T4G’08 Audio

All sermon audio for the Together for the Gospel conference can be found here.

Each of the sermons spoke to me in unique ways. Listen to all of them

T4G'08 Audio

All sermon audio for the Together for the Gospel conference can be found here.

Each of the sermons spoke to me in unique ways. Listen to all of them

T4G’08 Day 3

This was the final day for the conference, and it turned out to be no less challenging than the prior two. John Piper and C.J. Mahaney were our final two speakers, and they did not disappoint.

John Piper’s topic was How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice. For me, I had to catch myself a few times because slowly I would begin paying more attention to Piper’s particular style of preaching – which I rather enjoy – rather than the content. The question of what creates radical Christian sacrifice is answered very succinctly in selected verses from Hebrews chapters 10 to 13. And that answer is looking to our great reward. I know that some people disagree vehemently with that conclusion, but the Scriptures state it very clearly, with no need for further systematic study. It says what it says.

The part of Piper’s sermon that challenged me the most is from Hebrews 13:13.

Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

It would be erroneous to say that Jesus is not meeting us in our churches. But it would also be erroneous to say He wants to only meet us in our churches. Every time we gather to worship He meets us and calls us to follow Him outside the camp. The camp is a place of safety. Outside the camp is a place of danger and shame and loneliness. To not follow Him would not only be to disobey Him, but also to miss the sweetest fellowship we can have with Him on this earth. The thing each of us needs to figure out for ourselves is, “Where is outside the camp for me?”

C.J. Mahaney gave the final sermon and it was probably the most encouraging sermon of the whole conference. Which really doesn’t surprise me since C.J. appears to be the person most blessed with encouragement of all the people who spoke. Love, humility and encouragement seem to exude from C.J. It was a blessing to have him numbered among the speakers at this conference. He spoke to us, primarily, about the cultivation of joy. The things that struck me the most were all related to gratefulness toward God. The most pointed statement made concerning gratefulness was that without consistent thankfulness, we will be tempted to complain. The sin of complaining is pervasive and actually contends with God for supremacy. When we complain, we presume to be more wise than God. In ministry, there is always the temptation to complain about this or that. Ministry is never absent of opportunities to murmur and grumble. If we are not thankful, those temptations may have us.

All in all, this conference is probably the single most inspiring conference I have ever attended. Not only was I encouraged, but I was challenged, I was touched, and I am ready. I don’t want to seem to idealistic here. I know that there is a difference in the experience at the conference and the experience of real life. As C.J. put it so well, “Church life is a carousel of victory and defeat.” All I’m saying is that I feel better equipped and prepared to ride the carousel. You can pray for us. Pray for Pastor Sean, Pastor Trevor, and myself as we work out and integrate the things we learned at the conference, first in our personal lives and families, and then in the church; not only for your benefit, but most importantly for the Glory of God in Jesus Christ.

T4G'08 Day 3

This was the final day for the conference, and it turned out to be no less challenging than the prior two. John Piper and C.J. Mahaney were our final two speakers, and they did not disappoint.

John Piper’s topic was How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice. For me, I had to catch myself a few times because slowly I would begin paying more attention to Piper’s particular style of preaching – which I rather enjoy – rather than the content. The question of what creates radical Christian sacrifice is answered very succinctly in selected verses from Hebrews chapters 10 to 13. And that answer is looking to our great reward. I know that some people disagree vehemently with that conclusion, but the Scriptures state it very clearly, with no need for further systematic study. It says what it says.

The part of Piper’s sermon that challenged me the most is from Hebrews 13:13.

Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

It would be erroneous to say that Jesus is not meeting us in our churches. But it would also be erroneous to say He wants to only meet us in our churches. Every time we gather to worship He meets us and calls us to follow Him outside the camp. The camp is a place of safety. Outside the camp is a place of danger and shame and loneliness. To not follow Him would not only be to disobey Him, but also to miss the sweetest fellowship we can have with Him on this earth. The thing each of us needs to figure out for ourselves is, “Where is outside the camp for me?”

C.J. Mahaney gave the final sermon and it was probably the most encouraging sermon of the whole conference. Which really doesn’t surprise me since C.J. appears to be the person most blessed with encouragement of all the people who spoke. Love, humility and encouragement seem to exude from C.J. It was a blessing to have him numbered among the speakers at this conference. He spoke to us, primarily, about the cultivation of joy. The things that struck me the most were all related to gratefulness toward God. The most pointed statement made concerning gratefulness was that without consistent thankfulness, we will be tempted to complain. The sin of complaining is pervasive and actually contends with God for supremacy. When we complain, we presume to be more wise than God. In ministry, there is always the temptation to complain about this or that. Ministry is never absent of opportunities to murmur and grumble. If we are not thankful, those temptations may have us.

All in all, this conference is probably the single most inspiring conference I have ever attended. Not only was I encouraged, but I was challenged, I was touched, and I am ready. I don’t want to seem to idealistic here. I know that there is a difference in the experience at the conference and the experience of real life. As C.J. put it so well, “Church life is a carousel of victory and defeat.” All I’m saying is that I feel better equipped and prepared to ride the carousel. You can pray for us. Pray for Pastor Sean, Pastor Trevor, and myself as we work out and integrate the things we learned at the conference, first in our personal lives and families, and then in the church; not only for your benefit, but most importantly for the Glory of God in Jesus Christ.

T4G’08 Day Two

There’s no way I’m going to be able to fit everything from today into one blog entry and simultaneously, keep is reasonably short. Here’s the synopsis of the day:

• Session 1 – John McArthur
  Topic: The Sinner Neither Able or Willing – The Doctrine of Absolute Inability
• Session 2 – Mark Dever
  Topic: Improving the Gospel – Exercises in Unbiblical Theology
• Session 3 – R.C. Sproul
  Topic: The Curse Motif of the Atonement
• Session 4 – Al Mohler
  Topic: Why Do They Hate It So? – The Doctrine of Substitution

I’ll start at the top. I’ve never heard John McArthur speak before (in person) so I’m kind of a McArthur newbie. I haven’t read any of his books, so my slate for John McArthur is pretty clean. He presented a superb teaching about the doctrine of depravity. In my opinion I would almost say a water-tight argument. I say almost only because I’m not smart enough to ask the right questions which would attempt to poke holes in his superb presentation.

Next was Mark Dever. I had some issues with him. In his argument to protect the Gospel from “improvements” he basically ruled out all opportunities for contextualization of the message. Basically that just means our attempts to make the Gospel relevant. I disagree with that. No matter what your approach you always present the Gospel to people in language they will understand, which is contextualization. I do agree with him that the Gospel should never be reduced to pragmatism. Pragmatism changes the Gospel to a message that sacrifices the least amount of depth for the most amount of converts. Put another way, you decide, based upon your context, the presentation of the Gospel that will win the most people to Christ. We should never choose a “version” of the Gospel for evangelism. It should be the whole Gospel, or none at all.

R.C. Sproul was the third speaker today. All I can say is it is perhaps the best sermon I have EVER heard. I leaned over to Sean and said, “That might be the best sermon I’ve ever heard . . . no offense.” He agreed. I must confess I was so wrapped up and captivated by the message that I took few notes. I will definitely provide a link to this sermon once it becomes available. Everyone should hear it. Sean said it made him want to get saved all over again. I felt the weight and presence of the Holy Spirit when R.C. spoke (not that it was him) like I have with few people in my life. It was truly one of those moments in life I will not soon forget.

Our final speaker for the day was Al Mohler. I must admit that by the time 7:00 PM rolled around I was fatigued and mentally exhausted. But nonetheless, I tried to keep up. It goes without saying that Al Mohler did a superb job with defending the doctrine of atonement and explaining why people despise it. He is an intellectual giant, a great speaker, and he did an excellent presentation. Too bad I was incapable of keeping up with him by this time of the night. If they offer a place to submit comments and suggestions for 2010, I’m going to suggest that Al Mohler be the mid-morning speaker. The grogginess of early morning and fatigue of late evening aren’t conducive to keep pace with him.

A few side issues. Sean and I did not get to meet John Piper today, despite that we were first in line to meet him. For some reason, he did not come to the afternoon session. We’ll try again tomorrow.

I did get to speak with the worship leader, Bob Kauflin, for a few moments tonight. I was actually impressed that he vaguely knew who I was. He read my name tag and told me my name was familiar. Several months ago I had made a series of comments on his blog. When I told him that it all came back to him.

John Piper is first thing in the morning. He’s the one I am wanting to hear most, but I must admit that topping R.C. Sproul’s sermon today is going to be difficult even for Piper.

Day three next.

T4G'08 Day Two

There’s no way I’m going to be able to fit everything from today into one blog entry and simultaneously, keep is reasonably short. Here’s the synopsis of the day:

• Session 1 – John McArthur
  Topic: The Sinner Neither Able or Willing – The Doctrine of Absolute Inability
• Session 2 – Mark Dever
  Topic: Improving the Gospel – Exercises in Unbiblical Theology
• Session 3 – R.C. Sproul
  Topic: The Curse Motif of the Atonement
• Session 4 – Al Mohler
  Topic: Why Do They Hate It So? – The Doctrine of Substitution

I’ll start at the top. I’ve never heard John McArthur speak before (in person) so I’m kind of a McArthur newbie. I haven’t read any of his books, so my slate for John McArthur is pretty clean. He presented a superb teaching about the doctrine of depravity. In my opinion I would almost say a water-tight argument. I say almost only because I’m not smart enough to ask the right questions which would attempt to poke holes in his superb presentation.

Next was Mark Dever. I had some issues with him. In his argument to protect the Gospel from “improvements” he basically ruled out all opportunities for contextualization of the message. Basically that just means our attempts to make the Gospel relevant. I disagree with that. No matter what your approach you always present the Gospel to people in language they will understand, which is contextualization. I do agree with him that the Gospel should never be reduced to pragmatism. Pragmatism changes the Gospel to a message that sacrifices the least amount of depth for the most amount of converts. Put another way, you decide, based upon your context, the presentation of the Gospel that will win the most people to Christ. We should never choose a “version” of the Gospel for evangelism. It should be the whole Gospel, or none at all.

R.C. Sproul was the third speaker today. All I can say is it is perhaps the best sermon I have EVER heard. I leaned over to Sean and said, “That might be the best sermon I’ve ever heard . . . no offense.” He agreed. I must confess I was so wrapped up and captivated by the message that I took few notes. I will definitely provide a link to this sermon once it becomes available. Everyone should hear it. Sean said it made him want to get saved all over again. I felt the weight and presence of the Holy Spirit when R.C. spoke (not that it was him) like I have with few people in my life. It was truly one of those moments in life I will not soon forget.

Our final speaker for the day was Al Mohler. I must admit that by the time 7:00 PM rolled around I was fatigued and mentally exhausted. But nonetheless, I tried to keep up. It goes without saying that Al Mohler did a superb job with defending the doctrine of atonement and explaining why people despise it. He is an intellectual giant, a great speaker, and he did an excellent presentation. Too bad I was incapable of keeping up with him by this time of the night. If they offer a place to submit comments and suggestions for 2010, I’m going to suggest that Al Mohler be the mid-morning speaker. The grogginess of early morning and fatigue of late evening aren’t conducive to keep pace with him.

A few side issues. Sean and I did not get to meet John Piper today, despite that we were first in line to meet him. For some reason, he did not come to the afternoon session. We’ll try again tomorrow.

I did get to speak with the worship leader, Bob Kauflin, for a few moments tonight. I was actually impressed that he vaguely knew who I was. He read my name tag and told me my name was familiar. Several months ago I had made a series of comments on his blog. When I told him that it all came back to him.

John Piper is first thing in the morning. He’s the one I am wanting to hear most, but I must admit that topping R.C. Sproul’s sermon today is going to be difficult even for Piper.

Day three next.

T4G’08 Day One

Day one has passed. Technically, it was only a half day since the first session really didn’t start until 2:30 PM, but most of the day was spent at the convention center for registration and browsing through bookstore. There are 5000 attendees at this conference. Most of them are men, but there are many women here as well. And most of the attendees, I would say, are twenty-somethings and 30-somethings. Another strange observation we’ve made is the mass number of bushy beards we’ve seen on people. It must be a Kentucky thing or something. Enough nuances, here’s how the conference has impacted me so far.

The first speaker today was Ligon Duncan. He’s the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. He spoke on sound doctrine and how it is essential to faithfulness. I’m a bit frustrated because my pen ran out of ink in the middle of his sermon, so here’s my best recollection of his address. The thing that I walked away with from his message was that contrary to popular thought, the Scriptures teach us that doctrine is supposed to bring delight. Doctrine is also supposed to inform our teaching, and since we are commanded to teach ALL things he has taught us (see Matt 28:18-20) sound doctrine becomes very important. All in all, I found his message to be very encouraging, but not necessarily challenging since these are things that I already value in my life.

The second speaker of the day was Thabiti Anyabwile. He’s the pastor of First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman (lucky). He spoke on the problem of race. He taught us tonight that race is actually a fictional construct. He taught us that the Scriptures in fact do not teach the existence of races, but rather teaches us of the existence of ethnicities. I won’t even try to explain it here because I won’t do it justice. Boiling it down to a single statement, I would say that essentially he taught us these things:

• Race has been used to abuse the Scriptures and to abuse people
• Teaching or believing the existence of races is a step away from racism
• Believing in races prevents or hinders meaningful engagement with others
• Believing in race undermines the authority of Scripture since Scripture does not teach the existence of races
• Believing in race causes us to resist the Holy Spirit
• Believing in race undermines the Gospel itself – and as a consequence our mission efforts

Having always considered myself a non-prejudicial person, I thought his message was going to be another encouraging message rather than challenging, but I was dead wrong. It’s not that I now think I’m prejudiced, but I now understand and realize the depth of deception that has been ingrained into my life regarding people groups and (what I formerly believed to be) different races of people. When this message becomes available for download, I’m going to link to it. You all should listen to it very carefully. This one hits you at the core of your fundamental assumptions about life.

Last but, but not least, let me address the worship. It is not what I was expecting, but not in a bad way. I mean, I knew that Bob Kauflin was leading and was going to be leading from a piano by himself. No problem. All we have sang (so far) is hymns. That isn’t a problem for me, except that about half of them have been hymns with which I am scarcely familiar. So half of the time, I’ve been unable to really throw myself into the music. But that’s ok. The songs I know, I sing as loudly and passionately as I can. The thing that is really cool is how loud the sound of 5000, mostly men, voices can be when they too are singing with great passion. It’s hair-raising. It reminds me of when John described the voice of the Lord sounding like the sound of many waters. An absolutely amazing thing to hear and witness.

Until tomorrow.

T4G'08 Day One

Day one has passed. Technically, it was only a half day since the first session really didn’t start until 2:30 PM, but most of the day was spent at the convention center for registration and browsing through bookstore. There are 5000 attendees at this conference. Most of them are men, but there are many women here as well. And most of the attendees, I would say, are twenty-somethings and 30-somethings. Another strange observation we’ve made is the mass number of bushy beards we’ve seen on people. It must be a Kentucky thing or something. Enough nuances, here’s how the conference has impacted me so far.

The first speaker today was Ligon Duncan. He’s the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. He spoke on sound doctrine and how it is essential to faithfulness. I’m a bit frustrated because my pen ran out of ink in the middle of his sermon, so here’s my best recollection of his address. The thing that I walked away with from his message was that contrary to popular thought, the Scriptures teach us that doctrine is supposed to bring delight. Doctrine is also supposed to inform our teaching, and since we are commanded to teach ALL things he has taught us (see Matt 28:18-20) sound doctrine becomes very important. All in all, I found his message to be very encouraging, but not necessarily challenging since these are things that I already value in my life.

The second speaker of the day was Thabiti Anyabwile. He’s the pastor of First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman (lucky). He spoke on the problem of race. He taught us tonight that race is actually a fictional construct. He taught us that the Scriptures in fact do not teach the existence of races, but rather teaches us of the existence of ethnicities. I won’t even try to explain it here because I won’t do it justice. Boiling it down to a single statement, I would say that essentially he taught us these things:

• Race has been used to abuse the Scriptures and to abuse people
• Teaching or believing the existence of races is a step away from racism
• Believing in races prevents or hinders meaningful engagement with others
• Believing in race undermines the authority of Scripture since Scripture does not teach the existence of races
• Believing in race causes us to resist the Holy Spirit
• Believing in race undermines the Gospel itself – and as a consequence our mission efforts

Having always considered myself a non-prejudicial person, I thought his message was going to be another encouraging message rather than challenging, but I was dead wrong. It’s not that I now think I’m prejudiced, but I now understand and realize the depth of deception that has been ingrained into my life regarding people groups and (what I formerly believed to be) different races of people. When this message becomes available for download, I’m going to link to it. You all should listen to it very carefully. This one hits you at the core of your fundamental assumptions about life.

Last but, but not least, let me address the worship. It is not what I was expecting, but not in a bad way. I mean, I knew that Bob Kauflin was leading and was going to be leading from a piano by himself. No problem. All we have sang (so far) is hymns. That isn’t a problem for me, except that about half of them have been hymns with which I am scarcely familiar. So half of the time, I’ve been unable to really throw myself into the music. But that’s ok. The songs I know, I sing as loudly and passionately as I can. The thing that is really cool is how loud the sound of 5000, mostly men, voices can be when they too are singing with great passion. It’s hair-raising. It reminds me of when John described the voice of the Lord sounding like the sound of many waters. An absolutely amazing thing to hear and witness.

Until tomorrow.