Results tagged “conference”
reFocus Conference (V) (05/21/09 - 12 Comments)
On this, the final day of the reFocus Conference here at Moody Bible Institute, we heard first from Henry Blackaby who is the Founder and President Emeritus of Blackaby Ministries International in Atlanta, GA. More on that in a moment. In the day's middle session Crawford Loritts brought a sermon on the necessity of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of a pastor. Basing his sermon in Galatians 5:16-25, Pastor...
reFocus Conference (IV) (05/21/09 - 5 Comments)
Day three of the reFocus conference began with a talk from Ken Davis. Ken is a humorist--a comedian, really. I don't quite know what to say about this session. He drew out a couple of messages he wanted to communicate to the pastors here and did it with a whole lot of laughter. My best efforts at blogging this comedy sketch fell flat (as I'm sure you understand). He did a great job of mixing...
reFocus Conference (III) (05/20/09 - 11 Comments)
It's a question I'm asked fairly often. "Have you ever blogged a conference and heard a speaker you really disagreed with?" I've always been able to say "no." Until today. Now I want to be careful here. Flip Flippen, a life coach and psychotherapist, did not ever claim to be preaching. He did not bring his Bible to the front of the room and did not seek to preach from Scripture. Yet speak he did,...
reFocus Conference (II) (05/19/09 - 4 Comments)
Because this conference is held on the campus of Moody Bible Institute, everything happens in a pretty small area. My room is within a two minute walk of the main auditorium and the cafeteria. Only the exhibit hall takes some effort to get to. Last night the conference kicked off with a talk by Michael Easley, Teaching Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, Tennessee and a former President of Moody Bible Institute. And I've...
reFocus Conference (I) (05/19/09 - 10 Comments)
Yesterday afternoon I hopped on a flight to Chicago so I could get to reFocus, Moody Bible Institute's pastors' conference. This is going to be a slightly different experience for me, I think. It is bound to be a different than the "average" conference I go to at any rate. It's a long story as to how I got here, but it involves a) being asked to lead a breakout session b) learning that my...
The Basics Conference (VI) (05/13/09 - 8 Comments)
And just like this we've come to the end of this year's Basics Conference. It always seems to go by so quickly. I think I say this every year, but this really is one of my favorite conferences of the year (and perhaps even my absolute favorite). Many conferences geared to pastors are intense, packing every day full of teaching and preaching. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave some people...
The Basics Conference (V) (05/12/09 - 5 Comments)
This evening, after rather an excellent dinner, we gathered again to hear from John Lennox. In his first talk (yesterday afternoon) he spoke of the use of the mind in engaging the world. In this one he wanted to use Scripture to address the mind; and not only the mind but also the imagination. One of the wonders of God's creation of the human mind is its ability to imagine. Parts of the Bible are...
The Basics Conference (IV) (05/12/09 - 4 Comments)
John Piper's second (and final) session was taken from John 3 and dealt with the topic of preaching the doctrine of regeneration undiminished. This is just the briefest overview. You know the audio will be available at the Desiring God site before the day is over. Piper's outline followed this pattern: What happens in the new birth; why the new birth is so necessary; how it happens. What Happens in the New Birth? Life happens!...
The Basics Conference (III) (05/12/09 - 3 Comments)
The second day of The Basics Conference began with Alistair Begg speaking from 2 Corinthians 5 and focusing on verse 20. He wanted to consider the matter of preaching that confronts people's stubborn wills; to think about persuasive preaching. To do this, is to place ourselves in good company for the apostolic precept pushes us in this direction (see Acts 18:4 by way of example). Scripture also urges people by way of precept, such as...
The Basics Conference (II) (05/11/09 - 12 Comments)
After a great dinner, and a few worship songs courtesy of Keith and Kristyn Getty, John Piper took to the pulpit to explore the theme of preaching the doctrine of justification from the Scriptures in an undiminished way. For ten years he has been very exercised about this doctrine and he began by offering five reasons why this has been the doctrine that has most consumed him over the past ten years. Here they are:...
The Basics Conference (I) (05/11/09 - 5 Comments)
Today marks the beginning of the 2009 Basics Conference at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. This year's speakers are Alistair Begg, John Lennox and John Piper. I intend to bring you six updates through this conference, one for each of the keynote addresses that will happen between now and Wednesday morning (that's two today, three tomorrow and one on Wednesday). John Lennox had the privilege of teaching the first session. Lennox is Professor of...
Ligonier Conference - Robert Godfrey (03/21/09 - 6 Comments)
The Ligonier Ministries National Conference is drawing to a close. We have come to the final day and began with a message from Dr. Robert Godfrey who preached on "The Holiness of God and the Cross." He began by saying that even as Christians we tend to have a trivial view of sin which turns sinners into naughty kids and God into an indulging grandfather. We like to sin, God likes to forgive, so what's...
Ligonier Conference - Thabiti Anyabwile (03/20/09 - 5 Comments)
Late this afternoon we heard from Thabiti Anyabwile on "Cosmic Treason: Sin & the Holiness of God." He began by joking that his name is Swahili and roughly translated means "suffering for Jesus in the Cayman Islands." And then he got down to business. He read Numbers 25 and divided his exposition of this chapter into four sections. He wanted to use this passage to make some observations about sin as cosmic treason. The horrible...
Ligonier Conference - Alistair Begg (03/20/09 - 1 Comments)
This morning Alistair Begg preached on "The Breath of the Almighty: The Holy Spirit" and used as his text John 16:5-15. I jotted down some notes... The nature of this topic, he said, makes it virtually horizonless. Considerations of any doctrine, but particularly this one, that are not grounded within the controls of the Bible itself, may lead to all kinds of flights of fancy. There has been as much confusion within evangelicalism about the...
Ligonier Conference - R.C. Sproul (03/19/09 - 9 Comments)
The subject of God's holiness has been a theme at Ligonier Ministries since its infancy and it is good to revisit that theme this year, one year before Sproul's book The Holiness of God reaches its twenty-fifth anniversary. And who better to introduce the subject and kick of the conference proper than Dr. Sproul? He preached tonight from Isaiah 45:1-8. This is one of the strangest portions of divine revelation found anywhere in Scripture. At...
Ligonier Conference - Q&A (03/19/09 - 5 Comments)
The "John Calvin" Mini-Conference wrapped up with a Q&A session featuring the four men who had delivered addresses. It was moderated by John Duncan. This is roughly how it went... Why is Calvin still important 500 years later? Ferguson - because he was really the first great biblical exegete. Other theologians made a mark here and there, but none so great as Calvin. He had a genius for being to capture what the text was...
Ligonier Conference - Sinclair Ferguson (03/19/09 - 2 Comments)
After a rather tasty lunch we gathered again, this time to hear Sinclair Ferguson speak about "The Doctrines of Grace." He began by reading Ephesians 1 and said that no man has had a greater impact on his thinking than John Calvin. When we speak of the doctrines of grace, we tend to think about five particular distinctive and controverted doctrines that we find within the realm of Reformed theology. Calvin's theology and the...
Ligonier Conference - Al Mohler (03/19/09 - 22 Comments)
The 2009 Ligonier Ministries National Conference begins today. Though the conference proper does not kick off until after dinner, the Pre-Conference, "John Calvin--Celebrating a Legacy" began bright and early. This mini-conference features messages from Al Mohler, Steven Lawson, Sinclair Ferguson and Ligon Duncan. They will each speak one time and will also participate in a panel discussion. Al Mohler began with this reflection: the legacy of John Calvin is now represented by a half millennium...
Toronto Pastors Conference: Building Healthy Churches (03/16/09 - 0 Comments)
I dedicate a fair amount of attention on this blog to conferences. This is the first time I've done so for a conference my church is hosting. We are thrilled to announce that registration for the 2009 edition of the Toronto Pastors Conference is now open! If you are a pastor or a church leader-or just interested in knowing how to serve to build Christ's church-we would love to have you join us on June...
Poll: Christian Conferences (12/27/08 - 56 Comments)
Christians love their conferences. Calvinists love their conferences. Put the two together and, well, you've got an awful lot of events in any given year. Many major ministries offer their annual conferences along with a selection of regional conferences; churches offer small conferences designed to serve a local constituency; ministries like Together for the Gospel and The Gospel Coalition offer bi-annual conferences designed to attract and coordinate pastors or ministry leaders from around the nation...