Juliet, Pamela, Adam and Lisa
Doug in the Gaylord center before a sessionOKAY!!! Finally have a minute to tell you about Passion. It was pretty amazing to see 18,000 college students all worshiping God.
The messages were really powerful, too. John Piper preached about the blessing of sharing in Christ's sufferings (yes--the theme continues!!!) and I cried through most of the sermon. But God spoke really powerfully to me through Beth Moore as well. She talked about how it is a PROMISE in God's Word that the seed we sow will bear fruit. Her encouragement to not grow weary was something Doug and I both needed to hear. We look forward to the day that the harvest is reaped, whether we are around to see it happen or not.
Finally, Louie Giglio presented one of the most amazingly creative messages I have ever heard. He used pictures from the Hubble website of our galaxy. His visual illustration of how infinitely tiny we are in comparison to the known universe was humbling. But then the realization that the Creator of that universe not only knows me by name, but died for me is even more astounding. It was one of those moments that just leaves you speechless.
God really spoke to our students, as well. One new believer came to the realization that he needs to follow through and be baptized. On the way back from Nashville, he got so excited that he exclaimed, "can't we just pull off at one of these exits and baptize me in a pool somewhere?!!!" He didn't want to have to wait another minute.
God spoke to me on an intensely personal level as well. This has been a tough year, and I went to Nashville asking Him for some refreshment and encouragement. In our breakout sessions we divided up into groups of 8.
Would you believe--in my group of 8 were two people from my past who I have not seen in years, yet who had a huge impact on my life. One was my best friend from our high school youth group (and her husband), and the other was my own college minister at church back when I was in school. Those prayer/sharing times with them were the highlights of the week for me. There is NO WAY that their presence at Passion '06 was an accident.
Our students also bonded on a deeper level than ever before. I saw God answer specific prayers for individuals, as they began to open up and share with one another. There is some healing from childhood hurts taking place, and they have the most amazing fellowship of any group of people I have ever seen. I love this group of students. They are really special.
God is so good.
4 comments:
as i continue to hear stories from those around me - on how God provided just what they needed it when they needed - it keeps reminding me of lines from two songs by my man isreal houghton and the new breed - the song is - "he knows my name" - "he knows my name, he knows my every thought, he sees each tear that falls and he hears me when i call. :) and "i am not fogotten" - i am not fogotten - God knows my name
Praise Him - cause he does know every inch and moment of our lives!
The pictures came from a book, The Universe: 365 Days. It is beautiful. Louie preached that sermon, basically, at the Thirsty 2004 Conference at NorthPoint in Atlanta. It was great then, and it was great in Nashville. The summer after I heard it, I actually "borrowed" it, alhtough I gave credit to Louie. The lesson? It's a good thing I'm in seminary to learn how to study God's Word well enough to preach it without Louie. Only Louie can preach like that.
The sad thing is... I've heard it five or ten times now, on CD, and I'd seen it once live, and I STILL didn't see that last slide coming. I PREACHED IT, and didn't see it coming. I just get so caught up in the beauty of creation that I forget that he's about to bring it right back to the point of it all.
It must have been an amazing experience. We have followed your blog through the sbcoutpost. Sounds like you all have a tremendous ministry. We worked with university students in Moscow for 9 years before our present assignment. We love collegiate ministry!
angie
This was lovely to reaad
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