Day 3 of CentriKid 2014

Today has been absolutely amazing! Parents, you have some great kids at camp this year. Everyone is getting along without any drama and as of this very moment, no one is injured!!

Today the kids were learning that God reconciles through Jesus! John the Baptist chose to use an image that would be very familiar with his Jewish audience: “Lamb of God.” Lambs were sacrificed during Passover and were offered daily for the sins of Israel. John used this expression

to demonstrate that Jesus Himself was the ultimate sacrifice. But was was said about Jesus in the old testament?

Isaiah 53:1-11

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
53 Who has believed what we have heard?[a]
And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to?
2 He grew up before Him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;[b]
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.
6 We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for[c] the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?[d]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
9 They[e] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.
10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely.[f]
When[g] You make Him a restitution offering,
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.
11 He will see it[h] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities.

The Jews were not seeking a suffering savior; they were expecting a political liberator. To them, “Messiah” meant someone who would rescue Israel from the oppressive hand of the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom for the Israelites. Christ did not come to establish political rule but to take away the sin of the world!

Christianity is the inverse of worldly religions. In the religions of the world, man attempts to reach out to god, beginning wand ending with himself. Christianity begins and ends with God. God reaches down to us, giving us the opportunity to respond. God, through Jesus, stepped into creation as a human, lived a perfect life, died , and rose again. He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for each one of us. This truly is good news!

Now for your viewing pleasure, here are some photos from today at camp!

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Thanks for praying for us as we get ready for OMC on Thursday!
Children’s Pastor,
Steve Blackston