2021 Foundations Conference Followup Report

Greetings,

The Foundations Conference 2021 in Greenville SC has finished.

It was once again our distinct privilege to host our fourth conference assembling a unique blend of some of our generation's finest speakers on the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville SC. Our focus for two full days was on prayer and the Word of God—what we believe to be the foundations of ministry (Acts 6:4).

There is a prayer deficiency.

We still say our prayers. But there’s little of Jacob wrestling with the angel until the break of day and saying, "I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me!" Or, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availing much. Or, the kingdom of heaven suffering violence and the violent taking it by force. Or the Lord Jesus Himself, who in the days of His flesh, offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.

When we read such words, how does our prayer life measure up? Where is the HEART AND SOUL? Where is the POWER AND PASSION? Has the FIRE gone out?

To be clear, having passion doesn’t necessarily mean just praying louder, with more charisma or frenzy. If you remember, Hannah prayed earnestly without uttering a single word. It's not about the vain, empty form of words. It's about THE HEART, THE BURDEN, THE DESPERATION.

Leonard Ravenhill once said, “God doesn’t answer prayer, He answers desperate prayer.” We're simply not desperate enough.

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So, what is the solution?

When the kings from 2 Chronicles faced their critical crises moments in which they came face to face with desperately impossible situations, consistently, they responded in corporate prayer every single time. Whether it was King Asa, King Jehoshaphat, King Uzziah, or King Hezekiah—they gathered the people to pray!

This year, we were blessed to enjoy some of the most powerful messages ever at these conferences. We thank God for every single session and they are now freely available for your enjoyment.

THE VAULT

Also at this conference, we introduced a new project being explored between SermonAudio and Bob Jones University that seeks to advance God's kingdom and train the next generation.

There is a secure storage facility tucked away in the side of an icy mountain above the Arctic Circle between Norway and the North Pole, called the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, or more commonly referred to as the Doomsday Vault. Its purpose is to house all of the world's seeds securely so that in the event of an apocalyptic situation or a global catastrophe, the seeds will be preserved to allow nations to grow various foods again.

We would like to build a "doomsday vault" of our own. Except in this vault, we would be housing the good seed of the preached word in the event of a catastrophic breakdown in relations with cloud providers and platforms. The bottom line is simple. It is imperative that we make every effort and take every step to ensure that the millions of sermons on SermonAudio are preserved for posterity—for this generation and the next.

To be clear, this is a step of faith and we will be waiting on the Lord to touch the hearts of individuals to share this burden with us.

Learn more about it here:
www.sermonaudio.com/vault

Below is the complete list of all conference messages. We encourage you to take the time to download them freely and enjoy a concentration of preaching session that will enrich your soul and touch your heart:

• The Case for United Prayer II - Introduction | Clip 1 | Clip 2 - Steven Lee
• The Vault & Cancel Culture - Steven Lee
• Testimony: Not Many Mighty | Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3 - Clarence Sexton
• The Power of the Pulpit to Shape a Nation - Clarence Sexton
• Devotional Life of David Brainerd | Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3 - Steven Lawson
• The Mandate of Expository Preaching - Steven Lawson
• Restoring the Family Altar | Clip 1 | Clip 2 - Joel Beeke
• Christ's Prayer for the Church's Unity - Joel Beeke
• Reasoning from the Scriptures | Clip 1 | Clip 2 - Todd Friel
• Prayer Meeting With Jesus | Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3 - Armen Thomassian
• The Word in Conversation | Clip 1 | Clip 2 - John Vaughn
• Prayer Meeting: Fire of God - Mark A. Acevedo
• Prayer Meeting: Revive Us Again - Curtis Knapp
• Amicus Ecclesiae: Friend of the Church - Kevin Kindall
• Welcome to Bob Jones University - Steve Pettit
• Christmas Dinner Exhortation - Clarence Sexton

One of the highlights from the conference for our staff was to sit down with the various speakers and enjoy some light fellowship over a meal after a long day.

A Joint Resolution for United Prayer.

Two years ago, we set forward a proposal to gather with God's people to pray earnestly for the revival of the church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom on earth.

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We began with WEEK #1 in January 2020 with just a handful of individuals but are now a group of 70+ saints from all over the world that meet together to pray each day over Zoom at noon. We call it UNITED PRAYER. Many of these saints travelled a great distance to attend this conference so we could at long last meet in-person face to face. On Dec 16, 2021, another proposal was put forward encouraging churches to recover the necessity of the prayer meeting.

This resolution is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day or every week to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world. We would ask that you prayerfully consider joining us in this resolution.

On December 16-17, 2021 we did our best to communicate a burden. A burden for earnest united praying. A burden for passionate preaching. We look for God to command the blessing on this effort in the days, months, and years to come.

“As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.” 2 Chronicles 26:5