Passion Conference 08

last weekend i attended the passion conference in washington d.c., and it was an amazing time! bethany, erik, cali, and i road tripped it there on friday and met lisa, who was already in d.c., ate come chinese food, and then went to the patroit center. we had one session on friday night and then three more throughout saturday. the worship time was awesome and the speakers were pretty good too. by the time saturday night came, i was exhausted! being surrounded by 3,000 other college students like myself who are passionate about God and what he's doing in our lives and around the world creates an indescribable experience. i'm really happy that i was finally able to attend the conference, and i hope it's not the last on either.

i took a lot of notes because i knew that i wouldn't be able to retain all of the information that was thrown at me down there. i still haven't been able to get a solid reflection time this week. things have been so crazy with school, and getting ready to go on spring break. so right now i'm gonna type up my notes so i can review them, and you guys can read them too! they may not make any sense to you, or maybe even myself either...here it goes...

Friday Night--Louie G.

What matters most according to scripture and God?
--THE FAME OF JESUS!
Isaiah 26:8 "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts"

How does that happen?
--An encounter with Christ that changes us in a way that we can't help but bring glory to Christ's fame (contagious)
2 Corinthians 5--reconciliation makes us Christs' ambassadors


Saturday Morning--Francis Chan

Matthew 5--"so that they may praise your father in heaven"

How can I serve to bring glory to God?

It's not a journey of me trying to prove my love to God. It's about God loving me (insecurities)

Don't beg God to make you his slave, he wants to make you his son! (Prodigal son)
-->lack of security in God's love; I am "known by God" not "I know God"

Are you convinced 100% that God loves you?
Quit trying to prove things to God!

"Let your light shine before men that they may praise your Father"
How??
--THE HOLY SPIRIT!

How do I feed myself? If I was on a deserted island, and all I had was God's Word, would I use that to feed myself? Do I use scripture in the same way now?

Having the Holy Spirit inside of me is better than being a disciple who walked with Jesus

Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come before they went out to share him with others. Then the people praised God because of the work the Spirit did (speaking in tongues) not praising the disciples

There's got to be a MAJOR difference between someone who has the Spirit, and someone who doesn't because the Spirit lives INSIDE them

Can the world SEE the difference?

Is there a difference in the Church?

It's about believing that God can & will transform you through his Spirit in you
--Catepillar-->Butterfly

Do you believe that God loves you and put his Spirit in you?--don't doubt--it's a sin!
Luke 11:11-13--> ask God to fill you with the Spirit, and he will


Saturday Afternoon--Louie G.

God is made famous, when in the most difficult parts of our lives, we are glorifying Him

People pay attention when the stress is in our lives and the joy is still in our hearts

God is glorified most when life hurts

Am I going to use my pain to make God loud?
--John 16:33 "I've told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

In Hardship:
1. Lock your gaze on the Cross: God loves you
2. The Cross will tell you that God allows freedom but maintains sovereignty
3. The Cross is the place where God turns the worst into the best
4. God's painting on a canvas bigger than we can conceive


so there you have it. all of my notes. it was good for me to type them up and go over them again to keep the ideas and things I learned fresh :)