All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 5

February 21, 2009

We had a break until 5:30. During the break and all the breaks, the bands were usually at the front worshiping and practicing. Saturday night worship service started at 6:30. The A&M worship band lead worship. First there was a prayer by Josh and he mentioned that five people had birthdays this weekend. He had them stand up and we sang happy birthday to them. Then we began worship and sang: "Sing like the Saved", "Meet With Me", and "O Praise Him".

The A&M Wesley choir sang some songs for us including: "I want Jesus to Walk With Me", "We Praise Thee O God", "At His Name", and "Psalms 46".
Next Max Mertz gave the lesson. He said that he would be talking about Loving & Dating. He said for us to think about what it would be like if our parents got to pick our future mate like in the Old Testament days. He read from Romans 8:31-40. He prayed and then talked about how he has heard many horror stories regarding relationships. He said one couple he know dated from three weeks, then the man left for the military, and came back on the wedding day. This relationship ended well, but that is not the norm. Max said he looks as dating like gambling. He said that we should do selective dating. He compared guys to waffles and girls to spaghetti. He said that guys, like waffles, have square parts, where they have different parts of their lives. One might be their Ipod, another entertainment. He said that God sees and knows our secrets. Sometimes guys try to give God only part of the waffle and keep the rest for ourselves. We should tell god our desires.
Max said that in relationships we should be more than conquerors. He gave the example of the caveman approach to dating and said wouldn't it be simpler if we could go back to this form of dating. He said also it might be easier if the guys were to jump and the guy who jumped highest got his pick of a female and so forth. It might be easier but it is not the way that God intended. He said that one problem he used to have at the Wesley as that the guys would make contests to see who would be the first to date incoming freshmen females. He finally had to make a rule that no guys were allowed to date a freshman girl until after her first semester. Max said that we can't hide our relationships part of our lives from God. Our relationships shouldn't be about who the winner is.
He said that a great conquistador (what we should strive to be) controls their sexual desire. He said that the second command Jesus gives is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He said that if we can't control our sexual desires, problems arise. He said that in failed relationships, we tend to do the same things in our new relationships as we did in our failed relationships. He said that we would feel bad about breakups, but especially so if we used them. He read from 1 Corinthians 3:16 where it talks about our bodies being the temple of God.
Max said the second thing to do to be a great conquistador is no determine not to hurt anyone. He said that sometimes Preachers can be hurting those around them unintentionally. He said that people who go through pain don't want to go through that pain again. He said that when we are hurt we have to pick ourselves up and say "I am a conqueror". More than conquerors keep God first in their live and can worry about dating life later. Some people may be 40 before they get married if that is God's plan. Max mentioned a friend he has named Tim who was 40 before he got married. He said that God has a plan for you.
The third thing Max mentioned is that Conquers are going to learn to love. He said that a conqueror puts others first and their feelings first. Max mentioned that he had roaming lips in college, but not anymore. He said that he has now been married for 30 years. He said that we don't have to kiss every girl we date. He said we should bring God to the dating part of our lives. He said that when we meet the right one all we will be able to think about is marrying that person. Max prays and the band comes back up. We sing "Wholly Yours" and Blessed Be Your Name". The choir comes back up and sings the benediction song: "An Old Irish Blessing” Josh passed out evaluation forms and asked us to fill them out regarding All Campus as far as suggestions and stuff.
They held elections for officers for next year at this time. Then there was a short break and a lot of people went to the bonfire at 9 PM. It was an informal time of hanging out, but we did sing a few songs. Some of the songs sang were: "How Great Is Our God", "God Of Wonders", "Heart Of Worship", "Prince Of Peace", "Your Love Is Extravagant", "Open The Eyes Of My Heart", "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", "Light The Fire", "Trading My Sorrows", "Even More Undignified Than This", "The Happy Song", and "You Alone" After the bonfire everyone came back to the main worship center and hanged out and some went to bed.