Isaiah 19:1-21:17
Galatians 2:1-16
Psalm 59:1-17
Proverbs 23:13-14 

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New Testament: Galatians 2:1-16

… because by works of the law no one will be justified.  ~ Galatians 2:16

Summary: Paul Accepted by the Apostles, Paul Opposes Peter, Justified by Faith

Remember the Poor

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.    ~ Galatians 2:4-5

Both then and now, we have to be discerning about who teaches us. You’re not saved if you don’t take your salvation seriously. Those who understand God’s word and read the Bible for themselves should be very discerning about the leaders in the church they’re attending. Supporting complacent and compromising leaders will lead you, your family, and the people you invite on the path to hell. They use clever and indirect methods to deceive (and may not even realize they are doing so) which is a trick of Satan. It’s only by knowing God and His word in the Bible that you’ll know if you’re being deceived.

Is Your Church Serving Money

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. ~ Galatians 2:10

There is no doubt that this is not an isolated verse. There are numerous references to this in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is God’s people’s duty to remember the poor and to be eager to remember them.

Seems to me when trying to find a Church whose main goal is to serve Jesus Christ and teach the Bible it has been tough to find one that does not often talk about needing your money so they can build a nicer building. Plus they ask that it is beyond your regular giving. Also if someone in the Church needs help they take up a special offering beyond your regular giving for them. My Bible study seems to point out that people are more important than the building and seeking the lost is more important than the building. Often when they actually give something to help out missions or people they don’t give much (a couple hundred) which doesn’t buy much. Then they parade them in front of the Church to show how great helping them was. Very sad and not what I read in the Bible that we should do.

A church that loses its outward focus, as evidenced by where it spends its money, is showing signs of spiritual weakness. Church consultant and author Thom S. Rainer, in his book Autopsy of a Dead Church, states that one of the symptoms of a dying church is that the percentage of the budget for members’ needs keeps increasing, while the money earmarked for outreach decreases.

 

Read this article from gotquestions.org – click here.

 

Churches that spend a lot of money on appearances, rather than the plethora of other much more important matters a church should be spending its money on, such as helping people in need or producing fruit within its community, is prioritizing material above God.

 

Just think about it for a minute. Why do cafes, bookstores, or coffee shops exist OUTSIDE of your church? They’re businesses, people. They exist to make money. If they weren’t going to make money by opening them, they wouldn’t open them.

 

So what? Who cares if they have a store that makes money, you say? I’ll tell you what. What happened when Jesus found people selling doves in the temple? Need I say more?

 

Churches that don’t serve money don’t have any of these lovely, convenient and comfortable features, and as a result, people don’t go to them. They don’t make money because they don’t care about making money. They care about preaching the Gospel. Last time I checked, that didn’t include selling t-shirts for the next big church picnic, which costs $25 per person to attend.

 

“Vision? Uh, the Bible. Mission? God. Cafe? Are we a business now? A logo? What the heck? What’s wrong with the cross?”

 

This is the attitude of a Christian who has zero interest in amusing, impressing, or appeasing the world. Rather, they care about God, the Bible, and Jesus. A church that cares more about pleasing and impressing people and the world are serving money and material, not God or His interests, which have nothing to do with indulging us in our worldly desires.

 

Read the article by clicking here.

 

Is Bigger Always Better?

A Mad Pursuit

 

Overview: Galatians  –  Click Here

 

Listen to John MacArthur on today’s scripture below

 
 
 

That was true in the early church, wasn’t it? They were having all things in common, and when somebody had a need, somebody would sell something – chapter 2 of Acts – and they’d distribute it to those who had need. Early in the book of Acts in the sixth chapter, there were widows that didn’t have enough, and there were people appointed to make sure that the folks who had more than enough could get it to the folks who had not enough; and they were ministering to the saints. When it says “remember the poor,” it means the poor saints. Paul had done that in the middle of the fourteen years at some point. He came down with relief for those in the famine in Judea.

Do you remember the end of Romans chapter 15:26-27? “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Paul on his missionary journey always had the poor saints in Jerusalem in his mind.

 
 
  
   
   
Dr. J. Vernon McGee - Thru the Bible

Dr. J. Vernon McGee – Thru the Bible

 

Acts – J Vernon Mcgee – Thru the Bible

Galatians 02 –  Click Here

 

 

 
 
 

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