Thursday Evening
God's Battle Lines: The Antithesis in the Preaching of the Gospel
by Dr. Jannes Smith
This presentation will address the following sorts of questions: What is the antithesis, and where does the idea of the antithesis come from? How can the theme of the antithesis be traced through the Bible, from the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent to the final victory of Christ over Satan? What place should the antithesis have in the preaching of the gospel? Can this theme be misused or overemphasized? How does the minister ensure that his sermons draw the battle lines correctly?
Friday Evening - Convocation Keynote Address
"Enlarge the place of your tent, do not hold back": Reflections on the missional calling of the Canadian Reformed Churches
by Dr. Arjan deVisser
Saturday Morning - Session 1
Christ as King in his humiliation and exaltation: What this means for the church's witness
by Dr. Erik van Alten
Christ is King – not only in his exaltation after his ascension, but also in his humiliation during his life on earth. Having been anointed with the same Spirit as her Lord, the church also has a royal position. What does this position mean for the church today? How does she express this position in her life of witness in this world? And what does this position mean for her relationship with civil government and society? These and other questions will be addressed.
Saturday Morning - Session 2
“Feed My Lambs”: Catechetical instruction within the unity of purpose of home, church, and school
by Dr. Christine vanHalen-Faber
Teaching and encouraging youth in the faith has been and continues to be an important part of the ministry of the Reformed Christian church.
We will examine how catechetical instruction has a central role in reaching and teaching youth. By means of catechetical instruction, the youth of the church will increase in their knowledge of God and will be able to hone the skills needed to articulate their faith.
We will also consider how catechetical instruction is an invaluable component in the threefold cord of home, church, and school. Bound together in unity, each strand has its distinct responsibility in helping youth “to be entirely committed to him whose mark and emblem we bear.” (BC Art.34)
Saturday Afternoon
Worshipping and Living with the Triune God through Jesus Christ in the Post-Modern Era
by Dr. Hae-Moo Yoo
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is missiological, and so the entire life and theology of the church should also be missiological. Theology, or “speaking of God,” proclaims the Triune God doxologically by declaring the Son and Spirit to be God. And from the outset, such theology is an essential part of public worship. But this has faced challenges. The Reformation emphasized preaching, yet weakened the meaning of the sacraments. Within Protestantism, anti-trinitarianism appeared that denied the divinity of Jesus. In more recent times, modernity and post-modernity promulgate the so-called ‘anti-theology.’ How should we theologize in our Sunday worship so that church members, filled with the knowledge of the Triune God, can fulfil their missionary task in everyday life?