Marcom ICF Delft 
How can a super-diverse and multi-ethical community grow towards adulthood?
Often this law applies: the more diverse a community, the more different ideas about it.
Through an early Christian hymn, Paul explores the significance of Jesus as the Head of the Church and firstborn of creation. Because Jesus is the ultimate reality, we must grow in Him!
To focus on positive things can help us to overcome the negative. But what if the negative are overwhelming? Then you need greater positive things. Paul discovered these – and shares this in his letters. Upcoming Sunday we read a part from the letter to the Colossians on thanksgiving (Colossians 1 : 3-8).
Who wouldn’t like to receive a message from a friend? Such a message shows that you are in the thoughts of your friend. So you are not alone (- although perhaps you sometimes feel so). A friend has been thinking of you and has taken trouble to send you this message. Wonderful, isn’t it? Upcoming Sunday we will learn how sending messages and greeting each other is used by God to connect us with Him and to build up our faith, hope and love.
Here are a few ideas of what you can do before our service will start:
1) You can (again) read the whole letter to the Colossians to get familiar with it
2) Take 10-15 minutes to just read verses 1-2 and think/meditate over these verses. (boring? hard? just try!)
3) Ask God to bring someone in your mind to send him/her a kind message
Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope, a small telescope-like tube with multiple lenses? When you point it to the light and look through it colorful bits of glass or plastic produce beautiful forms which delight the eye! I had a simple toy kaleidoscope when I was a child and I could spend hours peering through it, turning it round and round and marveling at what I saw.
Paul’s letter to the Colossian church is in some ways like a kaleidoscope. The more you look, the more beauty you see, the beauty of Jesus Christ in all His majesty. Just when you think you have seen all that is there in the text you blink, and suddenly in your mind’s eye you see more of the magnificence of Christ. It is so much more than a child’s amusement, it is worship and life transformation.
This week we will begin a new sermon series on Colossians. In the coming weeks as we make our way through the letter I am certain you will marvel, not only at what you see in this inexhaustibly rich letter, but also at the hope we have in Christ. Join us this Sunday for a first look through the kaleidoscope of Colossians.
The mission to go out and to baptize people (peoples), teaching them how to be disciples of Jesus, has become known as The Great Commission. In fact, it became so ‘great’ that for many ’normal believers’ this mission became out of reach. But notice how Jesus meets his disciples in Galilee after his resurrection. That is where they came from, where they knew people, and where people knew them. Coming Sunday we will think about the question how we can disciple people in our own daily lives to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
Upcoming Sunday we will read Matthew 28 : 16 – 20. For Christians a familiar passage. But this Sunday we will really read it as it was intended: as the concluding passage of this chapter, this section of chapters and of this whole book.
It began to announce that Jesus is the son of David. Now we know that the Son of David has come – proof has been given; and insight in His character, kingdom and task. Now he has brought that which does not only redeem His own people, the Jews (sons of Abraham) but that which does redeem all nations (sons of Adam): namely by atoning for our sins by His blood reconciliation with God; so that there can now be an international people where the living God can dwell into Immanuel; that is: I am with you.
God has enthroned this King. Then why is His Kingdom not yet there, visible to everyone? It has been announced by Jesus himself (Ch. 24); as the Messiah had to be rejected and neglected, His bride, His people will have to go the same way throughout the whole world (and history); however: as Jesus revealed the glory of His Father, now His bride, His people will witness His glory, by teaching and preaching the glory of the King, the Gospel, the book that reveals his glory. And as the bride is continually in the mind and attention of the bridegroom, so it will be with us.
None of us likes it to be isolated. We all feel we need to be connected,
somehow. When Jesus died on the cross, He died in ultimate isolation. He
died so voluntarily. Why: to open up the way for the ultimate community. On
Good Friday we will have a Zoom-service, starting 19.30h. The
Bible-reading will be Matthew 26:45-56. It would be wonderful to meet
all ICF-Delft friends; so join and invite others!
We all need to choose our battles. Jesus chose His’. He conquered sin, devil and death. With Easter we celebrate His ultimate victory. And hear how we can be part of it. And also hear, how Easter is not only about ultimate victory, but also about ultimate defeat. The Bible reading will be Matthew 28:1-15.
Please join the Easter service on Sunday, starting 12.30h. It will be a live-stream service on YouTube. And… invite as many friends as possible to join you.
Idea: connect with each other, while joining the service (e.g. by a Skype or Zoom-meeting and then watch the YouTube livestream and share your screen).
As you know, Jesus has suffered a lot. But why? What was the reason? And what is the significance for us, today? Upcoming Sunday the Bible reading will be from Matthew 26:26-46 and we will make a surprising, heartbreaking discovery.
As a council, we would love it to be all connected at the same time to the church service as much as possible. And feel free to send us comments, questions and prayer points in the YouTube chat, or by WhatsApp to pastor Jos. We are learning a lot these days about doing online services and we try to improve things each week. Do not hesitate to give us your feedback and helpful suggestions, even when they are critical.
When Moses and Aaron started to preach and announce the Kingdom of God -while Pharaoh was king in Egypt, this caused a clash of kingdoms. Whom will you believe? Trust and obey? Doing as Moses and Aaron said (prepare for Exodus, for living as the property of Israel’s God) was clashing with
what Pharaoh required. Many things would happen, while still in Egypt and when they would travel to the desert to the promised land. Plagues. Enemies. Hunger. Rebellion among Gods own people (people who said: we don’t need to listen to Moses and Aaron any longer). Mighty countries and powers, wanting to destroy the covenant people. The same will all be true for you, says Jesus, as you are my new covenant people. Like David, Gods truly anointed king, who was persecuted for a long time before his
kingdom would be established, the followers of the Messiah must face a lot of hardships before the Messiah appears in His glory and before His Kingdom will definitely be established and before all enemies will lie
crushed before His feet. Jesus prepares His followers for things to come. However, He also helps them to grasp that God is in complete control and that the worldwide Kingdom will certainly come. Yes, they
will face suffering. But their Messiah is with them (Immanuel) in their sufferings. In and through Him we will be able to face hardships and to come through all temptations and crises – like the crises we are facing now. (NB: in Matthew 24:7 the King James Version (an old translation) mentions `pestilences’)
When God’s Kingdom enters into our world, our thinking about great and
small, priorities, important and unimportant, first and last needs
complete revision. Matthew wants us to meet Jesus, the King of the
universe as the servant King. Meeting Him thus will have a great impact on
our lives and priorities; always – but certainly now in these times of
crisis.
Join us this Sunday, 18 March online as we listen to pastor Jos share God’s word with us at 12h30.
Download the lyrics of the songs here
Previous Sunday pastor Hans-Jan prepared a sermon, but due to circumstances he did not deliver his message as intended. Listen and watch to his sermon here