Lord’s Day, Vol. 11 No. 51

The First Old Paths Conference

Thank God for His grace in enabling the church to gather for the first Old Paths Conference from 13 – 15 December 2023. There were 70 attendees at the Conference.

There were three messages in the day entitled “The Old Paths” taken from Jeremiah 6:16 (KJV) “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” The three thoughts expounding the text are:

• Stand, See and Ask – The Wise Enquirer
• Walk – The Obedient Recipient
• Find Rest – The Satisfied Pilgrim

The King James Bible without chapters and verses was launched to aid us along our walk with God through unencumbered, uninterrupted reading and meditation of the Scriptures. There were two Bible reading sessions on 3 John and Obadiah by Mr Lucas Lek.

There were two Book Review sessions based on the book “Christian Love” by Hugh Binning with exhortations to aid us in studying Puritan writings by Mr Lucas Lek.

There were two theme messages entitled “The Godly Heritage of the Puritans”.

Puritan Books at highly discounted prices were made available for Conference attendees. Titles included “The Heavenly Footman – How to get to Heaven” by John Bunyan, “The Excellency of Christ” by Jonathan Edwards, “The Humbled Sinner Resolved” by Obdiah Sedgwick, “The Doctrine of Repentance” by Thomas Watson, “The Mortification of Sin” by John Owen, “The Life of God in the Soul of Man” by Henry Scougal, “Of the Day of Grace” by John Shower, “Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled” by Richard Sibbes, “Rules for Walking with God” by Jeremiah Burroughs by “Justified Vindicated”, “Mayflower – Birth of a Nation”, “A Puritan Catechism” by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “The Office of Christ” by Thomas Boston, “Keeping the Heart” by John Flavel, “The Heart of Christ” by Thomas Goodwin, “The Art of Man-Fishing – How to reach the lost” by Thomas Boston. “The Crown and Glory of a Christian – Consisting in a sound conversion, and well-ordered conversation” by Christopher Ness and others.

Exhortation for Conference attendees to read through the Bible in the year of grace 2024 by 5 “P” – Patience, Perseverance, Prudence, Peace, Praise.

The first theme message on “The Godly Heritage of the Puritans” from Psalm 78:1-8 covered the following:

(1) Who Are the Puritans?

     a.    Emphasis on Being Born-Again

     b.    They Believed the Born-Again Could     Grow in Grace

      c.    Dedication to Warfare Against Sin

      d.   Cultivating Spiritual Discipline

      e.   Holding Forth the Reformation Doctrines of Salvation and Sanctification

      f.    Separation of Church and State

(2) What Are Their Contributions?

1. Translation of the King James Bible from the Original Text – Most Faithful and Purest Translation in the English Language till Today
2. Giving the Church the Westminster Standards – Creed of the Church
3. Rich Heritage of Writings of the Puritans on the Christian Life for Our Spiritual Enrichment

The 2^nd Theme Message focused on:

1. The Great Ejection of 1662 with a mention of “A Complete Collection of Farewell Sermons” by Various Puritan Authors.
2. Most widely read – John Bunyan and his writings
3. Last Puritan – Matthew Henry and his writings

There were videos shown on “The American Heritage Series” with Historian David Barton – The Faith of Our Founding Fathers and The Assault on Judeo-Christian Values.

Also, “The Essential Church” on the lessons from the Puritan era for the recent pandemic. There was a morning devotion on 15 December 2023 entitled “Strangers and Pilgrims” based on Hebrews 11:13-16 by Mr Lucas Lek.

May the Lord bless His Word to nourish and strengthen the faith of His people for His glory. Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee