I was really blessed this past weekend to listen to Mark Dever and Rick Holland teach on what a healthy church looked like. Especially the encouragement to preach the Word and be faithful to the Word of God. Why is the word of God so precious? Because it is by the Word we are sanctified. It is the hearing of the Word that helps our "spiritual eyes" to see Christ and his magnifecent work on the cross. We are a hearing culture that desperately needs to hear the voice of God in the midst of of darkness, suffering, and sin. I also learned about church membership, discipline, and discipleship. Church membership is extremely important for the church because it will help distinguish who are God's true sheep. Another interesting insight was to plead or beg people on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. A theology of hell will help see the gravity of sin and the glories of the cross. Spurgeon said that people who are going to hell must go to hell leaping over believers holding onto their knees pleading for them to be reconciled. A very graphic image. So how am I going to apply what I learned at this conference?