Ligonier London Conference 2023

Chris L, Mike R, Sinclair F, Steve L, Burk P

Steve Lawson

Back in 2019 Ligonier Ministries organised their first London Conference in Westminster Central Hall. Last Friday and Saturday they were finally able to have a second conference. This time we were in the slightly smaller Westminster Chapel, whih was a wise decision. We really missed Alistair Begg but the other speakers all did well ion the whole.

We started with an extra bit for ministers. In that session Steve Lawson preached a typically robust call to Preach the Word and then Mike Reeves spoke helpfully on prayer. (I thought it very interesting to hear that Spurgeon once said of public prayer, “I am not able to see any reason for depriving me of the holiest, sweetest, and most profitable exercise which my Lord has allotted me; if I have my choice, I will sooner yield up the sermon than the prayer.” [See his lecture on it to his stundents]). We also had an excellent expositon of Jude from Sinclair Ferguson and the final message was from Burk Parsons on ordinary means. There was also a worthwhile Q&A.

We did not reconvene until 3 in the afternoon for the start of the conference proper. Entitled Pilrims and Exiles the conference addresses looked at verses from the opening chapters of 1 Peter. On that first day we had Ken Mbugua on Elect Exiles, Mark Johnston on The Salvation of Exiles Prophesied and Our Living Hope in Exile by Burk Parsons. By this time it was very hot, perhaps more difficult to concentrate. I certainly found it so.

We reconvened the next day to hear four more messages and to listen to two Q&A sessions. We heard Holy Living in Exile by Michael Reeves, Foreknown for the Sake of Exiles by Steve Nichols, The Word of God for Exiles by Steven Lawson and finished on a high note with Honourable Conduct in Exile by Sinclair Ferguson. The chairman throughout was Chris Larson.

About 600 were present I guess from 27 different countries. One could do without the regular applause for preachers that was felt necessary and the little band for some of the hymns is just what people do these days. The main thing was to hear the Word faithfully expounded, to meet friends old and new and to see the wonderful bookstall. If yoou love the Word you can only wish Ligonier well.

Set your Sproul free

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Ligonier London Conference

Mike Reeves and Mez McConnell on the question panel proving that these Reformed types are all just clones of each other

Today and yesterday evening I have been attending the first Ligonier Conference on the British mainland. We met in the huge Westminster Central Hall. I guess there were about 800 present. I know about 10% of the people present, mostly ministers. A diverse group gathered not just from the UK but further afield too. I met people from Germany, Italy and the USA plus Scots, Welsh, English and the pastor of the Korean church that meets in our building on Sunday afternoons. Two of my sons and their wives and several other family members were present.

The conference was well organised and what one might have expected from a group like Ligonier keen to expand their work among the Lord's people and beyond. Several men spoke - Mark Johnston and Alistair Begg on the Friday night; Al Mohler and Sinclair Ferguson this morning; Mike Reeves and Burk Parsons this afternoon. There was also a panel with Drs Ferguson and Reeves plus Jeremy Walker from Crawley, Paul Levy from London and Mez McConnell from Edinburgh.

Obviously some speakers got on better than others but it was all worth hearing. The applause got a bit much, it is true, but our American hosts did their very best to adapt otherwise. Lovely to see so many old friends.

The messages are all here.