The Most Important Thing (Mk. 1:38, 44-45)

Reminder:  The most important thing is the message, the gospel.  Keep focused on the gospel.  The most important thing is not a prophecy or an interpreted message in tongues or a healing or a miracle (enjoyable as those things are to experience).  That's why Jesus commanded the former leper to be quiet.  Jesus wasn't trying to stifle the man's testimony.  Rather, Jesus didn't want the demands of healing to distract Him from the priority of preaching.

Gospel Ignorance

One of the greatest crimes committed by this present Christian generation is its neglect of the gospel, and it is from this neglect that all our other maladies spring forth. The lost world is not so much gospel hardened as it is gospel ignorant because many of those who proclaim the gospel are also ignorant of its most basic truths. The essential themes that make up the very core of the gospel—the justice of God, the radical depravity of man, the blood atonement, the nature of true conversion, and the biblical basis of assurance—are absent from too many pulpits. Churches reduce the gospel message to a few creedal statements, teach that conversion is a mere human decision, and pronounce assurance of salvation over anyone who prays the sinner’s prayer. -- Paul Washer  The Gospel's Power and Message

An iPhone Is Still an iPhone Regardless of the Carrier

A supposedly big deal is going to happen today. Verizon announced it's ability to host the Apple iPhone. No longer will AT&T be the exclusive wireless carrier of this social phenomenon.

We're not talking about a whole new and improved phone. There will just be one more carrier to the same great product. Service may or may not improve. Only time will tell. Dropped calls may or may not decrease. Only time will tell. What I can say for sure is this: An iPhone is still an iPhone regardless of the carrier. The phone itself hasn't changed.

Let's move from phones to churches. The one thing that doesn't change is the gospel. You can get better customer service at one church. You can have shorter services at another. One carrier of the gospel may be extremely creative. Another carrier may seem highly conservative. However, the gospel is (or should be) the same. Choose your carrier. The ability and allure of the phone (gospel) is still more important than the choice of carrier (church). Without the phone, the carrier is meaningless.

May I never be at a church where the gospel is not #1 priority.