When the Stars Disappear: Trusting God When We Suffer

Speakers Mark Talbot Jim Hoekstra Date April 8 - 9, 2016 Location Meadow Creek Church 3037 Bunker Lake Blvd NW Andover, MN 55304 Advance Registration is Now Closed. Walk-ins Are Still Welcome.  Schedule Speakers

Conference Description

Cancer, loss of a loved one, church troubles, job loss, mental illness, death of our dreams, divorce, suicide ...can cause us to reel from the pain and confuse us about God. Our faith, if we have one,  may waver when we face these most difficult circumstances. How do we find our bearings when these things stare us in the face? How do we overcome the isolation and loneliness that are often profoundly felt. Others have been down this path and have found clear direction in the Bible. This conference is for those who suffer and those who encourage them. 

Scholarships are available for those in need. Please contact Immanuel OPC at 763-210-5846 or pastorjim@immanuelchurchopc.org to receive the conference scholarship.

Schedule

Friday, April 8, 2016

6:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 p.m. Welcome, David Welliver
7:20 p.m. When the Stars Disappear, Mark Talbot
8:00 p.m. Christ as the Compassionate Shepherd, Jim Hoekstra
8:30 p.m. Break
8:45 p.m. Breathing Lessons - How to Survive Great Suffering, Mark Talbot

Saturday, April 9, 2016

8:00 a.m. Late Registration
8:30 a.m. Christ as Our Understanding Fellow-Sufferer, Jim Hoekstra
9:00 a.m. "Give me Understanding That I May Live", Mark Talbot
9:40 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. The Gift of Suffering, Mark Talbot
10:40 a.m. Question & Answer Session
11:30 a.m. Christ as Our Pioneer and Trail-Blazer, Jim Hoekstra
12:00 p.m. End of Conference

Speaker Biographies

Mark Talbot is associate professor of philosophy at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. Prior to coming to Wheaton, he taught at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before that he was an Andrew Mellon Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy with a dissertation on David Hume’s epistemology and won the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Graduate Student in the School of Arts and Sciences. His areas of academic expertise include philosophical theology, philosophical psychology, David Hume, St. Augustine, and Jonathan Edwards. He has been a Thomas F. Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar, is listed in Who’s Who in America, and speaks worldwide on philosophical and theological topics. He was Vice-Chair of the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals from 2000-2004 and the Executive Editor of Modern Reformation magazine from 2002-2004. In 2009, he received the Leland Ryken Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities at Wheaton College. He is currently the first CSF Scholar for the Christian Scholars’ Fund.

Jim Hoekstra is originally from the Chicago area and has been in ministry for 27 years serving in Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and now Minnesota. He is a graduate of LeTourneau University and Westminster Seminary California. Having suffered with Clinical Depression, Jim has great insight and compassion for those who battle mental illness.  He is currently the pastor of Immanuel Church in Andover where he lives with his wife Bonnie.  They have three adult children and are expecting their first grandchild this summer