The Crux of the Matter - The Burning Bush

THE BURNING BUSH

Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord
Hosts 1st Annual Youth Retreat
at Heart Ranch

John Rasmussen

On June 11-13, 2004 the Augsburg Lutheran Churches held its first annual youth retreat in the high desert mountain wilderness of West Texas halfway between Odessa and El Paso. As the theme indicates, the purpose of the retreat was to help youth understand Baptism as the foundation of their lives as Christians.

In Baptism, which "is not water only, but water used together with God’s Word and by His command," God "forgives sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives everlasting salvation to all who believe what he has promised." In short, as Moses was called by name and given his life’s purpose at the burning bush, so in Baptism, each one of us has been called by name as a child of God, born again, drowned and resurrected for Christ sake, and "called and ordained" as a member of the priesthood of all believers by water and the Word.

This life affirming and grace filled message was the current running through a retreat experience filled with spectacular scenery, hair-raising mountain treks, wild-life ranging from rattlesnakes and mule deer to long-horned sheep and wild boars, delicious food, great music and wonderful fellowship.

It is impossible to thank our hosts and wilderness guides, Dubb and Norma Duff– members of Lutheran Church of the Risen Lord in Odessa, TX–enough for their hospitality and graciousness in opening their hearts and their 6,000 acre ranch with all its accommodations to us without any cost whatsoever. Thank you to Lester for his delicious cooking, hard work, and Christ-like heart. Thank you to Duane and his boys for their music. Thank you to Pastor Chris Conner for coordinating and facilitating the arrangements, and for being a true Pastor and servant of the Word. And not least, thank you to all the youth and adults who participated, learned, and became a true Christian community in the mountains of West Texas.

God’s creation, His Word, and his people could not have come together in a better way.