Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 8 (Morning 4)

David Meredith preached on the final morning from Acts 4, a bold move. One of the last things he said was to remind us of that time when there was a Party Conference of the Liberal party and the Liberals had won a couple of seats. They were really excited and the leader of the party said "Let us go back to the country and prepare for government". And they were annihilated at the next general election. We are going to be leaving Aber, he said. He was not saying, "Let us go go back and prepare for government" but that we should proclaim the word of God boldly and as we proclaim that word make it a matter of prayer. ray that the room will shake through seriousness in prayer.

Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 5 (Morning 3)

David Meredith preached this morning on Jonah, focusing on the revival in Nineveh, which he took as a genuine one.

Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 4 (Morning 2)

David Meredith continued his series on revival, looking very helpfully at Psalm 126. He referred to Alexander Fraser of Tain and his interesting comment following a revival when he was a visiting student in a church in Argyllshire, in a little place called Drumlemble. He was asked how he coped preaching night after night for many weeks given he only had a few sermons. He wrote "I told him that when fishermen come up from England in the south to fish in their northern rivers for trout and salmon, they bring their fine rods and their newest flies, their gear and their gaffes and all the rest. They flail away and flog our rivers and catch little enough. Then the rain comes. And a wee fellow from a village with a rod that's little more than a stick and a line that he has found somewhere, a hook if he is fortunate and a pin if he is not, comes along and does as well as any of them. The truth is, you can do an awful lot with very little when the spate comes."

Aberystwyth Conference 2024 Session 2 (Morning 1)

The main speaker at Aber tbis year is David Meredith from Scotland. He has chosen to speak on the important subject of revival. He began this morning by taking us through the first 14 verses of the famous chapter, Ezekiel 37. A recording can be found at the EMW YouTube Website here.  

Affinity Meeting 2023

Paul Yeulett introducing the Theological Study Conference 2025

There was another opportunity to hear about the work of Affinity yesterday and as it was at London Seminary, on my doorstep, I gladly took the opportunity to go along. My new assistant Eddie is living at the seminary so it was an oppoortuntity to catch up with him too. Graham Nicholls works for Affnity only one day a week officially but he does seem to lap up the opportunities to speak on local radio, etc, and get the evangelical viewpoint acoss. We ought to be thankful for that. Finances are okay and the work of Foundations, the social issues bulletin, the theological conference, etc, all carry on too. Nice to catch up with Mark Thomas and others too. How encouraging.

Affinity Meeting 2022

A little while ago I recevied a communication from Affinity, an umbrella organisation that we belong to as a  church. The email informed me that now they are a cio they were obliged to hold an annual meeting and I was invited to attend either in person or online. It seemed like an obvious thing to attend - and in person as it was being held in North London not far from where I live (at the Highbury Centre). Anyway, I went along last Monday and as it turned out I was the only one to turn up in person apart from the committee! There were also eight online. (In the deep and distant past I served on the BEC committee that predates this one). It was good to hear Graham Nicholls and others reporting on the various activities (finance, Foundations, the coming theological conference, media opps, etc). I knew several of the committee and enjoyed meeting more of them. They even stood me a meal, which was kind. Affinity is a great idea and it was good to touch base afresh.

BTW theyve just revamped their website. Check it out here.

Aber 2015 Last Session

Our final plenary session at Aber featured Paul Gamston preaching on Luke 13. He sought to apply the principles of the passage to those of us at the conference and hearing him there or online (as I had had to be with one of my sons in A & E following the football - he's alright). It was especially good to hear a clear gospel appeal, something that has not been so prominent as in the past, perhaps.

It has been a good conference on the whole. I have not attended any of the extra time or prime time sessions or prayer meetings or anything like that but I did get to the three afternoon seminars - David Meredith on contemporary evangelism, Phil Hill on backsliding and (best attended of the three) Paul David Tripp on relationships. The first two included helpful discussion.

Of course, it is also good to meet various folk. I might have mentioned our meeting up with three other couples, most of whom had been contemporaries with me at University. There was also a family celebration one lunch time with a large number of relatives most of whom have been at the conference. We had lunch today too with a former assistant at Childs Hill and his family and this afternoon I had coffee with a Facebook friend keen to meet face to face.

So a great week. The EMW Youtube Channel seems a little erratic at present but some of the messages are up and running and presumably they will all be eventually (as are the 2014 ones).

Aber 2015 Evening session 04/Fourth morning sessions

So we are coming to the end of the conference and the main speakers have already spoken. Paul David Tripp spoke on Thursday evening from Psalm 27. He told us at the beginning of the conference how ill he has been recently and that this was his first engagement since that. Speaking these three times and in other meetings has been quite draining. I liked the way he ended urging us to start the day by gazing on God, then remembering who we are (no identity amnesia) and resting in God alone before acting in the day.

This morning (Friday) David Meredith gave his final message from Joshua, from Joshua 18 (chiefly) speaking of a day that was good, fair but dangerous and a day of promise. These have been fine expository messages in a book that we may easily be tempted to neglect. What a privilege to be there.

Aberystwyth 2015 Evening session 03/Second and third morning sessions

As tends to happen I've gotten a bit behind with my reports but let me rectify that. Since the report we have had Paul David Tripp's second evening message. This one was from Mark 8 and Jesus walking on the water. The Tuesday night was amazingly good I knew that the next night couldn't come with the same impact and it didn't. I was also feeling rather tired, which didn't help.

Meanwhile in the mornings David Meredith has been pressing ahead with Joshua. On Wednesday morning he looked at the Gibeonite deception in Chapter 9 and this morning (Thursday) at the daughters of Zelophehad in Chapter 17. Both were good solid expositions from the text with application. Wednesday's burden was for us to be discernment, to show integrity, to choose carefully and to remember grace. This morning it was the need to realise that people suffer, to find relief from suffering in God, who has a special place in his heart for his people for his people who suffer and noting that even when a person suffers and it is his own fault there should be compassion.

He gave a striking quote from Robert Murray M'Cheyne (it's quoted in Francis Chan's Crazy love which may be the source)

"I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day. I fear there are many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians because they do not love to give.

To give largely and liberally, not grudgingly at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money.

Oh my friends! Enjoy your money; make the most of it; give none away; enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity."

So we are being well fed here and our responsibility to act on what we have heard is growing by the minute.

Aberystwyth Conference 2015 First am session

This morning we had the first of our morning sessions with Scotsman David Meredith. He preached a fine expository sermon from Joshua 1 looking at the strong promises, everlasting presence, dominating precept and united people as found in the chapter. He had some nice illustrations including unused restaurant vouchers being like neglected promises and one I've heard him use before about his son turning orange due to a surfeit of carrot juice (though he didn't really press home the application - getting filled with the Word). People really appreciated this ministry. See here for recording.

Aber Conference Evening Addresses

Gwynn Williams

The pattern at Aber is to have four morning addresses given by one main speaker and various other speakers who speak in the five evening meetings. People book their accommodation from Saturday to Saturday and so  with so many people about, arrangements are made so that everyone can go to church. First, the EMW themselves organise services in one of the chapels. This year the preachers were Ollie Gross and Paul Kosciecha. Meanwhile, the regular Alfred Place congregation move over the street to Bethel, where my father-in-law Geoff Thomas preaches. For many years now he has done series which also includes a third stripped down service on Monday morning, that I usually lead. Geoff tackled Deuteronomy 29:29 looking at the secret  things (such as when Christ will return) and the revealed things (such as how to be contented). As ever, the series was very much appreciated, people ordering loads of CDs.

Geoff was also the main speaker on the first evening of the conference proper where in the warmest and most pleading terms, arms open wide, called upon all to strive to enter the narrow gate.

Paul Levy (Swansea boy now a neighbour of mine in Ealing) spoke on the second evening on the blind man of Luke 18. This was done very competently with occasional humorous asides and lots of exegesis. Perhaps it lacked a little urgency.

David Meredith of Smithton-Culloden Free Church (yes, yet another Presbyterian) was given two nights as men sometimes are. Again very competent, he took us, successively, to Acts 1 and Acts 2. The two messages were full of good things, chiefly for believers. In his attempts at self-criticism he perhaps gave the impression of being rather negative about some Christians but his intentions were good. The suggestion that Christians are arguing over the colour of the hymn book was rather bizarre and inaccurate. I'd not heard that quip before that when we freeze water, we make ice cubes. When God freezes water, he makes snowflakes – each one different (apparently Vaughan Roberts at the Lausanne Conference last year)

Gwynn Williams (Caerdydd) closed the conference well tonight with an encouraging message from the close of Romans 16 as we leave the glass house of the conference and head back to reality.

So good solid preaching, not much of it very expository or evangelistic but heartening nevertheless. To sit with 1200 others and listen was a joy indeed.