kec

2010 - Living Proof
About 18 months ago, I discovered a very worn, battered little hardback on my bookshelf. It turned out to be an ancient copy of J.C. Ryle’s ‘Home Truths’.

One of the chapters in the book is about Lot, the nephew of Abraham. J. C. Ryle comments that the most amazing thing the Bible tells us about Lot, is that when Sodom was about to be destroyed, Lot ‘lingered’ (Genesis 19:16 KJV).

Even though he knew the angels had been sent by God to destroy the city, he lingered. He knew that God’s patience had come to an end, and that there was no doubt God would do what He said He would do; yet, he lingered. Lot told his two prospective sons-in-law to run for their lives, yet, he lingered. As dawn broke, Lot had two angels waiting for him to leave, telling him to flee from the coming wrath – yet, he lingered.

In his heart, Lot had made Sodom his home. In the end, he didn’t want to leave.

Our topic this Easter touches on many things – our holiness, our devotion to Christ, our hypocrisy, our fear of the world’s hatred for living differently.

But in many ways, it boils down to this question:
In your heart, where have you made your home: is it in this world, or the next?

2009 - The Time of our Lives: Living Wisely in a Hyperactive World
Busyness has become one of the defining marks of our lives. Everyone is busy. For many of us, busyness has simply become a lifestyle.

What we’re asking at kec this year is: “Is that a good thing?”

In Australia, the answer is usually ‘yes’. Being busy is equated with ‘being productive’, ‘getting ahead’ and ‘pulling your weight’. For some, it can also be a way of saying ‘I’m important’.

The downside is that we can spend our lives being busy, but with the wrong things. The frantic pace of life can sweep us along and, before we’ve had a chance to think about what we’re really doing and why, the larger part of our lives has passed us by, and it’s too late.

That frantic pace of life can sweep Christians along too. In the process priorities are lost, commands forgotten, urgency buried and a Lord ignored.

We hope that this weekend, those things might be restored to their rightful place in our lives, by our Sovereign God and in His power.

We’re glad you’re here! We pray that you will hear God’s voice through His word, by His Spirit and that it might be a landmark weekend in your life as a result.

2008 - Hip Pocket Nerves
Sometimes it takes a dramatic event to show us what really matters in life.

In November 1993, devastating bushfires struck the city of Malibu in USA. A total of 268 homes were lost. One resident, after returning early in the morning to find his home totally destroyed, was interviewed by a TV crew on the scene. This is what he said into the camera:

“My father used to say, ‘Beware of too many possessions. They will end up possessing you.’ I’d just like to tell him this morning ‘I’m a free man.’”

It is not our desire that kec be destructive or tragic like a major bushfire. But we do hope that the preaching of God’s Word might be as dramatic in your life —an event where the issues of money and eternity are seen more clearly than ever before, and pressed home to your heart, mind and will with the Holy Spirit’s power.

Jesus Christ said “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

May He engrave that truth on our hearts and minds.

2007 - The Arrows of the Almighty
Our theme this year concerns Christians and suffering. In one form or another, it's an issue that touches all of us at some stage in life. The questions that it raises for us are searching ones, and ones that, as Christians, we're free to ask! We've put together a program that we hope canvases the issue well, and provides much clarity, encouragement and hope.

Our three speakers - Robert Amesss, David Cook and Steve Young - are able expositors of God's word and we warmly welcome them to the platform.

We hope these talks from KEC 2007 will bring a time of coming to know God better, for which you will always be thankful.

2006 - Now and Then: Heaven, Hope, Holiness
Our theme is our Christian hope of heaven and the outworking of that hope in holy living now. It is a wonderful topic to take time to reflect upon. We are fortunate to have 3 faithful Bible teachers join us: Peter Adam comes to us from Melbourne and Simon Manchester and Luke Tattersall join us from Sydney.

2005 - The Holy Spirit: Who He is and what He does
Our theme is the Holy Spirit - who He is and what He does. It is an important topic and what better place to reflect upon the Holy Spirit's person and work than in the company of many other believers as we sit under the faithful teaching of the Bible. We welcome our speakers - Don Carson, Phil Nicholson and Grant Thorp.

2004 - Loving Jesus
We are looking forward to a wonderful Easter this year at Katoomba.

We welcome David Jones who is involved in church planting in Tasmania, Kanishka Raffel , pastor of St Matthew’s, Shenton Park, Perth and Jonathan Dykes who is involved in evangelizing workers in Sydney’s CBD and training young preachers at the Sydney Missionary & Bible College.

As we remember with thankfulness the great events of Easter, it is fitting that the theme for this weekend should be Jesus! I pray that you may ‘grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge …’ (Ephesians 3:18-19)

2003 - because... I am...

We welcome our brother Nigel Lee from England, Archbishop Peter Jensen and Bishop Frank Retief from South Africa.

What better way to celebrate the centenary of the Convention than to do what believers have done here for these past 100 years - listen and be blessed by faithful, clear preaching from the Word of God, the Bible.

We have a great heritage, we have gifted preachers, lets enter in with great thankfulness to a weekend of teaching, correction, rebuke and training in righteousness.

2002 - a matter of Death and Life
Many of those who report and comment on the news have told us that September 11, 2001 is the 'day that changed our world'. There is no doubt that in may ways this is certainly the case. But as we reflect on the truths which are presented throughout the Scriptures, we know that the real day which changed the world occurred two thousand years ago in a small occupied territory in the very centre of the Middle East. The crucifixion of Jesus was the event which changed the meaning of death forever just as the resurrection of Jesus forever changed the meaning of life.

Peter Adam will teach us about the Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus' death and resurrection, John Ting will share from the Psalms about issues that face us in daily life and Rick Lewers will stir our thinking about the true realities surrounding death.

2001 - In whose image?
We live in an age characterised by knowledge and yet we know so little about what makes us tick. That's why the organising comittee has asked our speakers to address the topic of what the Bible teachers about the nature of humanity.

We welcome Dick Dowsett, Peter Jensen and David Cook, who are Katoomba regulars; we look forward to their ministry to us.

2000 - The Timeless Gospel
The timeless gospel - no matter how often we hear it, we can never get enough reminders of where we stand with God because of the gracious work of his Son, the Lord Jesus.

It's good to welcome Phillip Jensen, Archie Poulos and Paul Windsor to the platform.

1999 - A Great Salvation
What a convention it promises to be with return visits from Don Carson and Dick Lucas, and John Ting (Chinese Presbyterian Church, Surry Hills) making his first visit as a speaker at Katoomba.

I trust KEC99 will help you remember afresh God's wonderful plan for our salvation and will cause you to be "lost in wonder, love and praise."

1998 - The upside-down Kingdom
We welcome to our platform David Jackman form the UK, together with two home-grown speakers - David Cook and Simon Manchester. We eagerly anticipate the Lord challenging us all, as our speakers expound the theme of God's kingdom in the Scriptures.

Let us encourage one another to be open to the Holy Spirit's work of transforming our values and convictions, so that we think and live more like our King.

1997 - The Sovereignty of God
This year our theme is the Sovereignty of God or God's Godness.

Easter convention is a time for all in the family of God. Children, young people and adults all get to hear Bible teaching at its best. Be open to what God wants to say to you.

Our theme "The Sovereignty of God" is really about God's authority and rule over our world and our lives. The Bible says of God that He "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will" (Eph 1:11). It is comforting to know that our powerful God is not capricious, but works in all things for our good. (Rom 8:28)

We welcome our speakers - John Chapman, Al Stewart and Kent Hughes.

Prepare for the priviledge of hearing God speak.

1996 - The Struggle: "Dealing with sin in my life"
Our theme is The Struggle - the continuing battle with indwelling sin in our lives.

The Swiss commentator Frederic Godet said of the letter to the Romans, that every great spiritual revival in the church will be connected as effect and cause with a deeper understanding of this book. I'm very pleased to welcom Peter Jensen back to the Katoomba platform to preach on this great book.

Welcome to Frank Retief, the Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa; we have been anticipating Frank's visit for a long time and are delighted that he is able to join us this Easter.

David Price, the Principal of Bible College of Victoria is also a newcomer to Katoomba and will preach on discipleship - saying "no" to self. David is involved with the Belgrave Heights Convention in Melbourne and we are delighted to have him come and share in ministry this Easter.

Good faithful Bible teaching, our families together, beautiful surroundings with God's people: in the words of a politician, "it doesn't get any better than this". At least that's true this side of heaven, it just doesn't get any better!

Let's remember James 1:22.

1995 - The Gospel: the key to life
Our theme for the Convention is the central message of the Bible - the gospel; because the good news about Jesus is the key to understanding life.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 says the wisdom of God is summed up in the cross of Jesus, which for us, who are being saved, is the Power of God. John Chapman will be leading us in four studies on this theme under the heading "Let's be clear about the Cross". It is a privilege to welcome John back to Katoomba again in this his last year before a well-earned retirement from fulltime ministry,

We welcome Dick Lucas, Rector of St Helen's, London to our Convention. Dick spoke at Youth Convention 10 years ago and this Easter will expound the themes from Galations, especially as they relate to the Cross.

To our third speaker, Grant Thorp, we extend a warm welcome to the speakers' platform - his first time here at Katoomba. Grant will explore the Old Testament book of Habakkuk.

Convention is a great place for making and renewing freindships, for enjoying the wonder of the Blue Mountains and for being challenged by the Word of God. Please pray that you will be open to God's truth as our speakers expound the Scriptures to us.

1994 - Radical Discipleship
We welcome two Smiths and a Piper.

Bryson Smith has spoken at Katoomba before and it's good to have him return to speak on Ephesians.

This is Graeme Smith's first visit to us. He is the Pastor of Ashgrove Baptist in Brisbane and a fine communicator. Graeme will speak to us on Radical Discipleship.

Reg Piper, the Bishop of Wollongong, makes a welcome return to Katoomba to speak on Genesis.

The overriding theme of our Convention is Discipleship - what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

As the Word is opened to us, we need to examine the integrity of our discipleship and commit ourselves to true discipleship involving self denial, taking up the cross and following Christ.

1993 - Celebrating 90 Years
Our speakers this year are Peter Adam, Michael Raiter, Graham Miller and Sir Marcus Loane.

1992 - Spiritual Fitness
Our speakers this year are John Chapman, Paul Cooper and Paul de Plater.

1991 - The Word is ... LIFE
Welcome to Easter Convention 1991 - we hope and pray that these talks will be both a challenge and an encouragement to you.

We gather in the Name above every Name, Jesus Christ, to be confronted by the reality of God's Word - the Word of Life. Our three guest speakers, David Cook, Nigel Lee and Stuart Coulton bring a wealth of Christian experience and understanding to our convention. All of them are totally committed to the ministry of teaching and preaching the Bible - for them, the Word of Life!

Which brings us to the theme. Most of us are used to reading and hearing God's Word: but familiarity sometimes brings with it a problem of a loss of perspective. Reading and hearing God's Word involves listening to God speak to us. It requires us to be obedient to what He is saying to us. Action is always required in response to true learning from the Bible, and hence the double reality of our theme this year.

May all who hear God's Word seek to put it into practice in their lives. In this way, they will be like the wise builder in Jesus' parable.

Take time to think and reflect on Jesus, the Word made flesh, the one who claimed to be "the way, the truth and the life" and of His chosen means of communicating with us today, through His living Word, the Bible. Take time to plan how you will act in obedience to what you will hear.

Enjoyment from a convention like this is easy, almost inevitable: but spiritual profit from convention is really what we are aiming for. This takes prayerful effort. The Word is Life!

1990 - The heart of the faith ...
It's always good for Christians to go back to the basics because it is so easy for us to be led astray in our thinking. We have decided to focus on the events of the Easter season, the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It is a privilege to welcome three teachers of the Bible to lead us in our study over the next few days.

Lyn Thow is the Pastor of the Dickson Baptist Church in the ACT and will be leading the morning Bible studies from Mark's gospel. This is Lyn's first visit to the Katoomba platform and we look forward to his ministry.

Bruce Smith is Classics Master at Sydney Grammar School, and this will be Bruce's first time back at Katoomba for many years. Bruce will be speaking on the resurrection of Jesus.

Dudley Foord is the rector of the Liverpool South Anglican Church and will warm up our evenings as he expounds the theme of the Cross.

In his book "Knowing God", JJ Packer passes on this advice for those who wish to turn their knowledge about God into knowledge of God: 'The rule for doing this is demanding but simple. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God."

I encourage you to take time following each day's ministry to put this simple but demanding rule into practice.

1989 - The Household of God
As we draw aside from the busyness of life to hear God's word, we turn to an important and vexed topic: the Household of God. What is God's household? Who belongs to it? What is its purpose? And how should its affairs be conducted? We all belong to churches of one sort or another, and what we hear in these talks will have deep ramifications for our church life.

We're privileged to have some fine speakers with us - Ray Case, Peter Jensen and John Chapman - and it is important that we pause to prayerfully reflect on their words - and plan how we might obey God better as a result.

As we consider the challenge to continually reform our church life, let us pray that God's Spirit would move among us to point us to Christ, the Lord and Head of our church.

1988 - The Challenge: Grow & Go
Our speakers this year are Helen Roseveare, Barry Webb, Simon Manchester, John Buckle and John Bracht

1987 - Last things first - Our living hope
There are a few more delightful places to spend Easter than Katoomba. Here, not only is the air clear and fresh, but it is full of the sound of God's word being taught and his people gathering in fellowship.

Under the broad theme of "hope", we will be looking at the resurrection, assension and approaching return of Christ, and the implications of these for our lives as Christians: as individuals and families, in the church and in the world. Hope is a subject close to the hearts of many of the Bible writers, a subject full of profound truth and deep challenge. Once again we are blessed with speakers who bring to their subject a wealth of understanding and experience.

Our speakers are Johns Woodhouse, John Chapman and Paul Beringer.

For our part, I'm sure the convention will be an enjoyable one - all the ingredients are certainly there. Whether we profit from it as Christians is a matter largely up to us. Let us make sure we take time to reflect on what we have heard and to pray about it - and why not get together with one or two others to talk and pray. This kind of prayerful fellowship, together with the faithful teaching of God's word, will bring glory to Christ and build us up in the faith.

1986 - Foundations for Living
Our speakers this year are Don Carson, Peter Jensen and David Cook.

1985 - Seeing things God's way
We gather in the name of Jesus to be challenged by God's Word. Our speakers bring a wealth of Christian experience and understanding to our convention as they ask us to look at God's perspective for ourselves, our families, the church and the world. Those who seek to put the truth into practice will hear what God has to say. They will be like the wise builder in Jesus' parable.

Our speakers for this convention are John Buckle, David Peterson and Barry Newman.

1984 - Persevering in the Christian Life
The convention has been planned to ensure that each member of your family has an enjoyable time of relaxation, whilst profiting from a Bible teaching ministry at their own particular level.

Our speakers for this convention are John R Reid, David Cook and John Chapman.