Faith by Hearing
Sanctifying the MP3 RevolutionArchive for Expository Preaching
Expositors Conference 2011
This years Expositors Conference was titled “The Preeminence of Christ in Preaching”, and featured Steve Lawson and Al Mohler as speakers. The conference was held in October at Lawson’s church in Mobile, Alabama.
Lawson delivered two 3-part messages: The Preeminence of Christ in Preaching, and The Good Shepherd and His Sheep.
Mohler gave three messages: The God Who Speaks, The God Who Shakes, and the God Who Saves.
Preaching Zechariah: A Workshop on Biblical Exposition
Very interesting and enjoyable workshop that Colin Adams highlighted on his blog. From his blog:
Preaching from the Old Testament prophets can be hard. And as a pastor, you might feel alone. The prophets were the great preachers of their day. Yet, they faced similar challenges. And their message needs to be heard. This workshop is for pastors to get together and think carefully about how to preach from the Old Testament, focusing specifically on the prophet Zechariah.
Edinburg Expositors Conference
Steve Lawson, Iain Murray, Peter Grainger, Craig Dyer, and Ian Shaw gathered for a huge slew of messages on expository preaching.
God Exposed Conference
Don’t miss the God Exposed Conference, a pastors conference focusing on expositional preaching. This is a much needed conference which was co-sponsored by 9Marks ministry and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
To begin with, Dan Akin’s message is one of those defining messages that set the standard for what preaching is meant to be. Akin looks at the preacher in Ecclesiastes. He begins his message by stating the phrase, ‘The most important thing about any message is what you say, but how you say it has never been more important.’ Akin comes down hard (helpfully so) on the need for preaching to engage and hold interest in the listener. He even goes so far to say that it is a sin for a preacher to be boring. This is a message you will want to listen to twice (which I did).
Mark Dever opens the conference with a good anticipatory message and concludes it with a fantastic message. In fact, all of the speakers made very thoughtful and engaging contributions to the conference.
One of the unique qualities of this conference is something that I first heard at T4G, and that is that immediately after the message all the speakers gather to discuss the message–a very helpful practice.
God Exposed is a pastors conference on expositional preaching that
- Session 1: Mark Dever – “The Power of God’s Word” (Mark 4:26-34)
- Session 2: Daniel L. Akin – “The Preaching on Preaching” (Eccl. 12:9-14)
- Session 3: Michael McKinley – “The Centrality of the Word” (Luke 10:38-42)
- Session 4: CJ Mahaney – “Expository Faithfulness” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
- Session 5: Thabiti Anyabwile – “Will It Preach? Exposition in Non-White Contexts”
- Session 6: Mark Dever – “Expositional Preaching: A Defense and Charge”
Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology 2009
John MacArthur and Bruce Ware join Bryon Yawn at the 2009 Nashville Conference.
Right off the bat MacArthur delivers some of the best messages I’ve heard this year. He begins in session one by reflecting over the core convictions of his ministry that he formed early on and have not let go of since. These convictions happen to be Trinitarian: The Glory of God, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.
There is so much to talk about regarding his messages. But perhaps the most needed, is he relates the story of when he met a ministry friend who told him about this incredible book about how IBM was structured, and why pastors needed these lessons. MacArthur asked this man, “Why, is the Word of God deficient somewhere?”
MacArthur also talks about why he does church discipline. Again, early in his ministry other pastors told him he would empty his church. It never happened. If you are a church planter or pastor who buys a lot of contemporary books on how to “do church” you need to listen to a pastor who saw God build His church apart from all the books, programs, polls, and expert opinions. Listening to MacArthur is like a breath of fresh air in a day when the church looks more to Starbucks for it’s ecclesiology than it does the Apostle Paul.
Above Every Name pt. 1, John MacArthur
Above Every Name pt. 2, John MacArthur
Above Every Name pt. 3, John MacArthur
Beholding the God of Merciful Holiness; Transcendence, Immanence & Ministry, Bruce Ware
An Overwhelming Greatness, Bryon Yawn
Beholding the God of Self-Sufficient Fullness; Humility, Satisfaction & Ministry, Bruce Ware
Beholding the God of Sovereign Supremacy; Good, Evil & Ministry, Bruce Ware
Slaves of Christ, John MacArthur
Basics Conference 2009
Alistair Begg, John Piper and John Lennox come together in a conference that is a real treat to listen to. This trio is a uniquely fitted group of men that shine with distinctive voices, backgrounds and convictions that resonate with combined power. The Q&A session is testimony to this.
Each one of these men and their messages are equally marvelous and helpful. Begg with his down to earth wisdom and pastoral insight; Piper with his rational theological power and motivation; and Lennox with his sharp discerning mind and articulate clarity.
I must point out that this conference was my introduction to John Lennox. Lennox is a mathematician and philosopher of science at Oxford, and a Christian. He is one of the most formidable opponents to the new atheism crowd. The man is a wealth of wisdom.
This certainly was a great conference and I commend it highly.
Gospel-Driven: Good News People in a Bad News World
Michael Horton delivered 3 messages at the Spring Theology Conference of the Reformation Society of Oregon at Estacada Christian Church. These messages are related to his forthcoming book: The Gospel-Driven Life.
Gospel-Driven is the positive sided companion book to his previous book Christless Christianity. Horton’s thesis is that the contemporary evangelical church has moved the Gospel from the headlines to the back page of the paper. This hasn’t been an intentional move by the church, but it has happened as we’ve focused on minor issues.
There are two points I found very interesting. First, Horton helpfully illustrates the contemporary Gospel message as every Christian being the main actor of a movie with Jesus as the supporting character. This is false Christianity. True Christianity sees the believer as the supporting character and Jesus is the main character.
Second, Horton quotes statistics which reveal the younger generation not being impressed with visuals and entertainment in the church. They are bombarded with that all week and when they get to church they’re ready for theology. And trends now show that once a flock of believers get a taste of strong expository preaching then nothing on the light side satisfies.
Horton’s goal for this series is to answer the question raised in Christless Christianity–”What do we do now?”
The messages are:
The Front Page God
The Promise-Driven Life
Feasting in a Fast Food World
Q & A
The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor
John Piper and Don Carson address in their unique ways, Piper lo0king at the Pastor as Scholar, and Carson looking at the Scholar as Pastor. Both provide very intriguing reflections of their ministries. Both talk about influences. Both look at how important writing is to their ministry. “I learn as I write and I write as I learn” as John Calvin was quoted.
Piper talks about how his slow reading speed was difficult for him as a student, but now talks about how slow reading allows him to savor what is written. He also relates how he was terrified to speak in public. He also talks about how the greatest lessons he learned that now help him in ministry were in geometry and biology.
Carson gives 12 points of advice for ministry, some he’s said before in other addresses, but always important to hear and apply.
These messages were given at the Henry Center.
Hughes Oliphant Old: Preaching as Worship
The Mullins Lectures at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this year invited Hughes Oliphant Old to present 3 lectures on Preaching as worship. Who is Hughes Oliphant Old? All I know about him is that he has devoted much of his life to studying the history of preaching, which has produced a massive series of books. If you preach, this is one man you don’t want to miss.
Preaching as Telling the Story of God’s Mighty Acts of Redemption >>>
