempts to break them free from their chains, they violently resist any of his attempts to free them. The prisoners are so angry they even attempt to kill him for his efforts to set them free. And then the lights go off. Yes, that is the way we are starting our week of Camp this year. Our desire is to help the teens see unless Jesus rescues us, we are prisoners in a cave - staring at shadows. We are going to be hitting hard the tragedy of those trapped in the darkness of sin and caught in the deceptive philosophies of this world. We will be marching headlong into some of the cultural issues that have taken so many captive. We need your prayers for these two weeks of camp. This year our focus verse is Colossians 1:13-14: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. During the week we will be leading the teens through the entire book of Colossians. I'm sending this note because I am asking you to pray with us every day for the next two weeks we are at camp. Some guidance for how you can pray: Monday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14. Day Theme: A hope that things will be better today than they were yesterday. Tuesday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20. Day Theme: Guys, you really need to see this. Wednesday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 2. Day Theme: That wasn't living, that just wasn't dying. Thursday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17. Day Theme: You changed now. Friday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 3:18-4:6. Day Theme: From now on we will stay out here where we can follow the light. Now - I'm off to church and then off to camp!Rejoicing till the job is done, Matt. 24:14 LavonneIf you would like to join my ministry through TFC, for your convenience, you can invest by using the donate button. DonateCopyright © 2022 Lavonne Ponstein, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Lavonne Ponstein110 G StPhillipsburg, KS 67661-2106 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
Will you pray with me every day for the next two weeks -- as we go to TFC Camp? Imagine the inside of a chapel turned into a cave. The windows have been covered - the walls are covered with crumpled brown paper to look like rocks. The front of the chapel is covered in brown paper too. The ceiling has been covered with black gossamer. It's dark and it's dreary. Imagine it's the first day of camp - you are a student and you are sitting inside this very unimpressive chapel for the evening rally. You've done some of the normal stuff of a rally. Played a silly upfront game, watched some silly videos, listened to a testimony, and were led to worship by the praise and worship team. And then they shut the lights off -- and it's dark in the chapel. Suddenly a light comes on from the back of the chapel. And up front you see the Camp team - they look like they are chained together - but they have their backs to you. All you can see is their backs and the shadows dancing on the wall, and then in the darkness, you hear this story being read:Cave AllegoryHave you ever wondered about life? A long time ago, a philosopher named Plato -- in attempting to explain life -- told the story of prisoners who have always been confined in a cave.They are chained inside the cave, facing the back wall, unable to turn their heads. Since birth, they have only been in the cave, and they have no knowledge of the outside world. There is no natural light in this cave, so the walls are dark and damp. All the inhabitants of the cave can see are the shadows thrown up on the wall by the light of the fire behind. All they can hear are the echoes of real-life activities bouncing off the walls of their cave. The cave prisoners are fascinated by the shadows dancing on the wall. They are convinced these shadows are real and that if they pay a lot of attention to them, they will understand and be able to free themselves from their chains. But they don't understand they are looking at mere phantoms of real life. However, from their chains, they talk about the shadows, taking great pride in their thoughts and opinions. And so, they spend their days watching the shadows - engaged in the shadows - thinking the shadows are real. Because, for the prisoners in the cave - they believe the shadows are all that exists.One day, someone comes into the cave and breaks a prisoner free from his chains - to rescue them and pull them into the light. At first, the prisoner fights and resists being led out of the cave, but the rescuer drags them outside of the cave for the very first time. The now freed captive is blinded by the light outside the cave and is confused and overwhelmed. The dazzling sunlight hurts his eyes and disorients him. He finds this new environment uncomfortable and scary. And as his eyes adjust -- he finds himself seeing things he has never seen before. When he is told the objects in front of him are real, and that which he had thought was real his whole life was only shadows and mere reflections, he cannot believe it. He sees actual flowers and the colors of birds. He observes stars and the vastness of nature - the complexity of a human being. His whole life he had only been looking at shadows and now he is finally able to really see. As his eyes adjust, he stops and looks closely at the reflections in the water, he examines the objects directly in front of him, and finally, he turns his eyes toward the Sun, realizing its light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.He finds his heart filled with compassion for those still chained in the cave, so he ventures back into the cave, compelled to share his discovery. But the journey into the cave is difficult because he is no longer used to the darkness. He finds himself stumbling in the darkness, falling into the cold damp walls as he has entered back into a world devoid of the source of light. His entrance back into the world of the other prisoners is also not met with gratitude but with disdain and rejection. The inhabitants of the cave listen to his description of the world outside in the light and they ridicule him. They think his journey out of the cave has made him stupid and blind. When he attempts to break them free from their chains, they violently resist any of his attempts to free them. The prisoners are so angry they even attempt to kill him for his efforts to set them free. And then the lights go off. Yes, that is the way we are starting our week of Camp this year. Our desire is to help the teens see unless Jesus rescues us, we are prisoners in a cave - staring at shadows. We are going to be hitting hard the tragedy of those trapped in the darkness of sin and caught in the deceptive philosophies of this world. We will be marching headlong into some of the cultural issues that have taken so many captive. We need your prayers for these two weeks of camp. This year our focus verse is Colossians 1:13-14: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. During the week we will be leading the teens through the entire book of Colossians. I'm sending this note because I am asking you to pray with us every day for the next two weeks we are at camp. Some guidance for how you can pray: Monday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14. Day Theme: A hope that things will be better today than they were yesterday. Tuesday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20. Day Theme: Guys, you really need to see this. Wednesday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 2. Day Theme: That wasn't living, that just wasn't dying. Thursday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17. Day Theme: You changed now. Friday - Focus Scripture: Colossians 3:18-4:6. Day Theme: From now on we will stay out here where we can follow the light. Now - I'm off to church and then off to camp!Rejoicing till the job is done, Matt. 24:14 LavonneIf you would like to join my ministry through TFC, for your convenience, you can invest by using the donate button. DonateCopyright © 2022 Lavonne Ponstein, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Lavonne Ponstein110 G StPhillipsburg, KS 67661-2106 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list