Today we experienced day two of the 2013 Catalyst West Coast conference (minus the last session that we had to ditch to get to the airport in time). One of the coolest experiences of the conference was when they had everyone use the Wham City Lights app for iPhone and Droid that attached your phone into the light show in the room. The video above shows a taste of this and the awesomeness of that moment.

Like I mentioned yesterday, the quotes below may not be exactly word for word of what was said but represent the ideas being taught.

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April 15th. Few days create an emotional response quite like it. Maybe February 14th for men, but that’s not quite as universal.

April 15th is the day we all are held accountable to our taxes. It doesn’t matter if you are rich, poor, old or young… we all answer to tax day.

For many people it is a day of dread. If you are in this camp it’s probably because you haven’t put money away all year for this or you are waiting till the last minute to file. For you, April 15th represents the inevitable moment when reality comes crashing in.

For others, tax day represents a celebration. If you are in this camp it’s probably because you’ve put money away for taxes all year and have filed with plenty of time to spare. For you, April 15th represents an opportunity to have some unplanned money coming back to you.

Two radically different responses to the exact same day. So what does April 15th have to do with our faith?

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I love Easter. The truth of the resurrection changes everything. I’m especially fascinated with John 21:1-7 this year. When the apostle John says, “It is the Lord,” time stand stills. Peter jumps into the water. God is alive. Amazing.

Above is the video of my message at Central this year.

We got the kids all dressed up for a service and snapped a photo that has quickly become one of my favorites. Make sure you notice Madsen’s face.

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I’ve been reading through the book of Deuteronomy the last week or so in my daily Bible reading. Deuteronomy has some great spots and some very tedious spots. Maybe it’s because I’m fresh off of an Israel trip in January but I noticed something uniquely this time through it.

Consider what God tells the Israelites as they are about to enter the land that He had promised to them and delivered them supernaturally into.

“Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.’” 2:4-5

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.’” 2:9

“When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.” 2:19

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