Why Reading of the Law, Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon?

Carl Trueman has written an excellent essay about one part of the church service: the reading of God's law, corporate confession of sin, and the assurance of pardon from God's word. During my sabbatical I visited a number of evangelical-ish churches in the Reading area--and in none of these was this part of the service. Which left me somewhat disappointed, frankly--and I don't say this to be an "ugly Calvinist," nor to judge these churches. I say that only because I need it. If I cannot hear of God's pardon for my sin, then nothing else really matters. All the advice in the world, all that anyone can tell me that I ought to do, even that God demands of me, is useless to me if I cannot go anywhere with all my failures to do what I am supposed to do. Confession of sin and assurance of pardon is the most basic outcome of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Well, read Carl Trueman's article. He said it better than I can.

"The God Who Is There" by D.A. Carson

Here is a good, 14-part series done by D.A. Carson, as an introduction to the gospel. Not short, but worth perusing, and passing on, particularly to those who do not know what Christ is all about. The main web page for the series is here.

Below is embedded the preview for the first part. All of the videos (and audio) can be viewed or listened to for free.

The God Who Is There - Part 1. The God Who Made Everything (Preview) from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Kenhorst Dairy Queen in the "Gray Lady"

Here is something different: an article in the New York Times about a Dairy Queen in Berks County. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/us/17land.html?ref=global-home