ANSWERS FOR PASTORS

Everything in public gatherings of Christians should aim to edify Christians (1 Corinthians 14:12-40). The primary, overarching concern governing Christian gatherings should be how each element contributes to Christian growth. We should labor to put no offense in front of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:1-23). This doesn’t mean that we get rid of preaching if our non-Christian friends don’t want to hear preaching. It does mean we should strip away any unnecessary, distracting, and potentially offensive cultural practices that can get in the way of the gospel. Our services should be evangelistic and intelligible to non-Christians (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). Even though building up believers should be primary, we should also be concerned to communicate intelligibly to non-Christians who come to church. This means that while non-Christians’ preferences shouldn’t dictate what is done or how it’s done, we should be sensitive to them so that our services are more intelligible, and therefore more evangelistic. Find more great resources for church health from Mark Dever and 9Marks Ministries at www.9marks.org

 

VERSE OF THE DAY

English Standard Version   But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.   Read at Bible Gateway Read all of John 1   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV® Text Edition: 2016) Copyright ©2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.     ESV MacArthur Study Bible Buy Now New King James Version   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.   Read at Bible Gateway Read all of John 1   Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.     NKJV Study Bible- Large Print Edition Buy Now New King James Version   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.   Read at Bible Gateway Read all of John 1   Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.     NKJV Study Bible- Large Print Edition Buy Now King James Version   But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.   Read at Bible Gateway Read all of John 1   Public Domain     KJV Beautiful Word Bible Buy Now English Standard Version   But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.   Read at Bible Gateway Read all of John 1   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV® Text Edition: 2016) Copyright ©2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.     ESV MacArthur Study Bible Buy Now

DAILY DEVOTION

Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Unity or Truth? He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:16 NLT) It amazes me what people in the church will get upset about and even divide over. They don’t like a certain song or think the worship is too loud—or not loud enough. We’ve become worship critics and sermon connoisseurs. Meanwhile, we have brothers and sisters in Christ living in other parts of the world who would count it the highest privilege to sing any Christian song and hear any message from God’s Word. It’s okay to have opinions, but we should never sow disunity. What a horrible witness it is to a lost world when Christians are divided and bickering. And what a powerful witness it is when people see Christians loving one another. There’s a great statement attributed to Augustine that says, “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity [love].” There are essentials we can’t budge on. For example, if you were to say to me, “Greg, I don’t really believe the Bible is the Word of God or that Jesus Christ is the only way to God,” then we probably won’t be hanging out together all that much. We need unity in the essentials, in the basic truths of the Christian life. There is no fudging. But then in nonessentials, there is liberty. Maybe you have a different view on end-times events. You don’t think the Rapture could happen at any time; you think it could happen halfway through the Tribulation period. That is a nonessential. I have friends who are pastors, and we don’t agree on every little theological point. But they’re very good friends of mine because we have a lot in common. Unity is not as important as truth, however. I’m all for unity. But truth is more important than anything else, because if we lose that, we lose everything.

W.I.N. WORLD ISRAEL NEWS

https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-conducts-large-exercise-in-preparation-for-next-gaza-war/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=IDF+Prepares+for+Gaza+War%3B+Can+Omar%E2%80%99s+Entry+to+Israel+be+Stopped%3F+Jordanian+Muslim+Secretly+Helped+by+Israelis+After+Discovering+Jewish+Identity&utm_campaign=20190731_m153000521_IDF+Prepares+for+Gaza+War%3B+Can+Omar%E2%80%99s+Entry+to+Israel+be+Stopped%3F+Jordanian+Muslim+Secretly+Helped+by+Israelis+After+Discovering+Jewish+Identity&utm_term=IDF+Conducts+Large+Exercise+in+Preparation+for+Next+Gaza+War