YOUR SATURDAY SEVEN

Here is another week of compiled articles! Your Saturday Seven is a hand selection of seven articles from this week that will hopefully be a blessing to you! Enjoy your Saturday seven! You can see more past articles here.

1. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE METAVERSE.

By: Ian Harber, 11.2.21

“The metaverse is not a digital world. It’s a digital world of worlds through which people can travel seamlessly, retaining their appearance and digital possessions wherever they go. These worlds do not merely exist in VR (virtual reality), but also layer onto physical reality through AR (augmented reality).”

2. SOUTHERN AND ASBURY SEMINARIES SUE OVER BIDEN VACCINE MANDATE.

By: Kate Shellnutt, 11.5.21

“This seminary must not be forced to stand in for the government in investigating the private health decisions of our faculty and employees in a matter involving legitimate religious concerns,” said Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary in Louisville. “We are glad to join with Asbury Theological Seminary in taking a stand against government coercion.”

3. LAZINESS RUINS HAPPINESS: WHAT MAKES DILIGENCE A VIRTUE?

By: Jon Bloom, 11.4.21

“For Christians, a virtue is moral excellence that, if cultivated into a habit, becomes a morally excellent character trait. We become more conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and experience an increased capacity to delight in what God has made good, true, and beautiful. We see scriptural examples in 2 Peter 1:5–8:”

4. ALMOST ALL CHURCHES AND MOST CHURCHGOERS ARE NOW GATHERING IN PERSON.

By: Aaron Earls, 11.2.21

“During the first week of March last year, 99% of Protestant churches met in person. By the end of the month, only 7% did so, according to a previous Lifeway Research study. A majority of churches didn’t start holding in-person services again until June 2020. By September 2020, 87% met physically, but that dropped to 76% in January 2021, according to Lifeway Research studies conducted at the time. In August 2021, however, only 2% of churches did not meet in person at all.”

5. HOUSTON CHURCH EXPERIENCES RECORD 601 BAPTISMS IN 2021.

By: Timothy Cockes, 11.5.21

“I think the Lord was preparing this place for a harvest. I believe coming out of COVID, people were searching and people were hungry. … I think God is honoring the prayers of the people here at Champion Forest.”

6. WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

By: Mark Tuso, 11.4.21

“You see, while the Bible does command us to “love thy neighbor”, that command cuts both ways.  Simply stated, I can’t say I love my neighbor while forcing him to sin and truly love him at the same time.  What most people invoking love mean in this discussion is really the opposite of biblical love.”

7. 10 THINGS YOU PROBABLY CAN’T EASILY KNOW THIS WEEKEND.

By: Church Lawless, 11.5.21

“There are some numerical facts about your church you can know this weekend, like attendance, additions, and giving figures. Many other things, though, we cannot know—and we simply have to trust God to work through us…”