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.

Lord's Day N Ireland August 15 2021

Arpingstone, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Last Lord's Day was a little different as we were away from home and staying with others. We had also decided to fly back to the mainland from N Ireland that evening. In the end we joined the Portadown Elim congregation online in the morning with four others. This was not quite what we are used to, although Mount Pleasant the week before had prepared us. The sermon was from a member called Ken Henning, an MBE and former police chief, who preached helpfully from 1 Corinthians 13. We should have been better organised and set up to watch something in the evening but failed there and so I found myself buying my wife perfume not something I often do, especially on the Lord's Day! We flew from Belfast to Cardiff and then drove on to a holiday place near Aber. One sad aspect to the day was to know I was so near Richhill EPC and not be able to attend.

Grove Chapel Bicentenary

It was good to be at the bicentenary celebration in Grove Chapel, Camberwell, this afternoon, part of a weekend of meetings. We have no particular connection with the chapel but it is a bastion of Reformed preaching and there were many people present who we know (as well as many we don't). There have been ten ministers over the 200 years. I know the five still living to speak to and know the names of others like Joseph Irons, the founder pastor and Henry Atherton. Those still living with the dates when they served are Iain Murray (1961-69), Hywel Jones (1970-80), David N Jones (1981-93), Mark Johnston (1994-2010) and Paul Yeulett (from 2014). (Do note the celtic flavour that persists over the years). This afternoon Paul preached on God the Father (although it was really on all three persons). Reuel Abrahams, one of the elders chaired. Nice tea to follow and plenty of chats. We skipped the Q&A.

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.

Affinity Study Conference 2019 Worship Day 1

I've been away and there are a few gaps to fill but I have come straight to the Affinity Study Conference and want to report on that before I do anything else.

Good to be here once again at the King's Park Centre with the usual crowd plus or minus a few. We kicked off with papers from Mark Johnston and David Kirk, one an Ulster man in Wales the other an English/Welshman in Scotland. Mark opened up with a biblical theology and David gave us a New Testament study. There was some overlap in treatment but no obvious disagreements. The format is that we have been sent all six papers beforehand and the speakers are given five or six minutes to summarise them. Questions are then asked in plenary session before dividing into small groups. We then reconvene for further discussion.

Example quotes

Johnston (quoting Michael Morales Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? Nottingham: Apollos, IVP, 2015, 39-74).

The seventh day is not only the first to be blessed, and the only day mentioned three times, but it is also the first object ever to be set apart as holy by God. Moreover, the seventh day is the only object of sanctification in the entire book of Genesis; “he sanctified/made it holy” is the book’s only verbal use of the root qds.

Kirk: Gathering is not primarily for practicing a defined set of rituals; it is the fundamental context for the expression of the common life of the members.

Aber 2018 Second evening Mark Johnston

Good to hear (still virtually I'm afraid though I am now in Aber) Mark Johnston preaching from Hebrews 11. A blessing to hear. Nice to hear Reuben Saywell read and pray. Here.

LTS Annual Service 2015

The annual LTS service when the students come to the end of their course is always a special occasion and we try to get along. This year some nine students had finished the two year course and were going on to further studies or pastoral ministry. Three are UK students and six from elsewhere. In the Principal's report he reminded us that one of the factors for deciding on membership of the EU is the present ease with which such students can come and study here. He also mentioned the many books currently coming out by those connected with the seminary on one way or another. The visiting preacher was to have been Sinclair Ferguson but he could not come and so his place was taken by Mark Johnston who preached from 1 Thessalonians 2. Tea on the lawn and a chat with friends old and new is always an added bonus.

Banner blogged

Sadly, I had to leave before the final session at Banner, when Mark Johnston preached. I understand he was looking at trembling at God's Word. I'm sure it was fine. I also missed the question session yesterday which was a pity.
It has been a very good conference. Garry Williams two contributions were outstanding. It has all been pretty good, although some wouldn't have liked certain elements. I stayed up rather late each night (with Martin Downes, Jeremy Walker and others), which made getting to the morning prayer meetings rather difficult. It's lovely to chat though at night and through the day. On Wednesday afternoon I forsook the football field and headed off to nearby Bosworth Field in Gary Benfold's car. Brian Ellis from the Philippines, Mark Fisher from the Heath and Phil Arthur were with us. After a little drive into the countryside we came to the site, which is fairly well marked out but not as well as in the past according to Phil, the expert on all this. Anyway when we got back to the Visitor Centre a very helpful guide explained that archaeologists have been at work and major doubts had now been cast on the traditional site of Richard III's death. There are basically three theories and the jury is still out. Things are often more complicated than they appear at first.
On Wednesday night there was a gathering of the Taffia and co. There were so many crammed into Guy Davies' room that some sadly decided the heat was too much. Geoff was interviewing Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson. It was mostly an update on the great man's current very encouraging situation. He has just begun preaching through Romans in the ARP church he pastors in S Carolina (this a man who owns over a hundred Romans commentaries - he's currently on Origen which he's reading along with the letters of Ronald Reagan). Fascinating time.
My early departure was because I wanted to get down to South Wales. A bonus feature was meeting up with John Nicholls heading north to Cumbria for the weekend. He bought me a coffee (have I ever paid for my own?) and we had a nice half hour before parting.