Discipleship. At the core of Jesus’ message, in everything He did, and in everything he taught, Jesus wanted . . . no . . . called his followers’ loves to reflect his. Disciple means follower. Christian means little Christ. I hope these messages call you to connect the dots between what you say you believe and how you live. Jesus wondered aloud to his disciples if He would find faith on the earth when He returns. Will he find you, living for Him, regardless of the cost?
Greg Laurie – We Preach Jesus
I walked into the auditorium to Laurie’s words “God’s story of 2000 years ago is relevant today. The story of Jesus is relevant today, and God’s Word is relevant today.” Speaking to a room full of pastors and church leaders, Laurie continued. “If you build your church on the razzle dazzle, your people will come expecting it. If you build your church teaching the Word of God, your people will come with their bibles open, ready to learn.”
Laurie spoke for nearly an hour, basing his comments from Paul’s open air sermon on Mar’s Hill in Acts 17. Like Paul, he spoke about our nation as a place that is unfamiliar with Jesus, his claims or his saving power. Laurie didn’t spend time with tradition, doctrine, or talking about his how church does church, because the Resurgence conference isn’t about policy, programs or doctrine. Preaching the gospel of Jesus is about reaching the culture with an eternal message, not a 2000 yr old message, or a few hundred year-old traditions. Laurie concluded his conversation with the attentive audience with these six points.
Resurgence R12 conference – from Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church
What does passion look like? I know when I see it. I can see the difference between a sports team playing with passion and one that is going through the motions . . . when I see it. But at its core, what does passion look like? In scripture, I read the gospel writer making specific reference to Jesus face. Maybe passion is something you see when you look into a person’s eyes. What did Jesus communicate with his eyes that made the gospel writer pen, “He looked and had compassion on them?” He wept over his friend’s death, and made such an impact on his friends that they made sure to record it for us. Jesus turned over the tables with a handmade whip as he declared, “My fathers’ house will be a house of prayer.” Maybe that’s what passion looks like.
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