Quotes from Passion 2013

This is the final post in the Passion 2013 series. 

Last week I had the blessing to take a group of college and career students from Harvard Avenue Baptist Church to the 2013 Passion Conference. The four-day conference, held in the Georgia Dome, featured speakers like  Beth Moore, Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, and John Piper in addition to worship led by Chris Tomlin, Kristian Standfill, Charlie Hall, Christy Nockles, Matt Redman, Jesus Culture, and David Crowder (plus a short concert by Lecrae). This year’s conference was attended by 60,000 18-25 year olds from all 50 states and 50 different countries. In addition, over $3 million was donated to end modern day slavery (CNN story) as a part of the End It Movement. 

Leaders Community Group Notes

This is the sixth post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from the Leaders Community Group at the Passion Conference, led by Gregg Matte, pastor at Houston’s First Baptist Church. John Piper also shared with us one morning (notes below).

Gregg Matte

Day 1 Key Text: Ephesians 3:14-19

Humility is the key to leadership. The most effective leaders are humble. Humility is being self-forgetful. Humble Christians realize that everything is done for the glory of God’s name and not their own. Only secure people can truly love; insecure people always want something in exchange for their love. Deep strength comes from the deepest resource- God’s glorious riches in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. We gain strength by abiding in Christ (John 15). 

Resurrecting Dry Bones

This is the fifth post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from Louie Giglio’s message on January 6, 2013 at the Passion Conference entitled “Resurrecting These Bones.”

Key Text: Ezekiel 37:7-10

When God moves, we get to learn what the Lord already knew. Just because you look like you have it all together on the outside, you may be dead spiritually because there is no breath. In our journey with God, He is always bringing us to a point that we can stand firm in our faith in Him (Isaiah 61:1-11). There is no disconnect between God bringing us to life and sending us out on mission. Every Christian became a missionary the moment that God breathed His life into them. We don’t have to go overseas to be missionaries; we can be missionaries in our homes, workplaces, schools, and anywhere else the Lord leads us.

Embracing Suffering

This is the fourth post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from John Pipers’s message on January 3, 2013 at the Passion Conference entitled “ Immeasurably More.”

Key Text: Revelation 5

Jesus is the key that unlocks the mystery of history. Once unlocked, it is clear He’s the center of the story. The reason is worthy to unlock the story is because He is the Lamb that was slain and now reigns as a Lion. He is a lion-like lamb and a lamb-like lion. His death purchased the redemption of people from every nation and people group on the planet. Jesus is infinitely worthy of eternal admiration. The universe exists to display the glory of God in the white hot worship of angels and believers for eternity. The immensity of His worth is reflected in the intensity of our worship. Our worship is the subjective echo of God’s objective worth. 

God is Faithful

This is the third post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from Francis Chan’s message on January 2, 2013 at the Passion Conference entitled “God is Faithful.”

Key Text: 2 Timothy 2:11-13

If you really want to experience God, go and make disciples. The Holy Spirit’s presence is felt when we are obedient to our missionary call. 

The Glad News

This is the second post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from Beth Moore’s message on January 2, 2013 at the Passion Conference entitled “The Glad News.”

Key Text: Matthew 26:17-30

The Last Supper that Jesus celebrated with His disciples was a Passover celebration. The Passover elements all have a relevance to God’s redemptive work. The Passover meal Jesus shared with His disciples was the one Passover feast with a lamb on the table and the Lamb at the table. 

Immeasurably More

This is the first post in the Passion 2013 series. These are my notes from Louie Giglio’s message on January 1, 2013 at the Passion Conference entitled “ Immeasurably More.”

Key Text: Ezekiel 36:24-30; 37:1-14

God wants to do immeasurably more in and through your life than you could ask. 

Leaders Community Group Notes

This is the sixth post in the Passion 2012 series. These are my notes from the Leaders Community Group at the Passion Conference, led by Tim Smith, senior executive pastor at Pinelake Church.  Francis Chan and John Piper also shared with us.

Notes from Tim Smith

One of the tempting things when attending a conference like Passion is to get caught up in the names and only take the messages at face value. Too often we’re like consumers in a restaurant watching chefs cook food without consuming and digesting it so that it can benefit us. We like to be there for the show or to say we saw “so-and-so,” but don’t go over the sermon/song material on a deeper level to: 1) see how the content lines up with Scripture 2) study the truths the speaker pointed out, so that we might apply them in our own lives.    

Boldly Proclaiming the Gospel

This is the fifth post in the Passion 2012 series. These are my notes from Louie Giglio’s message on January 5, 2012 at the Passion Conference entitled “Boldly Proclaiming the Gospel.”

Main Text- Ephesians 6:10-20 (primarily v. 18-20)

…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

God isn’t limited in anything that He does. Often when we interact with the words on the pages of the Bible, we forget about the hands the Holy Spirit used to write them. The writers of Scripture were real people with real problems and real joys. For instance, Paul, the writer of the book of Ephesians, was in chains as he wrote the above verses. He had had his life’s trajectory drastically changed as a result of his encounter with Jesus Christ.   

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

This is the fourth post in the Passion 2012 series. These are my notes from John Pipers’s message on January 4, 2012 at the Passion Conference entitled “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ.”
Note: John Piper usually puts up the audio from his conference messages on the Desiring God website. When the audio is up, I will link to it from this post.

The Apostle Paul wanted God to be glorified in every area of his life, even in his death. Even when he was in prison, chained to a wall, he sought to glorify God through his situation. Not only did he write letters to pastors and churches to encourage them, he shared the gospel with his guards and captors; all with an attitude of joy.

God wants every believer to live a live that makes Him look glorious (1 Cor 6:19-20; Matt 5:16; Col 1: 16). Everything we do should make God look great. All things exist to put God’s infinite majesty on display.

Main Point: Seeing and savoring the supremacy of Jesus Christ frees us from the slavery of sin for the sacrifices of love.