T4G: Still Recuperating...

T4G was in a word...incredible. On one hand I was incredibly edified, on the other hand it almost killed me. To anyone who went to T4G and survived, I salute you. The schedule was simply relentless, and I do mean RELENTLESS. The two hour time change only added to the exhaustion, but again it was all worth it.

So here I am, a week later, still sick. Whatever I had before I left is still having fun with me in various ways that I can't explain in detail. The above picture pretty much covers it.

For those of you who were not able to attend the conference this year, here are the links to the various talks that were given:

T4G Conference Messages: Audio

Also, the BlackCalvinist posted some great video clips from the conference as well. I am so glad that he captured the singing, because it was one of the highlights of the conference for me. There is really nothing like 5,000 men singing at the top of their lungs. Check out the clip to see what I'm talking about.



Finally, you can always go to Challies blog to see a more detailed overview of the conference. I may not blog for a few days, so for the five of you that read this, sorry. Believe it or not, it is hard to blog when you don't feel well. In the meantime, enjoy the conference highlights!

Together for the Gospel - Day 1

After arriving in Louisville at 12 am this morning, I quickly fell asleep at my friend Eric's house only to wake up 7 hours later for Old Testament at 8:30am. The bed was more than adequate, although I seem to have an issue with causing every air mattress have ever slept on to deflate...

It was a good night's sleep regardless, and I am very thankful for my hosts' generosity. Eric still had classes to go to down here at Southern, so I thought I would tag along and get my money's worth while I'm out here. Thankfully, it was a beautiful morning.

Good morning Louisville!



After Old Testament we went to chapel, where Mark Dever gave a terrific exposition of Ezekiel 37. Through the word of God dry bones become like a mighty army, and I like those bones was once dead and became alive by the word of Christ! Amen! I would highly recommend downloading the audio for this from Southern's website.





Here is a picture of Eric and I in chapel. I am actually really happy to be here, but I could not get my camera to focus so....the result was less than perfect.





Following chapel I sat in on Eric's last class for the day, Intro to Spiritual Disciplines taught by Don Whitney. The lecture was about family worship and it was not only convicting but incredibly motivating. We will definitely be more worship minded as a family when I get back to Colorado!

After that it was straight to the conference. Here are some more pictures from Day 1. Enjoy!


Old Testament Classroom at Southern



The T4G Bookstore (This was absolutely huge. Almost ridiculous...almost.



Everyone waiting to get into the actual conference room. There are about 5,000 people here.



The Stage



John Piper Sat Here...



The crowd




Me and C.J. Mahaney (I know, I'm absolutely shameless...) Oh and thanks to Tony Reinke from Shepherd's Scrapbook for taking the picture for me!



Here is Joshua Harris with a typical Sovereign Grace smile on his face. Incredibly nice guy.



And here is Eric giving his approval of a day well spent. I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow night (hopefully less blurry). Take care all, and keep praying for me as I'm still not feeling to well. Thanks!

Heading to T4G!

Well, around 4pm today I will be driving to the airport to hitch a ride to Louisville, Kentucky. I will be arriving at 12:01 am, no doubt exhausted, but it's worth it. Funny thing is, about halfway through my day yesterday I started to feel absolutely terrible, and actually thought about cancelling my flight. My muscles were sore, my throat was sore, I had chills but no fever, and I was mentally out of commission. Needless to say, I was stuggling in faith and trust in God, and I was feeling a little frustrated. After all, I have been looking forward to this conference for months and all of sudden I have to wonder if it is even wise to go!

After taking some Tylenol PM and lying in bed for a few hours I finally fell asleep. Thankfully, I feel a little better today, but definitely not 100%. My muscles are still sore, and my throat is sore as well, but the dizziness and fatigue are starting to go away. I still get random chills, but they are becoming less frequent. I decided that since things are on the up I would still go, but I definitely need your prayers.

I will try to post updates during the conference(hopefully with pictures), but I'll leave most of the live blogging to Mr. Challies.

Together for the Gospel: Free Book Predictions

In light of the upcoming Together for the Gospel (T4G) conference (4 days!), I thought it would be fun to make some predictions on what books they will be giving away this year. This is the list that I have from the conference in '06 courtesy of Challies.com:

The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

Getting The Gospel Right by R.C. Sproul

Women’s Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt

Give Praise To God (a tribute to James Boice)

Paperback ESV Bible

God Is The Gospel by John Piper

Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper

Sex, Romance and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney

Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney

Speaking the Truth in Love by David Powlison

Why One Way? by John MacArthur

Hardcover N.A.S.B. MacArthur Study Bible

Just to put this in persepctive, that is roughly $200 worth of free books!

Here are my predictions for this year:

The Bruied Reed by Richard Sibbes

Twelve Challenges Churches Face by Mark Dever

Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

In My Place Condemned He Stood by J.I. Packer & Mark Dever

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor D.A. Carson

ESV Literary Study Bible (Doubt it)

Brothers We Are Not Professionals by John Piper

The Supremacy of Christ in Preaching by John Piper

Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney

Seeing With New Eyes by David Powlison

The Truth War by John MacArthur

I already have some of these, and I highly doubt that some of these titles would be given away, but here's hoping anyway!

Now it's your turn! What books do you think will be given away this year?

T4G Second String Speakers

Featuring:

John Macarthur - Vocals and Rhythm Guitar

John Piper - Vocals and Lead Guitar

Thabiti Anyabwile - Vocals and Bass

R.C Sproul - Drums

They're gonna rock your socks off...

T4G Promo Videos

As I said in a previous post, I am very excited for this conference. The videos below were just posted on the T4G website and can be viewed at www.t4g.org/promo. I have also made the videos available below (pictures courtesy of T4G) for your convenience. If you haven't registered for this conference, registration closes on October 31st and there were only about 300 spots available as of last week. In other words, register now. Click on any of the pictures below to watch a short promo video for each speaker.

CJ Mahaney

John Piper

Al Mohler

Rc Sproul

Mark Dever

John MacArthur

Ligon Duncan

Panel

Together for the Gospel (aka T4G)

Yes, the rumors are true. I am officially signed up for the Together for the Gospel conference. That means that from April 15th-17th I will be getting an earful from the following men, each addressing a specific topic:
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Ligon Duncan - Sound Doctrine - Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry: A Joyful Defense and Decleration of the Necessity and Practicality of Systematic Theology for the Life of the Church

Thabiti Ayabwile - Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church

John MacArthur - The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability

Mark Dever - Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology

RC Sproul - The Curse Motif of the Atonement

Albert Mohler - Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution

John Piper - How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice

CJ Mahaney - Sustaining a Pastor's Soul
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This should be a very exciting, encouraging, and challenging few days. I have learned quite a bit over the last few years from each of these men. Out of the eight speakers I am least familiar with Thabiti, but after listening to him in a recent 9Marks interview, I am really looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

You know, with this conference rolling around, I have begun to realize how incredibly nerdy I am. While most people go see their favorite band perform, I go see godly men preach. I go and hear from my favorite writers. Instead of buying loads of CDs, I'm stocking up on books, more books, and even more books! I'm so thankful that God has given me an insatiable thirst for knowing Him more fully.

I would ask that, those of you who frequent this blog, please pray that I would have discernment in what I learn from these men. Anyone can fall under the temptation of praising the acts of men, and I am no exception. Pray that I would praise God for whatever good comes from this conference, rather than praise men.

Lastly, I can't explain how happy I am that I get to spend the duration of this conference with my good friend Eric Conn. Eric, the duel begins my friend. Be prepared for absolute and total humiliation!