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CTF 2025 - Why Attend the Conference?

Jim Butler · 2024-12-20 · 694 words · 5 min

CTF 2025 - Preview

A question or a comment maybe 
on encouraging people to come to the conference. You can both 
answer it. Why should I, why should anyone come to our conference? 
Well, you know, as Jim mentioned before, with regards to the nature 
of conferences, we certainly advocate that the place for the 
learning and the instruction of the people of God is in the 
Church of the Living God. But these conferences, I think, 
are very helpful, and you bring up the word encouragement. What 
can this conference do in the way of encouragement? Well, certainly 
the topic of this conference can encourage the people of God 
to know their God. As Jim mentioned, that is eternal 
life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus 
Christ, whom you have sent. You know, and I was also thinking 
of Jeremiah. God in Jeremiah 9 says, essentially, 
glory in nothing except in that you understand and know me. And 
in that context, judgment is coming. What's the most important 
thing? It's not your riches. It's not 
your strength. It's not your wisdom so-called, 
but it's the knowledge of who God is and what God does. His glory, the glory of His being 
and the perfection and glory of His works, His intrinsic glory 
and His extrinsic glory, His perfections displayed and demonstrated 
in His works. The encouragement for people 
to come is to know that God, the triune God of heaven and 
earth, what He has done in His blessed plan of redemption to 
save a multitude of sinners from every tribe and tongue and people 
and nation. Who is this God? What has He 
done? And then let's be encouraged 
to go from there, to return to our churches and to worship this 
blessed living and true God. I would add as well, I know in 
the Southern California Conference, Pastor Barcelos uses tacos and 
Argentinian barbecue to entice attendees. This is Canada, we 
don't quite do tacos like that. But I have to say the singing, 
I mean, even if you were somebody that didn't want to learn our 
confession, if you know our psalms and hymns, It was glorious. I mean, when you get, what was 
it, 8,000 people there? No, a couple hundred people there. 
It was great. And the edification of the saints, 
the camaraderie, the discussion, and, you know, these men are 
competent and they're experts, but they're not shooting over 
the head. These were not academic exercises. And, you know, Dr. Dolezal, Dr. Sam Ranahan, they're 
going to be the same. I doubt that James Dolezal is 
going to share his, you know, God without parts, you know, 
thesis with us via lecture. It's going to be, you know, teaching 
and preaching with fire, as will Sam. I recently audited a course 
through IRBS on the foundations for philosophical theology by 
Dr. Dolezal. And again, I'm not the 
brightest bulb in the chandelier. I certainly didn't get everything, 
but what I got was wonderful and heartwarming and encouraging. 
And so these men bring to the table, or to the pulpit better, 
not a dry, stuffy approach to things, but they're men of God. They've got the hearts of pastors. They minister to the people of 
God. And so if you need that, you 
need to be ministered to, you need to be encouraged, you need 
to be strengthened, you need to be helped, you need to be 
instructed. I think all that stuff is available 
at the conference. Yeah. Dinner. We'll have, I think we're going 
to sell it just fine. So we got the workbook, yeah. I'm sure 
there's a camera on you if you want to show the quality of our 
workbook to the group. Mm-hmm no the cover the cover. That's the good. That's what 
I got Where is the coverage Oh, okay. Yes. That looks better. I'll show 
that for the camera. That's 2023. This is the 2024. Sorry. 2024. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, 
come for 32 years and you will have the complete set. That's 
right. There you go. That's right. You'll have a full bookshelf. 
Not available in stores.