Scottish Reformed Conference
The 450th anniversary of the Scottish Reformation was also the 21st anniversary of the Scottish Reformed Conference.
Families from many parts of Scotland and the north of England met at Hamilton College on the second Saturday in May to hear the Word of God and enjoy informal fellowship with other believers, drawn from most of the Presbyterian and Reformed churches in Scotland, with a great number 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, which this time were from 1 Samuel.
They unlocked the narrative and were direct and clear so that all could grasp their content. Dr Davies used well-chosen illustrations (some of which were hilarious) that will remain in our memories for a long time.
His first study, from 1 Samuel 27-29, was presented under three subheadings. ‘Some pressures may erode vibrant faith’ (chap. 27): David feels that despite the promise of God he will soon be eliminated by Saul; ‘Some dilemmas are worse than others’ (chap. 28): 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 the night’; and ‘Some deliverances are very quiet’ (chap. 29): God rescues David by what otherwise may be considered an inconsequential event.
Kingship
His second exposition, from chapter 30, on the theme ‘How shall we then live?’ examined providence, grace, wisdom and hope. Dr Davis’ written commentaries (Christian Focus Publications) on Joshua through to 2 Kings are outstanding and highly recommended to all who love their Bibles.
Rev. Kenneth Stewart joined us for the first time as a guest preacher. He invited us to ask ourselves whether we were ‘Counting the cost’ of being a Christian in our present culture.
He read from Luke 14:25-33 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.
Though we are happy to own Jesus as Saviour, discipleship requires us to acknowledge him as King, to whom we pledge our whole hearted and single-minded allegiance. It was a great challenge for us to apply personally his words: ‘Total subjection to the lordship of Jesus Christ means dying to self in a prolonged execution’.
Mp3s are available for free download atwww.scottishreformedconference.org. Next year’s conference will be on Saturday 14 May 2011, when we look forward to having Dr Joel Beeke and Prof. Ted Donnelly as guest preachers.
Richard Buckley
