Collegiate Collective

Paul Priddy shares a reflection guide to use with students who attended Passion 2018.

Editors note: It’s hard to overstate how influential Passion conferences have been on college ministry in the past 20 years. It was an early 2000s Passion conference that sparked a Baptist Collegiate Ministry group in Southern Illinois to live out the gospel faithfully on campus. It was through that group that I became a Christian as a grad student in 2003. I’ve also heard Keith Wieser reflect on how Louie Giglio’s teaching on the glory of the God pushed him towards church planting to reach students in the Northwest. There are countless other stories and still more are being written. That’s why we’re thankful that Paul Priddy has provided this reflection guide for you to use with students who attended Passion 2018 or who are catching the many videos they’ve released online. May God use it to help clarify and motivate you and your students to further obedience to Jesus. – Chase Abner

Passion 2018 was special. To have the opportunity to worship the Lord among thousands, to listen to inspired and truth-filled speakers, and to reflect on how our greatest purpose in life is to share the truth of Jesus Christ to the world is an experience none of us will forget.

My prayer is that not only would we never forget, but that as a result of the love of Christ in each of our hearts, we would be filled with the commitment to be unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we would go out into our campuses, our classes, our communities and proclaim who He is through our thoughts, words, and actions.

The purpose of this small guide is simple:

1. To provide a resource of reflection on what we’ve learned from Passion Conference.

2. To help us apply what we’ve learned at Passion to our lives and to our campuses.

Kick the Bucket List : Levi Lusko

Lusko summed up his message simply: “THE MORE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT WORLD, THE LESS YOU’LL NEED FROM THIS ONE.” So simple. So beautiful. So challenging! Challenging especially in the context of today’s world where we’re so busy and mentally occupied with the next social media platform, the next phone, the next Netflix show we’re going to binge watch. We obsess with what we’re going to see, where we’re going to travel, what crazy adventure we’re going to go on. We’re so consumed with getting our fulfillment out of this world, that we so often lose sight of the next world — overcome by today’s epicurean mindset, we are encouraged to eat, drink, be merry because tomorrow we may die.

Lusko encouraged us to have the relaxed confidence of a people who know that God is in charge and that forever is ours. He encouraged us to believe that the less we need from this world the more we can do for it, and that the less we need from this world the more we can ENJOY it.

Lastly, he encouraged us to weigh our lives on a scale that they were meant to be weighed upon; the scale of eternal significance, not of worldly significance. He encouraged to not follow our dreams–but to follow Jesus.

Reflection:

• What is it to weigh our lives on a scale of eternal significance?
• What do you feel God’s call upon your life is?

Application:

• Look for moments to share what it is to have received God’s grace and to be more concerned with eternity than with today.
  

 

Delight in the Love of the Lord : John Piper

John Piper, asked a simple yet profound question, “WHAT IS THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING SATISFIED AND ENJOYING GOD?” Like Levi Lusko, Piper challenged us to have God be our treasure, to put our gold in the dirt and to delight in the Lord above all else and as a result of that abundance of delight and treasure, to love others, love those who we interact with in a way that displays and glorifies the very love of God in our own lives. The very essence of love is delighting in God.

Piper asked us to imagine the happiest person we know, the funniest, the most loving, the most caring, the most genuine, the most sincere, the most joyful, the most peaceful, the most courageous…he then asked to image all of these people in a perfect state of themselves, and then to combine each of them into ONE PERSON. When we do that, we begin to imagine, ever so slightly, the overwhelming love of God.

Piper emphasized that the glory of God is the greatest reality of the universe, that authentic love and appreciation for people is the overflow of the joy and love we receive from God. And, that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Reflection:

• What is the root of your satisfaction?
• How can we love people well?
• What would it look like if we loved people authentically?  

Application:

• No matter what background a person may have, if they are different, if they are broken, remember that we too are broken. Let the love we receive from God overflow with authentic love for everyone we meet.

Unashamed : Christine Caine

“We need a generation of people who love the Word of the Lord. A generation of people who believe in who He is and the worth of who He is.”

All of us can recall a moment in life where someone spoke into our lives telling us that we couldn’t do something, that something we believed in was strange, untrue, or not worthy of following. Unfortunately, we often listen to the lies that people speak to us and about us and it dramatically impacts our future. Not only that, but we also believe the negative moments in our past hold us back from doing the things we’re called to do. The same is so often true for the way that we view the Word of God. WE’VE LET WHAT OTHERS SAY, WHAT CULTURE SAYS, MAKE US BE ASHAMED OF BELIEVING THE WORD OF GOD IS TRUTH! The result of that shame is that we undermine God and it becomes so easy to disobey the will of God when we question the authenticity of God.  

“Shame comes to separate us from God so we go looking for what we’re missing and we miss out on what we’ve already received from God.” Like we see in Genesis, Satan wants us to hide from God; the very God with whom we were intended to be united.  

We should believe in the TRUTH of God. We should be UNASHAMED of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t need to be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).

As we enter our campuses, have courage. As we enter our dorms, have courage. As we walk through life, have courage–be unashamed of the truth of Jesus Christ.

Reflection:

• Are you ashamed of the Gospel?
• What would it look like if you were unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  

Application:

• Study the Word of God.
• Believe in the authenticity and truth of the Word of God.
• Trust that the Lord will work through you.

 

Arrows in the Hands of God – Louie Giglio

Louie asked two very important questions:

1. Can I get past my past?
2. What is my purpose?

To answer those questions he first discussed the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ. The finished work of Christ is that Jesus took on our shame, our guilt, our sin and willingly gave his life as the ultimate atonement for all of our sins. That through faith in Him, we are forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life.

When we understand this fundamental truth, both questions begin to unravel. Question 1, “CAN I GET PAST MY PAST?” Sin doesn’t just make us bad people. The wages of sin is death. But when we believe Christ served as the ultimate atonement for our sins we begin to move past the past and we begin to the gift of grace. We to put the past behind us by locking our gaze upon Jesus Christ. When we do that, when we fix our eyes upon Jesus, everything behind us no longer matters; only the truth that lies ahead and the glory of Christ matters.

And for question two, “WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?” When we understand the grace that has been given to us as members of the body of Christ, we put our pasts behind us and we become arrows in the hands of God. As arrows, we have one ultimate purpose and that purpose is to fulfill the mission of the church THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON PLANET EARTH WILL HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST. When we understand our purpose, we begin to understand that the plan God has for our lives is greater than anything we could have ever imaged and we take up our part in the unfinished work of the church–and that unfinished work is to share the finished work of Christ with the world.

Reflection:

• Do I trust God’s plan for my life?
• Do you believe that the whole world hearing about Jesus is better than whatever plan you had for your life?
• Do you believe that the cost is worth it?  

Application:

• Your campus, your community, your friends, and family: each is an opportunity to fulfill the unfinished work of the church: share the finished work of Christ.

Strength in God – Sadie Robertson & Tim Tebow

Sadie Robertson and Tim Tebow have lived lives in the spotlight. For Robertson, millions know her as the daughter of an iconic, bearded, family from the South who’ve made a fortune selling duck calls. And, for Tebow, he’s been an athletic icon for a decade–consistently defying the odds in football, baseball, and now broadcasting. Both, however, have a common denominator. IN ALL SITUATIONS, THEY FIND THEIR STRENGTH IN GOD AND THEY TRUST IN GOD TO GUIDE THEIR PATH.

Sadie Robertson has had a lifelong fear of public speaking. Yet, she still felt like God had called her to share her journey with Christ to the world. So, she wrote a book. However, it was through her experience writing a book that she discovered he true calling was to speak. To speak publicly about what God had placed upon her heart. Robertson shared the beauty of what it is to step out into total fear and rely upon the Lord to be your strength. She encouraged us to believe that it’s the moments that we’re most scared that we most clearly see the presence of God in our lives.

We have all seen the incredible work-ethic of Tim Tebow. He’s famous for his tenacity, grit, and ability to do whatever it is he sets his mind to. Tebow shared that AS CHRISTIANS, IT’S OUR DUTY TO GIVE EVERYTHING WE DO 100% OF OUR EFFORT. And, that through our effort and passion for what we do, and by doing the best that we can possibly do, we begin to earn the respect and admiration of our peers, classmates, colleagues, and families. And, when they notice our effort, our belief in what we do, it becomes an opportunity to communicate it is our belief in God that is reflected in the works that we do. It’s through these moments that we have the opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ.

Reflection:

• Do I ever step out into fear and rely on God?
• Do I give everything I do 100% of my effort?

Application:

• Do everything with the heart of someone who’s unbelievably loved by Jesus and step out into situations of fear so that God can be visible in your life.  

The Armor of the Lord – Priscilla Shirer

Shirer described herself as a relatively forgiving and easy-going person. In moments where someone has accidentally wronged her, she’s quick to forgive and forget. But what if someone were to plot against her? Against her husband, her children? Her friends and family? Her response would be far from easy-going.

Yet, “scheming” plotting, and planning his attack on our lives is exactly what the enemy does. He knows our weaknesses, our faults, flaws, hopes, dreams, and desires.ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES WE CAN MAKE AS CHRISTIANS IS FORGETTING ABOUT THE ENEMY. When we forget about the enemy that is right where Satan wants us. When we forget about the enemy and his deceiving ways it gives him a foothold to attack. He is the father of lies (John 8:44).

So what are we to do? We need to pull back the curtain and say, “Not today Satan” and put on the full armor of God, and having awareness of his actions against us, we need to arm ourselves: we must “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Ephesians 6: 14-17

And lastly, we need to pray. We need to pray in the Spirit in every situation and every circumstance in life. And when we do, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we securely fasten the breastplate of righteousness upon our chest and we live holy in reverence and awe of God.

Reflection:

• What does it mean to “live holy”?
• Why do we need to arm ourselves against the enemy?
• Why is it important that we consciously seek out holiness?

Application:

• The bible isn’t just words on a page. It’s the everlasting breath of God. Read it. Love it. Believe it. Study it. Apply it.