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This book is written by a friend of mine that I met at Liberate 2015 and I follow on Twitter.  It is her story and as the cover suggests it is about "One Woman's Journey from Fundamentalism to Failure to Faith."

Here is another new song we learned at Liberate by Zac Hicks.  Lyrics are below along with link to listen to the song.  A great reminder about the finished work of Christ and what that accomplished for us. Listen here It is Finished Words & Music: Zac Hicks & Julie Anne Vargas, 2014 ©2014 Unbudding Fig Music (ASCAP), Julie Anne Vargas 1. I am weary, worn out Who will deliver me? I am heavy, burdened Who will deliver me? Though I sink in guilt and shame: grace flows deeper Though I run against your will: grace runs faster Though I hide away from You: grace comes nearer Spirit help me know: It is finished, It is finished No more running, no more hiding Now my weary soul can rest It is finished, It is finished No more striving, no more taking All in Christ I now possess It is finished 2. I am failing, unable, Who will deliver me? I am fearful, faithless Who will deliver me? Bridge: No condemnation No guilty shame No past to haunt me None in Ch...

This is a new song from Zac Hicks that we learned at Liberate 2015.  I have included lyrics below.  Be reminded of what Jesus has done for us and how that makes us free. You can listen here 1. I’m a doubter of Your grace And my heart won’t cease Seeking love in every place But Your perfect arms of peace Though I see that all my longings Find their journey’s end in you Oft they wander in the byways Cheaply lured by every hue All our hearts long for, we find in You, O Lord Help us want You more, than idols we adore Give us eyes to see your matchless beauty Shatter unbelief, come and make us free 2. I’m a slave to lowly thoughts That I cannot shake Lust of eyes and pride of life Hardened heart that ne’er will break Though I hear that You alone can Make this stone a heart of flesh Oft in bitterness I linger Choosing chains, not freedom’s rest 3. I’m addicted to the lie That my thirsty soul Can be quenched by earth’s supply Vainly seized by my control Though I know ...

Here is the final post by speaker/topic from Liberate 2015. Previous posts are organized the same way for the pre-conference and Thursday-Friday noon. Blessings! Eric Metaxas-"Transformed by Amazing Grace" here Ray Cortese-"It is Finished-The Present Power of These 3 Words" here Tullian Tchividjian-"It is Not Finished" here David Zahl-"It is Finished: The End of Score-Keeping" here Steve Brown-"Relax, It Really is Finished" here

I am continuing to provide notes from the Liberate 2015 speakers. This post includes those who spoke on Thursday night and Friday morning.  Be liberated as you read! Paul Tripp-"It is Finished: Good News For a Worn Out World" here J.D. Greear-"It is Finished: From Beginning to End" here Elyse Fitzpatrick-"It is Finished: The End of Our Identity Crisis" here Justin Holcomb-"Grace & Abuse" here Scotty Smith-Lunch Discussion here

While I was at Liberate 2015, I posted several quotes on the blog.  Below I have provided links to find specific pre-conference speakers more quickly.  I will post main conference speakers later. Enjoy! Steve Brown-"Is it finished for your church?" here Shari Thomas-"Is it finished for your relationships?" here Paul Tripp-"Is it finished for you?" here Scotty Smith-"Liberating the heart of the church" here Jono Linebaugh-"Liberating Preaching" here Jessica Thompson-"Liberating Kid's and Family Ministry" here

Be reminded of God's amazing grace for you.  After spending a week at Liberate, this song reminds me of all the good news that we heard.  Chris">http://vimeo.com/15338067">Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace from Clube">http://vimeo.com/clube700">Clube 700 Brasil on Vimeo .https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.>

I am sitting in Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting to depart.  I wanted to jot down a few thoughts and reflections for Liberate 2015. I was thankful to have 7 others from Hesston MB join me this year.  I look forward to discussions with them moving forward. Here are a few take-aways or reflections: This is a repeat from last year.  I am loved, accepted, righteous, and approved by God therefore I don't need to seek approval, acceptance, and love from others, but because of God's love, approval, acceptance I am free to love others freely. I walk away from this conference refreshed, relaxed and renewed that I don't need "to do" anything.  Yet because of the good news of grace, I want to preach/teach grace to others and love others. Elyse Fitzpatrick talked about Satan's lies.  I need to remember what God's Word says about me not the lies of flesh, world or Satan.  Here is a quote from her message: "When Satan accuses you, look up! We conquer...

We have determined who we are through God's Word. When you get this, you are free. (Steve Brown) All have fallen short of the glory of God, but that hasn't stopped us from comparing distances. (David Zahl) Grace always shows up as a surprise. (John Zahl)

"Relax, It is Really Finished"--Steve Brown Now what? It is rare that people believe what they say believe. Galatians 3:23-4:7 We have determined who we are through God's Word. When you get this, you are free. Jesus loves you and everything is settled. It is Finished so go out and irritate someone.  It is Finished so go out and hug someone. It is Finished so go out and have a party.

Commercial for FitBit-It is a lifestyle device not just fitness device Quantify all of our daily life Data is used for self-justification What does it look like to keep score?  Chart ourselves or others We love quantification because we love control. If I know where I am headed, I have the power to control it. If I score high enough, I will be alright. The Law (10 Commandments, Sermon on Mount) keeps score  The law (world) keeps score, as well as the voice inside We always lose when we keep score. All have fallen short of the glory of God, but that hasn't stopped us from comparing distances. Scorekeeping hits home in our marriage, parenting, friendships, work. The moment a good work becomes public it loses its goodness. This is why Christ told us to keep it quiet. We are addicted to scorekeeping and Christians deal with this just as much as anyone else. Moralism has crept into our food choices. Do we only rest to work better? What about scorekeeping with ...

Here are my favorite quotes from speakers from Day 2 of Liberate 2015: God's Will is not lost. Question is not what but where & how. (J.D. Greear) When Satan accuses you, look up! We conquer him by the blood of Lamb & word of testimony (not ours, but His) (Elyse Fitzpatrick) The entire life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again of Christ is relevant to grace. (Justin Holcomb) If the Lord picked you to do something, there is no pressure because He will speak through you. (Eric Metaxas) Rest in God's commitment to bring to completion what He began. (Scotty Smith) Every morning wake up & believe God is pleased with you because of what Jesus has done. (Ray Cortese) Your assurance of salvation never comes from looking in, but instead from looking up and out. (Tullian Tchividjian)

The flesh is bitterly resistant to "it is finished." We are not waring against flesh & blood. We are waring against the flesh, the world and Satan. Love not law begets love. There is a crucial distinction between law & gospel. Passive Righteousness vs. Active Righteousness We live on two planes: before God & before others Passive Righteousness-settled by Jesus Active Righteousness-serving our neighbor I had a low view of the law & thought, "do your best & God will do the rest" would satisfy requirements of law. When we think our good works are for God instead of our neighbor, God's love is dependent on us instead of finished work of Jesus.  We live as if our sanctification precedes our justification. Good works are not a transaction for God. They are for others. One of the Devil's greatest lies is God gets tired of our repeated asking for forgiveness. After justification, good works are not thrown out, but instead ...

Philippians 3:4-9 It's a terrible thing to be powerless. This realization led me to a crisis. What changed me? There is a righteousness that comes from God. God produces the righteousness, not me.  Few Christians get the gospel. And when we don't, we hurt others. We give a sense of salvation by faith alone. We think we have merit. We are self-righteous. Grace is unmerited favor.  Churches also think they have merit. How do you do right things? And then repent of them. There is only one thing you need to get Jesus and it is need. Most Christians don't believe the imputation of righteousness to us. We know He is sin bearer. But we don't believe He is righteousness producer Tetelestai-It is Finished North American Christianity-Jesus paid my debt. Now get to work. Jesus says, "your debt is paid & all I have belongs to you." Every morning wake up & believe God is pleased with you because of what Jesus has done. I go to bed fille...

4 Affirmations of how to be free as God intends from 1 John 3: 1. Know the Love of Father 2. Rest in God's commitment to bring to completion what He began Anchor love in what God thinks about us not what we think about God 3. Hope & Surrender to the process of gospel transformation An anchor can weigh you down or secure you.  Hope Definition-Remember God's future in our present Language of maturity, purity, sanctification--Hebrew word focuses on "being set apart"  God loves you as He loves Jesus & we can't change it! Move from being condemned by your sin to be convicted of it. Gospel repentance is quicker. Repentance is collapsing on Christ. Obedience is often driven by pride, fear or guilt. Gospel obedience is driven by faith & love.  Grace frees us to be more generous, loving, etc. Jesus is making all things new, not me. 4. Love broken & messy people

What victims need is not self-help or advice. They need the gospel! Abuse-sexual and domestic-what they need is hope and healing through the gospel. The entire life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again of Christ is relevant to grace. The deepest message of Christ in Scripture is grace for sinners & sufferers. Victims of abuse don't need: platitudes (time heals all wounds) Shallow theology (God will use it for good) Suspicious questions (how much did you have drink?) The effects of abuse: Denial or minimizing (How is this my fault? karma) Need is ascension-Jesus is our mediator, advocate, interceding Distorted Self-Image Worthless, Dirty, Unwanted You are called what Jesus is! Need is Life of Christ-He fulfilled law, obeyed perfectly Shame The Bible talks about shame as outcast, nakedness Jesus treated as outcast so we don't have to be. We are adopted! Need is Incarnation-He came to take on human experience fully. Guilt Instead of God u...

Where do we get our identity from? Birth certificate, resume, & tombstone "No guilt in life, no fear in death" from In Christ Alone-When you think about your identity, think about these words. Many people will say to me, "I know God loves me, but I don't think He likes me." The Law is not meant to terrify the believer! It makes us grateful for Christ keeping the Law in our place. Speaking about keeping the law--God doesn't grade on a curve. And if He does, Christ ruins it. Hebrews 2:10-3:1 When you think about your identity, consider Jesus! Jesus is the point. Jesus' Father is our Father. We have been adopted.  Jesus is not ashamed to call us brother or sister.   Jesus is not ashamed to call us His own. Our resume will never be enough.  Jesus is not ashamed. If we struggle with guilt/shame, we are not believing them Jesus wants us to know that He is proud of us. Your relationship with Christ is not based on what you do. He call...

John 16:7 Most neglected teaching in the gospel movement is the Holy Spirit. Many Christians often fall in two extremes related to the Holy Spirit--A focus on the experience or a neglect of the Holy Spirit. The fact that we are not more excited about the Holy Spirit inside us shows our misunderstanding of God's Word. Jesus beside is good, but within us is better. Victorious Christianity is Christ in you. (John 15:5) I understood that the Holy Spirit was a Person.  The Holy Spirit is a better teacher than even Jesus was.  Effective Ministry is Christ Through You. (Acts 1:1) Jesus can do more in a few minutes than we can do in a lifetime. Acts 8-Jesus can do more through us in a moment than we can do in a lifetime of mission trips. God does more through lay people than clergy. Luke 7-Greatest preacher according to Jesus was John the Baptist. The least in the kingdom has more potential has John. Example of Quarterback. The poin...

Here are my favorite quotes from the speakers at Liberate 2015 from Thursday: When you see sin for what it is, you cannot hold onto the thought that the law is all you need. It doesn't work. (Paul Tripp) "Christ is all" is what parents need to hear. You can trust him with your success and failure.  It's more than just what you do.  We don't live under covenant of works but under covenant of grace. (Jessica Thompson) A sermon should meet at intersection of real questions and real pain & person of Jesus Christ. (Jono Linebaugh) Create a worship culture that makes it more likely the gospel moves from head to heart to hands. (Scotty Smith) It took me a long time to realize this and a war to live this: unless your ministry is firmly rooted in finished work of Christ, it will be uprooted by some form of ministry dysfunction. (Paul Tripp) I need someone constantly reminding me that "it is finished." It's not about how well we do. (Shari Thomas) If it is...

Whenever you minimize what sin does, you immediately devalue grace. Sin reduces every human being to a fool. Titus 3:3-8 When you see sin for what it is, you cannot hold onto the thought that the law is all you need. It doesn't work. If all I needed was to be told what to do, then Jesus would not have needed to come. The foolishness of self-centeredness We were created by God to live upward & outward lives. Sin puts us in the center of our little world. 2 Corinthians 5 You can't regulate a person, shame or guilt a person out of self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is all over the Bible. All of us have it in us. The foolishness of self-deception If we don't recognize our need of a Savior, we deceive ourselves.  No one deceives you more than you do. Self-deception is your particular chosen system of saving yourself. You are very influential in your own life because no one talks to you more than yourself. The foolishness of self-sufficiency 2 Lies--Aut...