{"id":18610,"date":"2018-06-25T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T00:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=18610"},"modified":"2018-07-04T14:34:54","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T18:34:54","slug":"fruitful-opening-for-2018-pitman-camp-meeting-6-24-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=18610","title":{"rendered":"Fruitful Opening for 2018 Pitman Camp Meeting (6\/24\/18)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are a lot of great things about the summer: the Water Ice Station, Yogo Factory, Ocean City, Phillies, Alcyon Lake Park.\u00a0 And, for those\u00a0 who want to cap off their Sundays with an evening worship, there&#8217;s the Pitman Camp Meeting.\u00a0 Refreshments and recreation are great, but there&#8217;s something about getting into the outdoor feeling and worshiping God.\u00a0 There&#8217;s something necessary about wrapping up the sabbath by reconnecting with God.<\/p>\n<p>This tradition has predated most of our more familiar summer destinations; this is the 148th annual Pitman Camp Meeting.<\/p>\n<p>The 2018 Camp Meeting opened on the evening of Sunday June 24 with a hymn sing, followed by music presented by PUMC&#8217;s Chris Valianti.\u00a0 Jennifer Andrade added visual life to the message by signing Chris&#8217; words.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-18610 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-V-_IMG_0604-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-18613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-V-_IMG_0604-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-V-_IMG_0604.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-18613'>\n\t\t\t\tChris Valianti\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-Jennifer-_IMG_0598-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-Jennifer-_IMG_0598-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Chris-Jennifer-_IMG_0598.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Chris and Jennifer presented three songs:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Word of God Speak<\/li>\n<li>Glorious Day<\/li>\n<li>Voice of Truth<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After the music, Rev. Gary Turk gave an inspirational message on John 15:1-8.\u00a0 It was a familiar passage, but somehow we get so busy trying to hold on to our busy schedule that we forget that the thing we really need to hold on to is the &#8220;Vine.&#8221;\u00a0 We&#8217;re like branches that will fade away unless we remain connected to the Vine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the passage that Rev. Turk preached on:<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">15 &#8220;I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.\u00a0 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn&#8217;t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.\u00a0 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-10726\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Grape-Vine-_italy-851204__400x300-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Grape-Vine-_italy-851204__400x300-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Grape-Vine-_italy-851204__400x300.jpg 355w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/>Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">5 &#8220;Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.\u00a0 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.\u00a0 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!\u00a0 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<span style=\"color: #808080; font-size: 10pt;\">Holy Bible, New Living Translation \u00ae, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Vineyards<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Rev. Turk opened his message by relating a recent experience he and his wife had during a vacation to Napa Valley California.\u00a0 They had a chance to wander through a vineyard and see rows and rows of grape vines.\u00a0 There&#8217;s an order to these vineyards.\u00a0 The vines are planted in <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-18614\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Gary-Turk-_IMG_0605-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Gary-Turk-_IMG_0605-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CmpMtg18-Gary-Turk-_IMG_0605.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>rows, and every few feet a post is driven into the ground.\u00a0 Rows of wires connect each of these posts, and the branches from the vines wrap themselves around these wires to support the weight of the clusters of grapes.<\/p>\n<p>Vineyards like this aren&#8217;t anything new.\u00a0 The method of growing grape vines hasn&#8217;t changed over the centuries; they grew grapes in much the same way back in Jesus&#8217; time.\u00a0 So when Jesus used the example of vines, branches, and grapes, his audience knew exactly what He was talking about.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, even before the Israelites reached the Promised Land during the exodus, they understood something about the grapes when the spies returned with a huge cluster of them after exploring the promised land.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And the analogy of vines and branches wasn&#8217;t new to Jesus&#8217; listeners either.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-container et_sliderfx_fade et_sliderauto_false et_sliderauto_speed_5000 et_slidertype_top_tabs'>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class='et-tabs-control'>\n\t\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tPsalm 80\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tJeremiah 2\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tEzekiel 17\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tHosea 14\n\t\t<\/a><\/li> \n\t\t<li><a href='#'>\n\t\t\tZecheriah 8\n\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul> <!-- .et-tabs-control --> \n\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-main-wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Psalm 80:7-9<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 You brought us from Egypt like a <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">grapevine<\/span>; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.\u00a0 You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Jeremiah 2:21<\/span><\/strong> But I was the one who planted you, choosing a <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">vine<\/span> of the purest stock\u2014the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Ezekiel 17:5-6<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 He also took a seedling from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a broad river, where it could grow like a willow tree.\u00a0 It took root there and grew into a low, <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">spreading vine<\/span>. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, and its roots grew down into the ground. <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">It produced strong branches and put out shoots.<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Hosea 14:7<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">grapevines<\/span>. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent'>\n\t\t\t<strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Zecheriah 8:11-13<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 &#8220;But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven&#8217;s Armies.\u00a0 For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The <span style=\"background-color: #ccffcc;\">grapevines<\/span> will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!-- .et-tabs-container -->\n<p>The Old Testament prophets often referred to Israel as a vine that God had planted.\u00a0 But something went wrong.\u00a0 The people got intertwined with the wild vines and weeds by worshiping the &#8220;gods&#8221; of the people they were to displace.\u00a0 The vines were defective, so God promised to plant a new Vine which would restore the people&#8217;s peace and make them truly fruitful.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Jesus is the True Vine<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Jesus enters the Israel that&#8217;s been entangled with weeds, and then He claims to be the true Vine&#8230; &#8220;I AM the Vine.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jesus is the Vine in this parable; He is the source of life and nutrients for the branches.\u00a0 The branches draw their life from the vine.<\/p>\n<p>And He&#8217;s the real vine; there are a\u00a0 lot of counterfeit &#8220;vines&#8221; out there: money, lust, false leaders.\u00a0 Jesus warned about false leaders in Matthew 24:4-5&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Jesus told them, &#8220;Don&#8217;t let anyone mislead you,\u00a0 for many will come in my name, claiming, &#8216;I am the Messiah.&#8217; <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">They will deceive many.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Don&#8217;t fall\u00a0 for the counterfeit vines; Israel did.\u00a0 Hosea 10:1-2 describes how Israel attached itself to other &#8220;vines&#8221; by building altars to false gods; they were prosperous, but then they chose to empty themselves of the True Vine which God gave them&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself.<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">As his fruit increased, he built more altars;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. <\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt.<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">NIV<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">We are the Branches<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>The second clear point from this passage is that JESUS is the vine; we&#8217;re not!\u00a0 We can&#8217;t produce life.\u00a0 We are the branches.\u00a0 We draw life from the Vine.\u00a0 Separated from the Vine we will whither up and die.<\/p>\n<p>To be a branch, you must have a relationship with Jesus.\u00a0 Abide in the scripture.\u00a0 Pray without ceasing.\u00a0 Look for the good and beauty that&#8217;s in the world and turn it back to God.\u00a0 Give God thanks for all of the good that we draw from Him, and use God&#8217;s gifts to obey and to love.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever has the Son has life.<\/p>\n<p>Are you drawing your life from Jesus every day???<\/p>\n<p>This opening Sunday of the Pitman Camp Meeting reminded us to take advantage of every opportunity that the Vine gives us.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;\">+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For more about the Pitman Camp Meeting, click this button:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=7668' class='big-button biggreen'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Camp Meeting<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 148th annual Pitman Camp Meeting opened its summer series on Sunday June 24.  Rev. Gary Turk was the first speaker of the summer, and he left us with a challenge to constantly re-connect with the true Vine.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,113,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evrpt","category-pitman-camp-meeting","category-worship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18610"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18636,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610\/revisions\/18636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}