Q: Why do we need a new church on the North Shore?

A: 1 Chronicles 12:32 mentions the “…men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”

We need to be like the men of Issachar and understand the times we are living in and how to respond. The Northshore area had recently experienced an event that will mark our place in history forever. The nation’s greatest natural disaster delivered the Gulf Shore region $200 billion in damages and left over one million people displaced. 85% of the homes, schools, churches and businesses in Slidell were damaged and many were utterly destroyed. The rebuilding of our community will take many years. But we cannot afford to wait that long to rebuild our lives.

Starting over can be difficult. But it can be easy when we all come together in the unity and love of Jesus Christ. We must have the courage to begin again and help each other conquer an uncertain future.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Seven months of rebuilding has left its mark on the hearts of all of us. We must focus on our relationship with God and draw renewed strength from Him.

The North Shore has opened its arms to over 100,000 new residents physically and we must also open our hearts to them spiritually. Spiritual strength is more valuable at a time like this than money or any material possession. Hope is the greatest gift we can give.

New Horizon Christian Fellowship is a New Church for a New Community.

Q: What is the difference between a “translation” and a “paraphrase” of the Bible?

A: A “paraphrase” is someone’s interpretation of scripture while a “translation” is simply taking the original scrolls and historic documents and translating them into a different language. Jesus and the prophets never spoke English. They certainly never said the words, “Thee” or “Thou.” They spoke primarily Greek and Hebrew. However, if you had to learn Greek or Hebrew to read the Bible most people would never do it. Obviously, the Bible has to be translated into the many languages so people all over the world can understand the Gospel message. Jesus commanded us to preach the Gospel to all nations. Certainly the Lord recognized we could only accomplish this if we translated His words into languages they could understand.A paraphrase is typically easier to read (Such as The Message or the Living Bible) but a translation is more accurate to the original text such as the New American Standard Bible (NASB) or the New International Version (NIV).

Q: What version of the Bible does Pastor John preach from?

A: Pastor John delivers his messages primarily from The New American Standard Bible although he will refer to other translations or paraphrases occasionally to stress an important point. The NASB was translated after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 and it is considered to be the most accurate word-for-word translation available. To read more about the accuracy of the NASB CLICK HERE .

Other accurate translations that are very close to the NASB are the NIV (New International Version) and the NKJV (New King James Version). All of these translations are very easy to read in today’s language and are extremely accurate and trustworthy versions of the Bible.