Just arrived home safely minutes ago from Laurel and Jackson, Mississippi. God is good! It was great to be with Joey Pipa (left in picture) and the pastor, Jerry Marcellino (center) for the 27th Annual Reformation Conference hosted by Audubon Drive Bible Church in Laurel, Mississippi. The rest of the conference went well. Yesterday morning Dr. Pipa spoke for the Sunday school on “The Portrait of a Godly Man” from Job 1:1-5, and I preached on “The Only Way to Live and Die” (Phil. 1:21), which was the conclusion of the conference. The attendees were hungry for good food and bought nearly all the books that we brought along, including all the sets of our new “Puritan Documentary” which is now available! http://bit.ly/2qjai5a
We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship over the Lord’s Day noon meal at the home of Jerry and Dawn Marcellino, together with the Pipas and several office-bearers and other church members. Then, last night, I preached on “Following God Fully” (Num. 14:24) at the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, for the senior pastor, Rev. David Strain, who is a gifted preacher (he has preached for our PRTS conference as well). Please pray for his dear wife who has been quite ill for several months now. First Pres. provides much support to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson and is a very influential church in the PCA. It has quite a remarkable history; preachers in recent decades there have included two of my very good friends, Ligon Duncan and Derek Thomas. Church membership, I believe, is around 3,000. The church and its buildings takes up an entire block in Jackson. The congregation just went through a remodeling project of $10,000,000 which is already entirely paid for! Here is a picture of the beautiful sanctuary.
May God continue to bless and use this church family abundantly for the spreading of His glorious kingdom.
