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I had the privilege to attend the Here We Still Stand Conference October 17-20 in beautiful San Diego, California.  You can see notes from most of the speakers in previous posts.  Today, I wanted to share a favorite quote from each of the speakers that I heard.  Enjoy! Christ takes all of the evil, death, and sin on the cross and gives us His righteousness. What must I do to be saved?  LOOK, BEHOLD- 40 Minutes in the Old Testament discussing Numbers 21 God doesn’t shame doubters but gives them reason to believe. Jesus welcomes doubters.  Front Porch with the Fitz's Christ is not a second Moses. The goal of the Law is to kill you. The goal of Christ is to raise you from the dead, forgive you. Daniel Emery Price The most popular sermon in the church today is “Just Do It” or “Try Harder”. Instead, we need more churches preaching the gospel. It’s all about the work of Christ. When the Law becomes the primary message of the church, it robs us of grace and...

John 19:26-30 I love those three words “It Is Finished” Tetelestai is good news. These words stand in opposition to every other solution the world offers. Jesus says no striving allowed and no doing, but remember “it is finished” Every time I hear these words I am transported from the battlefield to the dance floor. When I hear these words (it is finished), life ceases to be about my striving and doing and instead on celebrating what has been DONE in Jesus Christ. Living in the finished work of Jesus Christ is appreciation and awe for what Jesus did for us on the cross. Thirst in the Scriptures is associated with spiritual dryness or absence of God.  Living in the finished work of Jesus is freedom that God is working in you as you rest in Him. This leads to dependence on God as he forms and works on us.  It includes fear, love and trust in God in all things. God is not in the punishing and atoning game with you because He has already has don...

I am going to use religion in a negative way. There’s Jesus and then there’s religion. You are invited to sit. (Mary and Martha-Luke 10:38-42) We often think of church as being busy and working hard rather than sitting at the feet of Jesus. We need to hear the Master’s Voice You are invited to sell. (Rich Young Ruler-Luke 18:18-23) Jesus is saying why are you clinging to these things that can’t save you or make you happy or make you better. They were asking the wrong question—what must I DO to be saved? Jesus spoke Law to the Rich Young Ruler so he would see it was not about him but about Jesus. You are invited to hate your parents (Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 14:26) In the kingdom of God, it is a kingdom of priests. We are all on equal footing. It’s not about honoring your parents.  You are free to do what you need to do. Luther’s treatise on Christian liberty If something is standing between you and the good news of Jesus, you can hate it. Last Jedi-young people l...

Have you ever thought about how grace and the ocean have a lot of similarities? Check out this post which was originally written following the Liberate Conferences 4 years ago.  I am sharing it again today because I have just been to the Here We Still Stand Conference in beautiful San Diego and definitely made a few trips to the beach while I was there. Be reminded of what Christ has DONE for you. Grace is like an ocean because: It is deep .  When we think we have understood its depths, there is always more and more. It is far reaching .  No matter what you have done in your past, God's grace can reach you. It is free . Isn't it amazing that you can go to the beach for free?  No admission fee. It draws you in .  Just like the undercurrent in the ocean, God draws us to Himself. It is rest . Listening to the waves is relaxing and peaceful. Living by grace is rest and freedom. It is unpredictable . You cannot predict th...

From Heidelberg Back To Wittenberg Two different texts but a single goal: Faith in Christ alone The Small Catechism is Luther’s own exercise in the theology of the cross Polemical and pastoral Keeping Christians in the Word of the Cross Remain in simplicity and in old doctrine you have received. Luther’s Path to the Catechism The German service needs a plain and simple, fair square catechism. Catechism means the instruction in which the heathen who want to be Christians are taught and guided in what they should believe, know and do and leave undone.   3 Parts-10 Commandments, Creed, Lord’s Prayer Events Leading to the Catechsim Controversy on the place of the law in Christian life The Law remains until it finds its end in Christ For Luther’s Preface to the Small Catechism Set out to address the deplorable situation that he discovered as visiting people Sources Flowing into the Catechism Luther’s catechetical sermons (as early as 1516, by 15...

Theology of the Cross-Romans 4:25-Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins and raised for your justification 1517-beginning of Reformation-95 theses nailed by Martin Luther 1518 was much more important for Luther-3 crucial events Heidelberg Disputation One of the most important moments of theological history Nobody did the negative better than Luther I am going to teach you by paradox-it puts side by side-opposites 3 objections from those in audience to Luther were free will, good works, law of God You do not have free will after the Fall Your good works are sinful The Law of God will not advance you along the way in this life, also it is hindering you Resolutions You cannot love the cross. More than that, you are offended by the cross.  How do you become a theologian of the cross?  The merits of Christ must be something positive—the office of the keys God humbles you by submitting to the priest 1st Trial-as a heretic of the church

Opened with a story about George Foreman-he had to be brought to defeat and failure to reevaluate success, his world had been turned upside down What was important was not him, but the One that had made him. The best gift we can receive is failure. There is a God who loves to create out of nothing.  And He continues to create out of nothing in us. God continues to turn the world upside down through the theology of the cross. The way God works is not the way we expect Him to work. God’s answer to the basic human questions of life are always the opposite of what we expect. In our minds, our God is too glorious to be born in a manger, to hang out with sinners, to die on the cross.   “Our Life As The Church That We Need To Give Up” Numbers-we often think about big. The big is all around us. We want big churches. What is beneath all of this?  What we are actually going for is pride, social status, safety, security We want options and we want to be a...

Luke 2:22-35 The Comfort of the Cross To Simeon-your going to see the ONE who will bring comfort to Israel before he died Isaiah 51:3-What we have without God’s comfort is desert, wastelands, with God it will become like Eden Isaiah 61-We need comfort, we need to know our sins are forgiven, we need good news, we need freedom and release When you think of Jesus, do you think about him as a consolation, a comfort, a relief? Do our neighbors think of Jesus as one who bring comfort and relief or as one who is a second Moses? What does the church think about Jesus? We are addicted to the thought of the progress.  There is no progress.  There is Jesus and there is us. Is what I need just a little boost in my desire to do good works? Telling your children that they need to do better.  There is only one cure for this virus—you can’t do enough for it—you can only die to it.   Where does our vindication come from? If we die with Him, we will als...

Theology of the Cross is theme of Here We Still Stand 2018 is 500 years after Heidelberg Disputation was written by Martin Luther. “Being Crucified With Christ”-Galatians 2:15-21 The Law cannot help us. Christ is not a second Moses. The goal of the Law is to kill you.  The goal of Christ is to raise you from the dead, forgive you. You are dead. But Christ lives in you.  The life you live is by faith. His crucifixion is mine. His resurrection is mine. See 2 Kings 13:20-21-All that matters is who you are buried with.  It doesn’t matter what you did before, after, who are you, what you did. You are buried with the Word of God made flesh. It really is faith alone, Christ alone. Sometimes faith alone is as simple as “Remember Me” You are remembered by God.  You are free in Christ. You are His!

Today, I am on my way back to San Diego for the Here We Still Stand Conference.  I attended last year and loved my time in beautiful California along with some great messages and great people.  This year's theme is the "Theology of the Cross."  I look forward to hearing from my favorite speaker, Elyse Fitzpatrick and one of my new favorites, Chad Bird. Check back over the next few days for quotes and pictures from the conference. Here are a few pictures from last year.

I had the opportunity to attend Here We Still Stand in San Diego organized by The 1517 Legacy Project and Christ Hold Fast on October 19-21.  Today, I would like to share some reflections from the conference. These are in no particular order. 5 Solas -Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, To the Glory of God Alone.  The speakers focused on these Solas and they were a great reminder to me that often as a Christian I can get distracted from the most important thing.  What am I going to focus on?  Humans and our ability to do and to be or on Christ the One who has done it all for me. Thanks Doug Klembara for the banner picture! The Gospel -As I was glow paddleboarding in the bay in San Diego, I talked with Elyse Fitzpatrick about the difficulty in finding a conference focused on the gospel.  What do I mean?  The gospel is what Christ has DONE.  It is Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension.  So, often we as Jared C. Wils...

Below are quotes from various speakers at Here We Still Stand: How do you kill an awakening?  Add some requirements. Throw in some kickers (what to do). Limit God's love. Be too serious.  There's something unreasonable about God's love toward us. If we never get better, he will love us the same. Jesus gives us the message of reconciliation.  This includes forgiveness of sin (taking our all our sins) AND giving us His righteousness. Double imputation is a hill worth dying on. Christ died on it. Capon-We talk so loudly about "shoulds" and shouldn'ts" that they eclipse forgiveness of sins. Preaching 45 minutes of law and then throwing the gospel in at the end is not gospel centered, it's gospel caboosed. There is more than one way to be legalistic. Legalism is not just "thou shalt nots" but also tips/steps we tell people to do.  In Christ, you are as secure as Christ is. It's not that we are not hearing law. Social medi...

I just returned from beautiful San Diego for the Here We Still Stand conference.  It was a great 4 days of good news.  As I was at the beach looking at the ocean with my new friends, Blake and Evan, I mentioned a post I had written several years ago on the similarities about the ocean and grace.  So, I decided to repost it this morning.  I wrote this 3 years ago following the Liberate conference.  Be reminded of what Christ has DONE for you.   Grace is like an ocean because: It is deep .  When we think we have understood its depths, there is more. It is far reaching .  No matter what you have done in your past, God's grace can reach you. It is free . Isn't it amazing that you can go the beach for free?  No admission fee. It draws you in .  Just like the undercurrent in the ocean, God draws us. It is rest . Listening to the waves is relaxing and peaceful. It is unpredictable . You cannot predict the pattern of w...

Our final speaker for the Here We Still Stand Conference on Saturday was Matt Popovits. Here are some notes: Romans 1:16-17 After wrestling with these words, the light bulb came on for Martin Luther. Man is made righteous in the eyes of God the Father through His Son by faith alone. The point of this for Luther was comforting hearts rattled by their own evil by faith alone starting with our own heart. How is your faith? It's not about us making it bigger or greater. Faith is not intellectual assent, moral courage, positive emotions, absence of doubt. Faith is dependence. Faith is resting in or relying on something that is greater than you.  The only requirement for great faith is great need. This faith you have is a byproduct of who Christ is not what you have done. Who gave you that faith? Who maintains that faith?  Christ This faith in Christ does produce fruit in the people of Christ as it invades our head, heart, and hands. The primary fruit of faith i...

The second breakout session was on Martin Luther's "Bondage of the Will" by Donovan Riley. Humanism focuses on our human potential.  Erasmus writes on the freedom of the will.  The expectation was that Martin Luther would write a response.  Luther did not want to respond. But his colleagues couldn't get him to respond so they asked his wife, Katie to convince him.  Martin Luther wrote it in German and Latin. People said about Bondage of the Will--You have written on "the hinge" on what everything depends. It's hard to understand Bondage of the Will without reading what Erasmus wrote. What does God's wrath feel like according to the Bible? According to Paul, it is free will. What is the bondage of the will? What our heart wants, our mind always justifies. Luther--The only thing we contribute to our salvation is our sin and resistance. Erasmus starts in the Law in the freedom of the will.  He did a word study on "free will". H...

Our first speaker on Saturday morning at Here We Still Stand was David Zahl from Mockingbird. Here are his thoughts: "Repeating What We Have Heard" Social media basically exists to send signals. Those people of Facebook have received their reward in full. Most of our signaling is not overt. We are signaling all the time. Signaling is about self-justification. Signaling is connected to the Law. It flows from guilt and shame. Whatever you are using to self justify yourself is the Law to you. The Law is everywhere.  We are more religious now than ever before. Religion is all Law. Law disconnected from the Gospel turns into a competition. There are two signals at the heart of the Reformation-Law and Grace. Documentary of Daryl Davis-picture of grace This righteousness needs to come from outside of us. This means that the church thrives when people don't have it all together rather than appearing as good people. Matthew 22-Parable of the Wedding Banquet-The U...

Scott Keith was up on Friday afternoon at Here We Still Stand.  His topic was Philip Melancthon. Here are some quotes: Everyone loves to talk about Martin Luther, but few enjoy talking about Philip Melancthon. "What Drove Melancthon's Pen" Known primarily as Luther's friend. He has written more than Martin Luther.  Author of Augsburg Confession. He graduates with his B.A. at age of 15. He receives his M.A. at age 19. Another B.A. in theology at age 21. Essentially an exegete that dabbles in systematics. Developed "How To" for preaching. Melancthon's method-search the text, categorize the text, organize the text. Law and Gospel The Law of God applies not just to external actions, but also inward. What we must do towards God and what we must do towards neighbor. What does the law do? Functions: Civil, Theological, For the Christian The Law is accuser. It primarily does one thing--accuses you of your sin. The Gospel is Good News. It'...

Steven Paulson gets Friday afternoon started by talking about Martin Luther. He is a professor and Luther scholar. Here are some quotes: Matthew 4:17-The kingdom of God is at hand. We often get stuck on the first word.  We understand Kingdom = what we must do. Martin Luther was fighting over how we find Jesus.  And particularly what it means for Jesus to stand in front of us. Gerome translated Matthew 4:17 as "do penance" which led Martin Luther 1100 years later to Reformation. The church becomes a lending institution. "The gospel is not for sale"-Luther's argument at the Reformation. The two great monsters of theology: predestination sickness and evil. Luther discovered these are reasons people don't come to church. Luther is going to replace financial theology with promise theology. Luther's First Thesis-The entire life is one of repentance. We must learn how this happens in the passive tense. I choose you--Christ standing in front...

It is my privilege to hear Elyse speak twice in the month of October.  She spoke at my church early in the month.  She is one of my favorite authors and speakers. And I get to go glow paddleboarding with her on Saturday! Here are her thoughts from Friday morning: Galatians 3:10-14 And do them? We live in a time of rampant self-helpism.  It's not that we are not hearing law. Social media functions as non-stop law.  But we haven't done business with "the Law". The Law reveals God's nature.  The Law is good.  What is written in the Book of the Law? Wholehearted love, worship, devotion, obedience to God. Wholehearted love and service of one's neighbor. Jesus perfectly obeyed all of the Law FOR YOU.  He lived a life for 30 years in humility and obscurity. This is not just a placeholder until he can die on the cross. He is fulfilling the law in our place. What is this curse? The demands of the Law that we cannot, will not fulfill.  ...