Prayer: For your gift of water and the goodness of each drop, we give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.
Reading: Genesis 1: 1-2:2 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: This summer at camp, our curriculum is called “The Water of Life.” Our campers experience God’s gift of physical water swimming in the pool, canoeing at the pond, or enjoying a cool drink of water at the pavilion on a hot day. This year, campers will also learn about the life-giving water of God that heals, sustains, and saves us. As part of our First Light Digital Devotions, we’ll look at each day of our summer curriculum between now and camp. In January, we’ll focus on our Day 1 theme of “From the Deep—Goodness and Gift.” Today’s story is our main Bible reading for this day. I was privileged to be one of the writers for this curriculum, writing the section for Upper Elementary campers. We wrote during the last two months of 2015 and just after I finished and submitted my final manuscripts, I went on a cruise. As I looked out over the vast ocean, with nothing in sight but the sky and water, I was reminded of the water of life that God gives to us. I thought about how God moved over the water during the creation story. Being in the middle of the ocean gave me a great appreciation for this water of life! Today’s passage is about God creating the earth. In the beginning there is nothing, but by the time God rests after the work of creating, the waters are teeming with life. God’s creation began with water and continues every day. As you reflect on this story today, maybe you can take some time to take some clay or Play Dough and create something out of it. How does it make you feel to make something? What are some other things you have created during your life? Think of a time when you made something for someone else. How did that feel? Unlike God, we can’t create something out of nothing. In creation, God created water that sustains life and fulfills many of our needs and the needs of others. It is a gift of God, and so therefore it is good. How do we treat something that is a gift? Do we treat water as something that is a good gift? What are ways that you can take care of this gift from God better in the future? --Chad Hershberger
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |