Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
“There’s more to the story than that! Here at Camp Kiski Valley, we’re Israelites. Our grandfather’s grandfather’s name was Israel, so all of us are called Israelites. We are out here in the desert somewhere between Egypt and a new land God has promised to give us. Canaan land, they call it. Everybody say “Canaan land”. It’s a beautiful land, too, just like Kirby said. Yesterday, we talked about how God spoke to me out of a burning bush that did not burn up, and how He told me to go down to Egypt and lead His people—all of you guys—out of Egypt, where you had been slaves. And how God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea, and allowed us to walk through on dry ground. What a miraculous thing that was!
But there’s more to the story than that! Long before our ancestor Israel was born, long before there was a land called Egypt, and a land called Canaan, long before there were cities and towns and deserts and trees and oceans and stars and planets—long before there was anything at all, there was God. He created everything that we see all around us, out of nothing. And out of nothing he made this world we live in. And in the world He made a garden; it was a beautiful garden. There was a river that flowed right through the garden. God filled the river with all kinds of fish. And He filled the garden with lots of animals, of all shapes, sizes and colors. And out of the dust of the ground in the garden He made a man and a woman, the very first people on this earth. And He made them in a special way, to have a personal relationship with God. All of us are made that way, to have a personal relationship with our Creator, who is holy, loving, kind and good. That’s the big idea at Camp Kiski Valley this week. As Israelites in a big desert wilderness, we are on a journey. As kids growing up in a big world, each of you are on a journey. You don’t want to take any wrong turns. You need God to lead and guide you. We all do. Your camp counselors will tell you more about it.”
