Spread the News
"They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, 'God is back, looking to the needs of his people!' The news of Jesus spread all through the country." Luke 7:16-17 (The Message)
This was one of the theme verses from Passion this year that really stood out - especially the last sentence: The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
Just across the street from the Georgia Dome where the Passion conference was held is the CNN building. CNN actually did a report and covered our conference, which you can read about and watch here. The news of Jesus spead all through the country.
During one of the main sessions at the conference, the Passion band performed the global version of "How Great is Our God" with many different people and many languages all involved. During that time, "How Great is Our God" was trending as the number one tweet around the world. (I don't know much about how twitter works, but I think I am using the write terminology.) The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
After the conference, 45,000 college students went back to their homes, universities, and jobs in different cities across the country and even to different nations around the world. Like a little spark, each individual returned home more passionate to spread the good news about Jesus boldly and fearlessly. The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
And now here we are, each and every one of us, starting a new year with new goals and hopes and dreams in mind. At this time of year, we seem so have a million things on our minds, but there is one thing that lies at our core. Deep beneath the layers of stresses, to-do lists, new years resolutions, plans, and dreams dwells a rich hope. Even underneath our very own personalities and characters exist a great truth - the good news about Jesus Christ. His grace, poured out on us abundantly, saves us from death, frees us from sin, and redeems us from brokenness. We have not gotten what we deserve. But even more than that, God has gone above and beyond to not only spare us from what we deserve, but to graciously give us what we do not deserve - eternal life, the indwelling Spirit, everlasting hope, and every spiritual blessing in Christ.
This gospel lies at our very core and needs to be the center of all our new year goals and prayers. Before we think about planning vacations or losing weight in 2012, let us make our utmost priority be the spread of the good news about Jesus Christ. God has given us this treasure, the gospel, to share generously, graciously, and fearlessly with every person we meet. Let the news of Jesus spread through the country.
This was one of the theme verses from Passion this year that really stood out - especially the last sentence: The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
Just across the street from the Georgia Dome where the Passion conference was held is the CNN building. CNN actually did a report and covered our conference, which you can read about and watch here. The news of Jesus spead all through the country.
During one of the main sessions at the conference, the Passion band performed the global version of "How Great is Our God" with many different people and many languages all involved. During that time, "How Great is Our God" was trending as the number one tweet around the world. (I don't know much about how twitter works, but I think I am using the write terminology.) The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
After the conference, 45,000 college students went back to their homes, universities, and jobs in different cities across the country and even to different nations around the world. Like a little spark, each individual returned home more passionate to spread the good news about Jesus boldly and fearlessly. The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
And now here we are, each and every one of us, starting a new year with new goals and hopes and dreams in mind. At this time of year, we seem so have a million things on our minds, but there is one thing that lies at our core. Deep beneath the layers of stresses, to-do lists, new years resolutions, plans, and dreams dwells a rich hope. Even underneath our very own personalities and characters exist a great truth - the good news about Jesus Christ. His grace, poured out on us abundantly, saves us from death, frees us from sin, and redeems us from brokenness. We have not gotten what we deserve. But even more than that, God has gone above and beyond to not only spare us from what we deserve, but to graciously give us what we do not deserve - eternal life, the indwelling Spirit, everlasting hope, and every spiritual blessing in Christ.
This gospel lies at our very core and needs to be the center of all our new year goals and prayers. Before we think about planning vacations or losing weight in 2012, let us make our utmost priority be the spread of the good news about Jesus Christ. God has given us this treasure, the gospel, to share generously, graciously, and fearlessly with every person we meet. Let the news of Jesus spread through the country.
Comments
Post a Comment