I flew out Monday night and arrived at 5:30am at which point John Martin picked me up and we went back to the hotel for a bit. The rest of that day we went to the Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia, and saw all the big sights in Washington D.C. and had an amazing dinner at this place called Old Ebbits Grill. It was my first time having crab cakes, and I was all-out stuffed; but it was worth it.
Wednesday we made a quick trip to Baltimore (REALLY quick, like find a starbucks, stand outside for a while, visit Fort McHenry, run back to register for the conference!). We had a lovely dinner at Corner Bakery, and then headed to the first session with John Piper.
I'll just write about that first session for now, as it would be really boring to read my entire recap in one post. The worship at Sovereign Grace Churches is PASSIONATE. They foster such a gratitude for the gospel into their people, that when they sing about the grace they've received in the cross, they can't help but be ecstatic about it! The music is really simple and not too heavily influenced by any one particular style, but the musicians are solid and they make the most of the slim rehearsal times they had (that was part of the conference mentality, that they wanted to do things the way we did them at church, not with all kinds of extra luxury rehearsal).
John Piper talked about "The God of Worship" and basically said the same thing he has said in all of his books, but that is eternally relevant and helpful for us to be reminded of: that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. To this end, God's act of putting his son on the cross was primarily an act to preserve and proclaim his own glory; that because he had "passed over sins" for hundreds of years for millions of rebels, he needed to show that he was not simply turning a blind eye. Crushing his son showed that he did indeed require death as a payment for sin. As a secondary goal however, his act proved to be an act of infinite love, as he sacrificed his own son instead of US!
For Christians, the only true, eternal happiness is found in the perfect glory of God, and so God, in upholding that glory, is actually preserving our infinite source of happiness!
So while it is true that God loved US and sent his son... in reality, he loved himself MORE! Piper calls this the "God-Centeredness of God," and he said that many people get hung up on this idea, and it turns them off to the idea of God. They want a God who is concerned solely for them. Pretty interesting thought: that God's favorite thing is himself. That being true, he wants to share with us the greatest thing he has to give us: himself!!
AHHHHH, man, my head is exploding, so I'll pick this back up later!
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