Midwestern Seminary welcomed MORE THAN 1,000 students from more than 90 local and regional churches on Jan. 24-25 for its annual Ready Conference, which exists to equip the youth of the church to defend their faith.
This conference — which is based off of Jude, verse 3 — encourages students to be ready to defend “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” It featured main sessions from speakers Sam Bierig, Cam Triggs, Jared Bumpers and Noe Garcia, and included a number of breakout sessions. Additionally, students were treated to a hip-hop concert with Christian artist KB.
“Existing For the Church means reaching out to all generations, and the Ready Conference offers the next generation of church members and leaders an opportunity to be equipped for the future,” said president Jason Allen. “It is encouraging to see the passion these students possess for Jesus Christ, and our prayer is that they’ll take what they’ve learned during this conference and use it to develop their personal walk with Christ and employ it to further His kingdom.”
In opening the conference, Bierig, who serves as the undergraduate dean and as assistant professor of Biblical Studies at Spurgeon College, preached from Jude, verses 1 and 2. He noted that the epistle consists of the apostle, Jude, exhorting believers to remember who they are in Christ.
Fleshing out his message, Bierig encouraged the attendees by offering four marks of “real Christians.” These marks include that when a person comes to salvation in Christ it completely changes and humbles them. Second, he said those saved by Christ are called by the Holy Spirit, and that’s a purposeful act, not an accident.
Third, Bierig noted that those found in Christ are truly loved by God, and the fourth mark was that real Christians are guarded, protected, and never let go of by Christ.
Bierig explained what believers are protected against, saying, “Primarily Satan, sin, and death. These are unconquerable foes for you and me, and this same cosmic muscle that God the Father, by the person of the Spirit, taps into to raise Jesus out of the grave strapping on him invincibility, that same power, He now deploys on your behalf as a Christian.”
Garcia, who serves as senior pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix, Ariz., preached the second main session from Jude, verses 3 and 4, and warned attendees that culture is always changing and shifting, and if they are not careful, their identity will shift and change with culture too.
Speaking of Generation Z, Garcia said, “One of the big things they are concerned about is identity. So, part of Generation Z goes like this, ‘be whoever you want to be.’ ‘It’s not wrong to be whoever you feel like being.’ ‘Let’s just all love and get along.’ However, that’s countercultural from Scripture. And if we’re not careful, we begin to believe those lies. You, then, believe you. You begin to substitute the truth of God for the lies of the enemy. It is incredibly important that you know the truth of Scripture and that it becomes your foundation.”
Garcia added that once a person comes to faith in Christ, there then becomes a daily struggle not to conform to the world and to contend for the faith. This is a vital component to their growth as a believer.
Kicking off the conference’s second day, Bumpers, who serves as director of Student Life & Events and assistant professor of preaching and ministry at Midwestern Seminary, preached from Jude, verses 5-16.
He shared that everyone has made sinful decisions, and often people take their sin too lightly. This cheapens what the Bible says about sin, which is lawlessness and rebellion. In essence, sin is following one’s heart and not the heart of God.
Jude, in this passage, warns readers that following their hearts leads to destruction because the bottom line is that God judges sin.
Source: Baptist Press
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