Resolved - Day 2

Wow. What can I say? The conference just keeps getting better! How how could it not? Today we heard from Randy Alcorn, John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney and John Piper. All incredible speakers!



Randy spoke on the view of Heaven in Revelation 21:1-6. He talked a lot about how nothing on earth will satisfy because God has given us the ultimate gift in one person and one place. Jesus Christ and Heaven. Both free gifts that we don't deserve. Our love for God is proof that God loves us. Everything is from God including our ability to love others. And if we truly love others we will share the reality of Hell with them, because for the unbeliever this glimpse of the world is the closest they will ever come to experiencing Heaven.

John MacArthur spoke on Jesus talking about Hell to a group of religious leaders in Luke 12:1-9. In this passage Jesus didn't choose to speak to a group of unbeliever but rather a group of hypocrites who only thought they were followers. He also chose not to talk about pleasant things but about the terrifying reality of Hell. John reminded us that the root attitude of hypocrisy is the fear of man rather then the fear of God. But God is the one that has the ability to cast you into the fire of Hell. You have power over Satan but you can't lock out or contain God. Fear the one who has control over everything! John also talked on the reality that we may fool those around us who think they are living a Godly life but they can't fool God. He knows everything, doesn't find out but KNOWS. All sinners are living on borrowed time an the greatest gift God gives unbelievers is time.

Last night we heard from the oh so exciting, C.J. Mahaney. He is so great to listen to b/c he is so passionate about God and all he is graciously giving us that we don't deserve. C.J. taught on knowing God as our father and realizing what it means to be adopted by God into his family. He talked about how desperate we were without even knowing we needed saving, how we were even enemies of God, and how we didn't seek out Him, He came to us. Not only did we now know we needed saving but we didn't even want His free gift of his son. Christ didn't come just to save us but also give us the ability to join the Father in Heaven. By sending Christ, God redeems us from our own sin, gave us the gift of heaven, and on top of that He gives us so many blessings of love, mercy, and compassion. The more we understand our own salvation the more awesome God is to us and the more our love for Him as our Father increases! Adoption into God's family includes generosity, affection, acceptance, closeness, and the inheritance of sharing God's glory in Heaven. C.J pointed out that the greatest sorrow we can cause God would be to not accept the free gift of His son DYING for you. If we aren't convince that God loves us when Jesus didn't just come to earth but was SENT by the Father to die, what could it possibly take to convince us of His love?!? There is no greater sacrifice God could have given. By accepting this gift, we go from being a slave to sin to becoming a son of God and an heir to inheritance.

We also went Ruby's dinner for lunch and had a great time, as you can tell fro the pics. Jessi and Steph were playing horseshoes with ashley's bracelets and a fork.











Tomorrow... Day 3!

Resolved - Day 1

Well we finally made it! We got to the airport at about 5:45am and flew out of Nashville at 7:25, with at connecting flight in Dallas. We eventually arrived in Phoenix around 1pm. We then proceeded to Smed and Janet's (anxiously :) ) That night we had a pool party with some of the college group from their church. The next morning they guys went on a hike up Camel Back Mountain. I was much too tired, so I stayed and took the opportunity to sleep in! After chowing some amazing chips and salsa, we piled in the vans and headed for sunny California. Here are some pics of our drive.







And man was it hot!! The high has been around 112 degrees and there is no relief in sight. Luckily, we don't have to even leave the building to get to the conference. (The hotel and conference center are connected.) Here are some pictures of the first session. We were all super tired from the drive and a little more jet lag. There is a two hour difference from Tennessee. It's amazing how big that small gap feels when you are traveling!







The theme for the conference as a whole is Heaven and Hell. Last nights session was on Hebrews 9:27-28 and death taught by Rick Holland, who is the college pastor at Grace Community Church. Though death doesn't seem like a very encouraging subject it was very convicting. It helped that he started with stating that if you are prepared to die, you will know how to live. His three main points were:
1. Death is unavoidable.
Everyone is going to die and everyone is born with a death sentence, so be prepared b/c you don't know when your time will come. No matter how bad things seem in your life right now, it will not even compare to what it will be like in Hell. Everyday is fleeting and you are know the closest to death now than you have. So spend the time you have left glorifying God.

2. Judgement is curtain.
Everyone will, one day, die and then be judged before God. Rick pointed out that Hell is going to be full of everything we hate and dislike (fear, darkness, absence of God, and the longing for one more chance to follow Christ and get into Heaven) "If you think of Hell rightly you will either be saved or go insane."

3. Salvation is possible.
Crucify your pride, b/c Christ was crucified and killed for you sins. We owe everything to Him. God is just and we should be thankful that He isn't fair. If He were fair, heaven wouldn't be an option for us. Christ would not have been the one crucified and sent to hell to take away our sins.

It was a great start to our conference and it really set our minds on what we are doing here. This morning we heard from Randy Alcorn, a well know author, and John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church. I will post on them at the end of the day. Tonight we hear from C.J Mahaney, who everyone is excited to hear! Anyway, there is more to come!

I'm Back...for now!

Well I know it's been awhile, but I really haven't had much to post about. I've just been busy with normal everyday day stuff. Wedding season is starting to pick up with the arrival of Summer so I'll be even more busy come June. We have 5 weddings in June and the one Saturday we don't have a wedding I'll be in California at the Resolved Conference, which am super excited about! Last year was so much fun I decided that I was going no matter what! So all that to say I am going to be pretty tied up for a while. So I may not have time to post very much, but hopefully I will be able to post some pictures. I plan to write everyday I'm in California and let you (few readers I have...Angie and mom) know what's going on. Speaking of pictures here are a few of the wedding we did this past weekend. I know its just of flowers and they look pretty much the same but they were my favorites of the day and I've been playing with the effects in Lightroom (which is kinda like photoshop, but better). Anyway, enjoy!