(2011 report coming soon)
The 21st Annual Scottish Reformed Conference
The 450th anniversary of the Scottish Reformation was also the 21st anniversary of the Scottish Reformed Conference: Scotland’s premier, reformed and interdenominational, Bible preaching conference. Families from many parts of Scotland and even the north of England met at Hamilton College on the second Saturday of May to hear the exposition of the Word of God and have an all too infrequent opportunity to enjoy informal fellowship with other believers, drawn from most of the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in Scotland, with a great number of these being young men and women. With just short of 600 people present we felt so much part of the dynamic work of God in our generation.
It was our privilege again to welcome Dr D Ralph Davis from Hattiesburg MS to our conference. This is the second time he has graced us with his expositions. This time they were from 1 Samuel. They ‘unlocked’ the narrative and were direct and clear so all could grasp their content. He used well chosen illustrations, some of which were hilarious, that will remain in our memories for a long time. His first study was from chapters 27 to 29, which he considered under the headings: Some pressures may erode vibrant faith (ch27), where David feels that despite the promise of God he will soon be caught and eliminated by Saul, Some dilemmas are worse than others (ch28), for though Saul was at the eve of the greatest crisis of his life he had no word from the Lord, and like Judas’ exit from the upper room in John 13, departed the scene at Endor ‘into night’, and Some deliverances are very quiet (ch29), as God rescues David by what we might otherwise have considered an inconsequential event. His second exposition was from chapter 30 from which he reflected on the theme ‘How shall we then live?’ doing so under the headings of Providence, Grace, Wisdom and Hope. Dr Davis’ commentaries on Joshua through to 2 Kings are outstanding and highly recommended to all who love their bibles. He may be heard online from his home church at www.woodlandpca.com.
Rev Kenneth Stewart joined us for the first time as a guest preacher. The importance of his subject was matched by the demeanour of his delivery. We were all invited to ask ourselves whether we were ‘Counting the cost’ of being a christian in our present culture. He read from Luke 14: 25 to 33 and using the threefold description of Jesus Christ as Prophet, Priest and King challenged us as to whether we were living a life of consecration and obedience to him. Though we are happy to own him as Saviour discipleship requires us to acknowledge that he is our King to whom we pledge our whole-hearted and single-minded allegiance. It was a great challenge for us to apply personally the words ‘Total subjection to the Lordship of Jesus Christ means dying to self in a prolonged execution.’
Mp3s are available for free download at www.scottishreformedconference.org/sermons.php
Next year’s conference will be on Saturday 14th May 2011, when we look forward to having as our guest preachers: Dr Joel Beeke and Prof Ted Donnelly.