Q: How should I dress when I visit?
A: The Bible says, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NASB) In other words, God is interested in your heart, not your clothes. Dress however makes you feel comfortable. Some people like to dress up for church and others like to wear shorts and sandals. You decide.
Q: What style of worship will I encounter when I visit New Horizon?
A: Psalm 33:1-3 says, “Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
King David is describing true worship as a celebration with a variety of skilled musicians and singing new songs. That’s what you’ll hear at New Horizon. Sometimes you may hear some great historic hymns sung in a modern way.
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.”
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 Calvary Chapel 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”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.
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.
Q: What emphasis does New Horizon place on marriage and families?
A: We believe that the family unit is God’s building block for society and for the church. Therefore we strongly emphasize teaching God’s Word in ways that provide practical guidance for building strong marriages and raising Godly children. We believe that great families build a great church and a great church builds great families.
Q: What denomination is New Horizon?
A: We are a non-denominational church and self-governed under the non-profit laws of the State of Louisiana. We are not opposed to denominations as such, only their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ. We believe that the only true basis of Christian fellowship is His (Agape) love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.