Galatians 2:12

For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

From Background Notes [BN] for March 10^th/11^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When there are so many social challenges to living as a Christian in the present culture, strong connections to other Christians are essential to prevent discouragement, backsliding, anxiety, and loss of faith.

The writer of the Hebrews imagined a crisis brewing on the horizon — one that would share in the magnitude of what he calls “the Day” (10:25). While we generally think of “the Day of the Lord” in terms of the return of Christ, the early Christians knew of several such “days of the Lord” when judgment fell and decisions to remain faithful became vital to community life in the church. One such crisis was 70 C.E. when Jews lost their national sovereignty, the capital city, and their temple. Christian Jews fled the city because Jesus commanded them to (see Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), but they were not supposed to flee from each other! They were to remain a Christian synagogue outside the center of Jewish life precisely because their exiled status required it.

In our own time Christians need each other more than ever to be able to stand up when confronted by non-Christian values, treatment, and culture.  [BN, 4]

Join us this week in Study & Worship at ChicagoFirstChurch of the Nazarene –

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm