Hello there, friend. Octavius Winslow once said: “So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself, He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood.” That’s it. That’s the intro. What a Savior! 

In today’s edition:

• How to pray for Egypt

• What true freedom actually is 

• Gen Zers in the UK have a new interest 

🇪🇬 Converting is difficult, but the prize is worth it.

The Details: Mark—as in, the author of the Gospel according to Mark—first brought the gospel to Egypt nearly two thousand years ago. Today, only about 1% of the population identifies as Protestant Christians, while about 90% of Egyptians identify as Muslims.

Converting from Islam to Christianity can be difficult. It’s not just a matter of changing doctrines or beliefs. It can often come with the cost of losing your job, family, friends, and even a sense of safety. 

The Takeaways: There is a small gospel presence in Egypt and a need for sound, theological teaching and resources. Pray for healthy and faithful churches and teachers. As some Egyptian Christians—particularly those converted from Islam—face persecution and opposition for their faith, pray for their safety and for them to find community and encouragement within the Church.

⛓️‍💥 Free to be a slave

As the United States celebrates almost 250 years of freedom on July 4 this year, I can’t help but to think about what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:19.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

The context preceding this verse is fascinating. Over and over again in this chapter, Paul talks about specific “rights” he possesses—to eat and drink whatever he wants, to have a wife, and to be financially supported by the church. But his whole purpose in talking about these “rights” is to say that he intentionally relinquishes these rights in order to spread the gospel among people who need it. He changes his diet, he willingly embraces singleness, and he even refuses some financial support because he knows doing these things will help reach more people with the gospel.

Then, when he gets to verse 19, he uses an astonishing word to describe himself. He says, “I have made myself a servant of all,” and the word he uses for servant is doulos, which is the Greek word for “slave.” In other words, with all sorts of freedoms at his disposal, Paul says, “I make myself a slave to people who don’t know Jesus, so that I might lead them to Jesus.” That’s what he means when he says, “that I might win more of them.” He elaborates later, saying in verses 22-23:

I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

In light of 1 Corinthians 9, let’s take a moment to think of all the freedoms—and “rights”—we have. We have the right to life, friends, marriage, family, safety, security, health, and happiness. We have the right to eat, drink, watch, wear, study, listen to, or say whatever we want. We have the right to organize our schedule, spend our time, choose our career, make our money, use our money, take our vacation, and plan our retirement. We have the right to do what we want to do, go where we want to go, and live how we want to live.

But this is where 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 is so revolutionary. As followers of Jesus with all of these rights, we actually make ourselves slaves of people who don’t yet know Jesus in order to lead them to Him. In other words, the Spirit of Jesus in us leads us to sacrifice our resources—our time, our money, our gifts, our comforts, our plans, and our dreams—in order to spread the gospel to people around us who need it and people far from us who have never heard it.

How is this posture of a slave playing out in your life? In what ways are you sacrificing your rights for the spread of the gospel? And in what ways might God be calling you to sacrifice more of your rights for the spread of the gospel?

In the end, let’s realize that this is true freedom: following Jesus and spending our lives spreading His love in our neighborhoods and among all nations so that more and more people might experience the freedom from sin and death that Jesus alone can bring.

—David Platt

Has The Commission blessed you?

We want to hear what God’s done!

🇬🇧 Long-time traditions—and new ones too.

This week, all eyes are on London as tennis legends take the stage at Wimbledon—a tournament steeped in tradition, where centuries-old customs like strawberries and cream meet world-class competition on grass courts.

But just beyond the buzz of Centre Court, another quiet but powerful movement is unfolding across the UK: Gen Z is rediscovering Christianity.

For decades, church attendance in the United Kingdom has been in decline. Those who deemed themselves as Christians were more nominal believers than believers with true faith. But evangelical churches today are seeing a growth in attendance, baptisms, conversions, and people reading the Bible. 

Wimbledon reminds us how enduring traditions can still captivate us. Could the gospel—far older and infinitely more powerful—be capturing young hearts in the same way?

How to Pray: As numerous young people in the United Kingdom are expressing interest in Christianity, pray that they may have gospel conversations with believers to learn about the hope found in Christ alone. Pray for them to become members of healthy churches, to establish firm foundations, and to be discipled. As we hope to see more in the United Kingdom turn towards Christ, pray that God will equip the young to have strong witnesses and be bold in sharing their testimonies.

📍 Attention Worthy

• Do you ever feel as if your sin is so bad that God couldn’t love you? This is what makes God’s love so astounding—that he showers his saving grace on those who don’t deserve it. Our sin is great, but his grace is greater.

• How has God been at work to build his church in one of the world’s hardest to reach regions? Find out one of the ways through a podcast called Storm in the Desert. Faithful, ordinary ministry can produce extraordinary change.

• English-speaking international churches can be a great way to see the gospel take root in a cross-cultural context, but they aren’t the silver bullet when it comes to missions. We need these international churches and we need those who will learn a new language and culture in order to reach those in minority language groups.

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS:

Selah Lipsey, Steven Morales, Jairo Namnún, David Platt, Camille Suazo

MAKE JESUS KNOWN EVERYWHERE!