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Weekend A La Carte (September 12)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Welcome to the weekend! And thanks for taking a little bit of it to read A La Carte. I post this just before heading to my church’s morning of prayer, an event I have been looking forward to all week long. Praying and praying together–these are precious gifts.

Giving Your Pastor Feedback After a Sermon

I suppose it would be easy enough to overthink it, but I do appreciate this guidance on giving your pastor feedback on his sermon. Sometimes words that seem helpful actually aren’t.

First Pitch

“On the night of Oct. 30, 2001, President George W. Bush stepped onto the mound at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch at Game 3 of the World Series, just six weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.” This excellent little video recounts the event and its importance. (Note: There is one beeped-out swear word.)

The Viability of Babies Not Considered Legally ‘Human’

“A new study published Sept. 8 found that more infants born before 28 weeks gestation are surviving without disease or other complications compared to 20 years ago. The findings cast further doubt on the adequacy of the viability standard for protecting the unborn.”

Tomorrow in 1541. John Calvin returns to Geneva, having been banished by Geneva’s City Council. After the 3 year separation, Calvin picked up preaching the very next verse from where he left off. *

The Best Day of the Week

“Lord’s Day worship isn’t a burden to endure, but a joyful offering from God to receive.” I enjoyed this refresher on the joy of the Lord’s Day.

How Heaven Became a Secular Word

The Atlantic has quite an interesting article on heaven tourism and 90 Minutes in Heaven. “The movie spends a good number of minutes imagining scenes from the beyond, filled with trippy pastels and all the smiling white people you’ll supposedly see in heaven. According to Polish, these images are at least somewhat based on those described in the Christian scriptures, but they’re light on concrete details—Jesus, for example, is nowhere to be found.”

What’s Up With That?

Why is it so difficult to catch your own typos? According to this Wired article, it’s all your brain’s fault.

Learn More In Less Time

My thanks goes to Books at a Glance for sponsoring the blog this week. Sponsorships are the sole form of advertising at Challies.com and, therefore, the way the site stays afloat. I am grateful for each and every sponsor.

MacArthur

I am a free man, the slave of Christ.

—John MacArthur

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    God Takes Us Into His Confidence

    Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord. God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself? John Calvin began his Institutes by…

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