Sola Conference

The five "Solas" stand at the heart of Reformation Christianity and they will be the theme of a conference in Michigan this December. I look forward to attending the Sola Conference in Lansing on December 6th and 7th, and sitting under the teaching of a great group of speakers.

Heikkinen and DeYoung (the conference's organizers) speak about it in the video below:



Check it out here, register by July 31 for only $45, and I'll see you there! The schedule is as follows:

Friday, December 6, 2013 

9:00 – 1:00: Preconference Track for Pastors & Church Planters

2:30 – 4:00: Session 1 – Sola (Noel Heikkinen)
4:30 – 5:30: Session 2 – Ad Fontes: Why Going Backward Is the Best Way to Go Forward (Kevin DeYoung)
7:30 – 9:00: Session 3 – Sola Fide (Matt Chandler)

Saturday, December 7, 2013

8:30 – 9:30: Session 4 – Sola Gratia (Leonce Crump)
10:00 – 11:00: Session 5 – Solus Christus (Stephen Um)
11:30 – 12:30: Session 6 – Panel Discussion
3:00 – 4:00: Session 7 – Sola Scriptura (Albert Mohler)
4:30 – 5:30: Session 8 – Soli Deo Gloria (John Piper)

Free Download of Ligonier's Luther and the Reformation

Today, in celebration of Reformation Day, Ligonier Ministries is offering a free download of R.C. Sproul’s recently released ten-part series, Luther and the Reformation. It is being made available in audio and video form. Take advantage of this great opportunity to learn about one of history's most influential figures.

Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other

Happy Reformation Day! 495 years ago, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg.While there were certainly those "pre-reformers" who came before him, this act serves as the symbolic start of the Protestant Reformation.

A little over three years later, at the Diet of Worms, Luther would be called before Emperor Charles V and was asked to recant his teachings. His famous response has been oft-portrayed. Others will no doubt today share a similar clip from the 2003 film Luther starring Joseph Fiennes. I figured I'd stand out a little and go back an extra half-century and share this clip from the 1953 version of Martin Luther starring Niall MacGinnis.

A Word for Preachers...Trueman on God's Presence in Preaching

"One of the reasons, I think, that preaching is often not done well is that people who preach don't understand what they are doing. That's a rather blunt way of putting it: They do understand a certain amount: They know they're going to read the Bible, they're going to exegete the passage, et cetera, et cetera, but they need a bigger theological understanding of precisely what is going on.

"In the Middle Ages, we could put it this way: We could say, 'God's presence is mediated to the people as they gather as a church through the Sacrament.' That's why your eyes focus on the table when you walk into Cologne Cathedral. The most important thing is 'Where does God, if you like, come down and meet the people?' In the Sacrament."

"...With the Reformation,  God's presence is mediated in the Word. Have you ever thought about it? When you preach on a Sunday, you are not just passing on information. You are not just giving enthusiastic talks. There is a sense in which, when you preach, you are mysteriously mediating the presence of God to your people."

Carl Trueman
Why the Reformation Isn't Over
Together for the Gospel 2012

A Song for Reformation Sunday

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my friend and fellow-pastor, Zac Hicks, recently released the album Without His Aid with the worship team at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church outside of Denver.  Once again I highly recommend it.

Zac points out at his blog that the first song on the album is especially suitable for Reformation Sunday, which is coming up this weekend. It is entitled Sola and focuses on "the five solas" of the Reformation: 

• Sola fide – faith alone
• Sola gratia – grace alone
• Solus Christus – Christ alone
• Sola scriptura – Scripture alone
• Soli Deo gloria - to God alone be the glory

Check it out below and click here to learn more about the album or, even better, to purchase it.

Wednesdays Words of Wisdom...Carl Trueman on the Reformers

"(W)e must remember first and foremost that, if the Reformation is a significant moment in church history, and if the Reformers are significant theologians for us today, it is only to the extent that they represent faithful attempts to place God in Christ at the centre. It is beyond dispute that many Reformers were brave men; that they attacked many manifest theological, ecclesiastical and moral abuses; and that some of them died terrible deaths for their beliefs. Yet none of these things, either individually or taken together, means that they have anything to teach us today. Many non-Christians have been brave; many have achieved wonderful things; many have spoken out against abuses; and many have died heroic and steadfast deaths for their beliefs. But, as the old saying goes, a good death does not sanctify a bad cause. Moreover, none of the other actions listed makes any individual of perennial relevance to the church. It is only to the extent that they brought God and Christ to bear upon the church of their day that the Reformers have any ongoing relevance for us today."

Carl Trueman
Reformation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow