Conference 2017

Celebrating the Reformation at 500:
God’s Glory Alone

2017 Cheyenne Reformation Conference

October 6-7, 2017

Featuring:  Rev. Dr. David VanDrunen

 

Conference Theme…

Five hundred years ago, God brought about the greatest renewal of the church since the Apostolic era—the Protestant Reformation changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West.  Martin Luther posted his famous “95 theses” and he, with the other reformers, set out to purify the church and reestablish the Bible as the sole source of spiritual authority. The reformers basic theological principles developed in response to errors in the Church of the day are commonly summarized by 5 Latin phrases known as solas.  They are: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone); Sola Gratia (Grace Alone); Sola Fide (Faith Alone); Sola Christus (Christ Alone); and Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be Glory).  They matter in our world and our lives today.

Northwoods Presbyterian Church (PCA) celebrated and commemorated the official five-hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Our theme was Celebrating the Reformation at 500: God’s Glory Alone. We focused on Soli Deo Gloria. 

Our conference speaker, Dr. VanDrunen, says “Soli Deo Gloria can be understood as the glue that holds the other solas in place, or the center that draws the other solas into a grand unified whole.”  This sola is no ordinary slogan.  These three little words declare God’s purpose and man’s chief aim.  Dr. VanDrunen will review the need for the reformation and then through the reformed tradition point us to the heart of scripture and apply it to our much too narcissistic driven lives of distraction lived in a secular culture.  With sensitivity, Biblical insight, the knowledge of an eminent Church scholar and the heart of a shepherd he will address the vices that prevent us from admiring and enjoying God’s glory.  He will also provide practical instruction in the virtues that promote awe and adoration in the presence of our glorious God.

Sponsored and hosted by:
Northwoods Presbyterian Church
Faithful to Holy Scripture
True to the reformed confessions
Obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ

Conference Location:
Northwoods Presbyterian Church
4723 Griffith Avenue
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009
(307) 637-4817
www.northwoodspca.org

Conference Speaker

Rev. Dr. David VanDrunen

Dr. VanDrunen holds the Robert B. Strimple chair and is Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary, California.   He is an ordained minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and formerly served as a pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Hanover Park, IL.   He currently serves on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s Committee on Christian Education and Subcommittee on Ministerial Training. He does much of his current research and writing at the intersection of systematic theology, biblical studies, ethics and legal and political theory. He was the recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award in 2004 and was a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in the spring of 2009. He is a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for 2016-2017.

Dr. VanDrunen is the author or editor of ten books, most recently God’s Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life. His scholarly articles have appeared in many journals, including American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, International Journal of Systematic Theology, Journal of Church and State, Journal of Law and Religion, Journal of Markets and Morality, and Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics.

Dr. VanDrunen and his wife, Katherine, a WSC alumna, have one son and reside in Escondido, CA.

EDUCATION

B.A., Calvin College;
M.Div., Westminster Seminary California;
Th.M., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School;
J.D., Northwestern University School of Law;
Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago

Books authored or edited by Dr. VanDrunen

1. God’s Glory Alone – The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life
2. Divine Covenants and Moral Order: A Biblical Theology of Natural Law
3. Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions
4. Law and the Bible: Justice, Mercy and Legal Institutions
5. The Law is not of Faith: Essays on Works and Grace in the Mosaic Covenant
6. The Pattern of Sound Doctrine
7. Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms: A Study in the Development of Reformed Social Thought
8. Living in God’s Two Kingdoms
9. A Biblical Case for Natural Law
10. Law & Custom

Conference Schedule

Friday, October 6, 2017

5:45 p.m.  Registration opened
6:30 p.m.   Conference Concert

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Session 1:  Celebrating the Reformation
Many people today view the Protestant Reformation as an event that broke apart the unity of Christian Europe. In this session, we consider why the Reformation is an event to celebrate, an event God used to spread the knowledge of Scripture as never before and to renew Christians in their knowledge of Christ and correctly see their salvation as God’s work by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone for God’s glory alone.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

8:30 a.m. Registration opened

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Session 2: Glory to God Alone: At the Heart of the Reformation
The Reformation is sometimes portrayed as an individualistic and man-centered movement, focused upon how I can know God and how I can be saved. Although the Reformation brought truly good news to individual sinners, the reformers put God at the center rather than ourselves. The idea that all glory belongs to God alone captures the heart of the Reformation message.

Break

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Session 3: Glory to God Alone: The Unfolding of the Biblical Story
The theme of Soli Deo Gloria runs through the Scriptures from beginning to end. God revealed his glory in magnificent ways in the Old Testament, but it is only with the death, resurrection, and second coming of Christ that we see God’s glory in its fullest light and come to understand how the message of Soli Deo Gloria is good news for the Church.

11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Session 4: Living for God’s Glory Today
Believers who marvel at God’s glory revealed in Christ also desire to live in ways that honor their glorious Lord. In our present day, with so many temptations to narcissism and distraction, we seek humility from the Lord that we might fear, serve, and worship him in ways that preserve and promote his glory.

Break

2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Q&A session
3:15 p.m. Conference Ended

Lord’s Day, October 8, 2017

Dr. VanDrunen preached at our 10:30 a.m. service.

Conference Resources

Here are resources from the conference:

2017 Reformation Conference brochure

2017 Conference Booklet

2017 Conference Booklet – for Digital Note taking

Conference Recordings