For those of you that don't know, this is a review on the conference itself and how I experienced it.
Key Verse: "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." (Mark 2:11)
I. The Work of God I Experienced
This was my first spring conference, and also the first time I had written and presented my life testimony. I was very reluctant at first to write a testimony, and continued to procrastinate and put it off because I didn’t feel like writing it. Part of that was my laziness, but another part was that I felt like I had nothing to say. I’ve been in church all my life and thought that telling about it would be boring. Instead, I was pushed to look at my life on a deeper level and really be honest with myself. I was looking at myself from the outside instead of the inside, where the real struggles are buried underneath what I do and say on the outside. I was able to analyze my life through God’s eyes and recognize my position in my relationship with God.
My key verse became Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I have been brought up the way I have for one purpose—God’s glory. He has prepared me by raising me up in Biblical knowledge and giving a firm foundation to build my faith on, and I am meant to complete good works He has laid out for me.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Mark 8: 27-38
(Originally written March 28, 2009)
Key Verse: "'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'" (Mark 9:33b)
When Jesus and his disciples went on to Caesarea Philippi, he pulled them aside for some time in training. "Who do people say I am?" he asked them. After they had answered, he then asked them a more personal question: "Who do YOU say I am?"Peter immediately answered, "You are the Christ." This was a very personal confession for Peter, and in Matthew 16 Jesus attributes it to his heavenly Father as a revelation fromthe Lord.
As Christians and God's creation, we need to come to this point in our lives . In recognizing Jesus as the Christ, we not only acknowledge him in that role but also realize our own lowliness as sinners in need of a Savior. Discovering Jesus's identity goes hand-in-hand with discovering our own.
Through the writing of my life testimony, the James study, and attending this spring conference, I have had the privilege and blessing of finding my own identity; not just as a winner in all my shortcomings, but aslo as God's workmanship (based on Eph. 2:10). Still, without acknowledging Jesus as the Christ- MY Christ- This is all meaningless.
Key Verse: "'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'" (Mark 9:33b)
When Jesus and his disciples went on to Caesarea Philippi, he pulled them aside for some time in training. "Who do people say I am?" he asked them. After they had answered, he then asked them a more personal question: "Who do YOU say I am?"Peter immediately answered, "You are the Christ." This was a very personal confession for Peter, and in Matthew 16 Jesus attributes it to his heavenly Father as a revelation fromthe Lord.
As Christians and God's creation, we need to come to this point in our lives . In recognizing Jesus as the Christ, we not only acknowledge him in that role but also realize our own lowliness as sinners in need of a Savior. Discovering Jesus's identity goes hand-in-hand with discovering our own.
Through the writing of my life testimony, the James study, and attending this spring conference, I have had the privilege and blessing of finding my own identity; not just as a winner in all my shortcomings, but aslo as God's workmanship (based on Eph. 2:10). Still, without acknowledging Jesus as the Christ- MY Christ- This is all meaningless.
Life Testimony- Spring Conference '09
(Originally written March 28, 2009)
Key Verse: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Part I: God has Blessed My Life
I was born Courtney Elaine Richards on the evening of May 2nd, 1988 in Starkville, Mississippi. I was the first child of four—two daughters, two sons. My sister, Autumn, is 19, two years younger than I, and my two brothers, Travis and Shawn, are 17 and 15.
With my father as a Southern Baptist pastor, my family moved around a lot. Moving was always hard; every time, we had to start all over again. My father always said it was according to God’s will; I went along with it, but I’d be lying if I said I liked it, or that I really understood. We moved a total of 7 times, lived in 5 different states and learned in 5 different school systems (6, if you count the 3 years I was homeschooled). We’re now living in Dundee, Michigan, and have lived there for 6 years.
Key Verse: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Part I: God has Blessed My Life
I was born Courtney Elaine Richards on the evening of May 2nd, 1988 in Starkville, Mississippi. I was the first child of four—two daughters, two sons. My sister, Autumn, is 19, two years younger than I, and my two brothers, Travis and Shawn, are 17 and 15.
With my father as a Southern Baptist pastor, my family moved around a lot. Moving was always hard; every time, we had to start all over again. My father always said it was according to God’s will; I went along with it, but I’d be lying if I said I liked it, or that I really understood. We moved a total of 7 times, lived in 5 different states and learned in 5 different school systems (6, if you count the 3 years I was homeschooled). We’re now living in Dundee, Michigan, and have lived there for 6 years.
James 5
(Originally written March 6, 2009)
Key Verse: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. …You have hoarded wealth in the last days.” (James 5: 1, 3b)
All the student leaders in Narrowgate were asked to write testimonies on one word they received from the James study, and I hadn’t decided on a passage until after Missionary Joan Park and I studied James 5 this afternoon; and I immediately knew what I wanted to write about.
James opens the end of his letter, the fifth chapter, with this warning: “weep and wail, because misery is coming.” It was not warning them about being rich, nor does he mean that Christians are not allowed to be anything but poor and destitute; instead, he is rebuking them for being selfish and proud in their riches and luxurious lifestyle. Essentially, their wealth was wasted; it had rotted, and moth had eaten their clothes. Their gold and silver had corroded, and that corrosion testified to their wastefulness. They had killed innocent men, indulging themselves and not even paying their hired workers (v. 2-6).
Instead of squandering their wealth, they should have glorified God with it. Their values were messed up—instead of placing their faith in God, they put their trust in material things, all of which will pass away.
Key Verse: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. …You have hoarded wealth in the last days.” (James 5: 1, 3b)
All the student leaders in Narrowgate were asked to write testimonies on one word they received from the James study, and I hadn’t decided on a passage until after Missionary Joan Park and I studied James 5 this afternoon; and I immediately knew what I wanted to write about.
James opens the end of his letter, the fifth chapter, with this warning: “weep and wail, because misery is coming.” It was not warning them about being rich, nor does he mean that Christians are not allowed to be anything but poor and destitute; instead, he is rebuking them for being selfish and proud in their riches and luxurious lifestyle. Essentially, their wealth was wasted; it had rotted, and moth had eaten their clothes. Their gold and silver had corroded, and that corrosion testified to their wastefulness. They had killed innocent men, indulging themselves and not even paying their hired workers (v. 2-6).
Instead of squandering their wealth, they should have glorified God with it. Their values were messed up—instead of placing their faith in God, they put their trust in material things, all of which will pass away.
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