A Minister's Regrets

I was introduced to Geoff Thomas some years back at the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Conference that I attend each August. Thomas is a Welsh pastor who has served the congregation of Alfred Place Baptist Church for over fifty years.

The other day a friend shared with me a post that Thomas wrote in 2011 for Banner of Truth. In it, he drew from his considerable experience and shared what his greatest regrets have been in his half-century as a minister. He listed eight in all, and they were all convicting for this minister.

That said, the last one stood out above the rest. What a passionate, familiar, heart-felt expression of both regret and glorious gospel truth there is in these words:

I am sorry that my love for Jesus Christ is cool and shallow. ‘Weak is the effort of my heart and cold my warmest thought.’ It was true for Newton and it is true for us today. Sometimes I think, ‘Do I love him at all?’ Where is the affection, the glow, the delight and anticipation of meeting with him? M’Cheyne wrote in his diary, ‘Rose early to meet him whom my soul loves. Who would not rise early to meet such company?’ I wish that that reflected my own heart’s longing for the Saviour. I wish I could give myself to him anew each Sunday, thinking, ‘I am going to go where the Lord Jesus is.’ When I have nothing else to think about I wish my mind naturally gravitated to him. Here is someone who laid down his life for me. This is the one who delivered me from hell. Behold my Saviour who is taking me to glory for ever. Here is my beloved and here is my friend who is working all things together for my good. This dear Lord of mine is going to do an eternal makeover on my whole life. The Lord Jesus is my personal teacher and personal trainer and personal counsellor and personal bodyguard. He can protect me from the biggest devil in hell. Christ is so fascinating a personality, wise, caring, fresh, creative, stimulating, patient and so kind to me. It is my chief complaint, that my love is weak and faint. I who encourage others to love him am amazed that I can love him so little, but what is more amazing is the fact that I love him at all.

2012 Puritan Reformed Conference

Last week I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend the 2012 Puritan Reformed Conference in Grand Rapids. It was the fourth annual conference put on by Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and (as has been the case with their past conferences) it was wonderfully conducted.

Throughout the conference, I tweeted highlights from the various messages. In lieu of a full detailed review of the conference, I thought it might help give you a feel for the conference if I were to share with you what I tweeted.

There's probably an easy way to re-order your tweets so that they read top to bottom as opposed to bottom to top. Alas, if this is the case, I am not smart enough to figure it out. So if you'd like to read the tweets in the order they were tweeted, go to the bottom of this post and start there.

Puritan Reformed Conference

There is still time to register for the fourth annual Puritan Reformed Conference, held August 23-25 in Grand Rapids. Joel Beeke, David Murray, Burk Parsons and Derek Thomas will be among the great lineup of speakers at the conference, which this year follows the theme of "The Beauty and Glory of the Father."

Click here to register online. The schedule for the conference is as follows:

August 23 (Thursday evening)

6:00 – 7:00pm
Registration

7:00 – 8:00pm
Welcome, Prayer, & Singing
Opening Message – Jerry Bilkes, Father and Son in the Exodus (Hos.11:1, etc.)

8:15 – 9:15pm
Plenary Session #1 – Derek Thomas, The Holiness of the Father in the Old Testament

9:15 – 10:15pm
Exhibits Open – 10:15pm, Day One ends


August 24 (Friday)

8:30 – 9:00am
Registration

9:00 – 10:30am
Welcome, Prayer, & Singing
Plenary Session #2 – Bart Elshout, The Father’s Love for His Son (Jn.3:35)

11:00am – 12:00pm
Plenary Session #3 – Burk Parsons, The Father’s Beautiful Hand of Blessed Chastisement (Heb.12:4-13)

12:00 – 1:45pm
Lunch Break

2:00 – 315pm
Plenary Session #4 – Ryan McGraw – The Need for a Trinitarian Piety

3:30 – 4:30pm
Breakout Sessions:

David Murray, Counseling and the Fatherhood of God
Burk Parsons, The Glory of the Father in the High-Priestly Prayer of Christ (Jn.17)
Paul Smalley, Richard Sibbes on the Mercy and Faithfulness of the Father
William VanDoodewaard, Your Father in Heaven (Mt.5-7)

4:30 – 6:30pm
Dinner Break

6:30 – 7:00pm
Special Music – TBD

7:00 – 8:15pm
Plenary Session #5 – Joel Beeke, The Apostle John and the Puritans on the Father’s Adopting, Transforming Love

8:30 – 9:15pm
Q&A Session (moderated by David Murray)

Joel Beeke
Derek Thomas
Burk Parsons
Bart Elshout

9:15 – 10pm
Exhibits open – 10:00–10:45pm, Day two ends


August 25 (Saturday)

9:00 – 10:30am
Welcome, Prayer & Singing
Plenary Session #6 – William VanDoodewaard, The Father’s Mercy (1Pet.1:3-5)

10:45 – 11:45am
Plenary Session #7 – Derek Thomas, Seeing the Father in the Face of Jesus (Jn.14:9)

11:45am – 12:00pm
Closing Song & Prayer – 12:00pm, Day three ends

PRTS Conference: The Glory of the Father

Joel Beeke, Burk Parsons and Derek Thomas will be among the great lineup of speakers at the fourth annual Puritan Reformed Conference, held August 23-25 in Grand Rapids. I attended the last two years when the conference themes were The Beauty and Glory of the Holy Spirit and The Beauty and Glory of the Son. This year's theme is (not  surprisingly) "The Beauty and Glory of the Father." Each of the conferences I have been to has been a blessing to my soul, and I have every confidence that this one will be no different.

Space is limited and they are almost certain to end up having to turn people away for this conference, so don't hesitate; click here to register online before July 22 and receive the early registration rate of just $65. I am steadfastly convinced that there is not a better value available anywhere for this type of conference. There are even great deals available for hotel rooms in connection with the conference.

The schedule for the conference is as follows:

August 23 (Thursday evening)

6:00 – 7:00pm
Registration

7:00 – 8:00pm
Welcome, Prayer, & Singing
Opening Message – Jerry Bilkes, Father and Son in the Exodus (Hos.11:1, etc.)

8:15 – 9:15pm
Plenary Session #1 – Derek Thomas, The Holiness of the Father in the Old Testament

9:15 – 10:15pm
Exhibits Open – 10:15pm, Day One ends


August 24 (Friday)

8:30 – 9:00am
Registration

9:00 – 10:30am
Welcome, Prayer, & Singing
Plenary Session #2 – Bart Elshout, The Father’s Love for His Son (Jn.3:35)

11:00am – 12:00pm
Plenary Session #3 – Burk Parsons, The Father’s Beautiful Hand of Blessed Chastisement (Heb.12:4-13)

12:00 – 1:45pm
Lunch Break

2:00 – 315pm
Plenary Session #4 – Ryan McGraw – The Need for a Trinitarian Piety

3:30 – 4:30pm
Breakout Sessions:

David Murray, Counseling and the Fatherhood of God
Burk Parsons, The Glory of the Father in the High-Priestly Prayer of Christ (Jn.17)
Paul Smalley, Richard Sibbes on the Mercy and Faithfulness of the Father
William VanDoodewaard, Your Father in Heaven (Mt.5-7)

4:30 – 6:30pm
Dinner Break

6:30 – 7:00pm
Special Music – TBD

7:00 – 8:15pm
Plenary Session #5 – Joel Beeke, The Apostle John and the Puritans on the Father’s Adopting, Transforming Love

8:30 – 9:15pm
Q&A Session (moderated by David Murray)

Joel Beeke
Derek Thomas
Burk Parsons
Bart Elshout

9:15 – 10pm
Exhibits open – 10:00–10:45pm, Day two ends


August 25 (Saturday)

9:00 – 10:30am
Welcome, Prayer & Singing
Plenary Session #6 – William VanDoodewaard, The Father’s Mercy (1Pet.1:3-5)

10:45 – 11:45am
Plenary Session #7 – Derek Thomas, Seeing the Father in the Face of Jesus (Jn.14:9)

11:45am – 12:00pm
Closing Song & Prayer – 12:00pm, Day three ends

Valentine's Day and the Song of Solomon

At Valentine's Day, I've noticed a number of bloggers have turned their attention to the Song of Solomon. I suppose this is to be expected. Whatever exactly this book of the Bible talks about, it clearly does so using terms of romantic love.

Throughout history, Christians have had many reactions to the Song. One is to completely ignore it out of discomfort with the subject matter. It goes without saying that with any part of Scripture, this is an unacceptable attitude.

For those who do look to the Song, there are various ways it has been interpreted. Some within the Church have allegorized it, contending that it is solely about God and his relationship with the church, and it has nothing to say about romantic love between individuals.Yet another way that some have dealt with it is by turning it into nothing more than a marriage manual, neglecting altogether what it might have to say to us about God, and specifically Jesus Christ. To apply either of these approaches, in my opinion, is to fall terribly short of understanding what God is telling us in this book.

A couple years ago at the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Conference, Dr. Iain Campbell preached what was not only the best sermon I've ever heard on the Song, but was (especially in its second half) one of my favorite sermons ever on any text. Click on the player below to listen to it.

The Beauty & Glory of the Holy Spirit

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Conference in Grand Rapids. The conference's theme this year was The Beauty & Glory of the Holy Spirit, and for the second straight year, I found the teaching excellent, the fellowship wonderful, and the facilities/physical arrangements splendid.  I am already looking forward to attending the conference again in the future, and my only concern is that it is such a great conference that it is no doubt bound to grow, which I fear might change its atmosphere some.

It is always difficult to "rank" such things, but I think my favorite message was the final one of the conference, delivered by Geoff Thomas.  You can click here to listen to the messages from the conference, and I especially recommend clicking here to listen to Thomas's message on The Love of the Spirit.  Here is a snippet of what he shared (minus his wonderful Welsh accent):

Think, think if you still aren’t captivated with the wonder of the Holy Spirit loving you. Think, think of him coming into your heart and mind and indwelling you. 

Imagine I lived in London now and not in my fair principality and my drains were all clogged, so I phoned Buckingham Palace and had a little chat with the queen and I said to her, “Your Majesty, I’m having a problem with my drains. Now can Phillip and Charles and William and Andrew…can you send the boys along to clear my sewage pipes?”

Well you’ve got to have such men, and it’s a noble work that they do. But they would not be members of the royal family, would they? Now you multiply by infinity and here is the Holy Spirit. And he’s coming into hearts that are desperately deceitful. And he’s coming, rolling up his sleeves to clean up the mess that we’ve made of our lives. The holiest being that ever has been or ever will be, coming into such intimate contact with our depravity.

He is the spirit of Jesus Christ, isn’t he? He came, he came and pitched his tent in the dark valley of this world. He came where men crucify other men. He came where the blasphemies are, where men gamble for the clothes of those they’re torturing to death. And he came there, he came into the closest contact with us. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came because he loved us.

And the Holy Spirit, he comes into sinful flesh, he comes to set up his abode in us, to visit such polluted hearts. And ceaselessly and patiently and constantly to woo us with many groanings and many trials. And slowly and tentatively turning us around, maturing us and making us do good. And never, never, never leaving us for a moment, until through his wonderful work within us we have been won entirely and the old man is no more and we are the new man, and we are creatures and when we see our Savior we shall be like him, for we will see him as he is! And it’s this work, with this goal in mind, he’s made up his mind to do it in every one of his elect!

2011 Puritan Reformed Conference: The Beauty & Glory of the Holy Spirit

August 25-27, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary will be hosting the third annual Puritan Reformed Conference, with a theme of The Beauty & Glory of the Holy Spirit.  Last August I had the opportunity to attend, and as I've mentioned elsewhere, it was a wonderful blessing to me.

I greatly enjoy conferences, and have been to a number of them.  What makes this one special though, is the fact that beyond the great teaching, it has certain advantages over many other conferences.  First of all, it is a much smaller conference than many others.  While there is something to be said for the likes of larger conferences like The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God and T4G, I found the more intimate setting to be very appealing.  This provided an opportunity to actually discourse with some of the speakers in between sessions and I even got to share meals with a couple of them.

Beyond this, one of the most amazing aspects of this conference is the price.  Early registration (good through June 16th) is only $65!  This, combined with the reasonably priced lodging that Grand Rapids provides, makes this conference by far the best deal going for an event of its sort.

If you live in or near Michigan (and perhaps even if you don't), I highly recommend you take advantage of this great opportunity.  Click here to see the conference schedule and click here to register.

PRTS has put together the short video below overviewing last year's conference.

Mid-Michigan Conference on Reformed Theology

The Seventh Annual  Mid-Michigan Conference on Reformed Theology is scheduled for October 30, beginning at 10 am.  This one day conference is held by the congregation I serve, Calvary Presbyterian Church in Flint, Michigan.  We are extremely pleased to announce that our speakers this year are Dr. Joel Beeke and his fellow professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Dr. David Murray.

The theme of this year's conference is  "Reformation Family Living in the 21st Century."  In his two talks, Dr. Beeke will address The Puritan View of Marriage and The Puritan View of Child Rearing.  Dr. Murray's talks will focus on What John Knox Would Say to Our Families Today and God's Technology in Our Famililes. The day will be capped off with a Q&A time with both men.

The cost is extremely reasonable with an early registration fee (before October 15) of $12 per person with children living at home attending for free.  There will be a hot lunch served at the church for an additional $5 per person which promises not only to be delicious, but will serve as a wonderful opportunity to fellowship with other conference attendees.

Click here to get a brochure, and feel free to send me an email with any questions you might have at Pete@CalvaryPresbyterianChurch.com.

PRTS Conference

I went to the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Conference last week, and let me tell you, it was absolutely FANTASTIC! Without question, it was one of the best conferences I've ever attended. The messages delivered were absolutely top-notch, and the conference was small enough to be conducive to fellowship with other attendees as well as providing the opportunity to interact personally with many of the speakers.

The audio for this conference is available online at SermonAudio.com. I would commend it all to you, but I would especially like to recommend The Song of David's Son by Iain Campbell. This was quite simply one of the best sermons I've ever heard. I've already listened to it three times and been more richly blessed by it each time I've heard it. I hope you get a chance to listen to it and are similarly blessed.

Puritan Reformed Conference

Here's another great conference for those of you in or near Michigan. Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary will host the second annual Puritan Reformed Conference August 26-28 in Grand Rapids. The theme will be "The Beauty and Glory of Christ" and the list of speakers is top notch, including Joel Beeke, Iain Campbell, David Murray, Richard Phillips and many others. Click here for the conference schedule.

The conference is priced very reasonably at $65 if you register by August 14, rising to $90 after that. There is a special student rate of only $25 for college and seminary students and their spouses, and single day rates are also available. Registration closes August 24.