The message of the Bible is an evidence based message of extraordinary hope for the whole world. The Bible tells us that the world will not continue as we see it now. Finally good will triumph over evil, light over darkness, justice over wickedness, joy over sorrow, life over death. This is good news. The evidence we have in the historic life, words and works of Jesus Christ. Especially in his well attested death and resurrection. Look at Him, study His life and you will get confidence. In and through Him the victory has begun and ever since this hope has begun to infect the world. Extraordinary hope. Very good news. And yes, of course, also bad news: for evil, darkness, wickedness, sorrow, disease and death; but why bother about that? Who cares if these will be cast into the dumping ground of hell, the everlasting fire? We won’t miss these, will we? Definitely true! However, if God’s people were tasked to be the agents of this hope (and so they are!) then there are two problems that need to be addressed. Firstly: that God’s people shouldn’t think too high and good of themselves. The evil and wickedness they see around them, is also found in our own hearts and must be dealt with. Secondly: that God’s people shouldn’t think too low and bad of people around them. The problem is not so much that God doesn’t want to include them into the good news, but that God’s people – like Jonah – don’t want to address them with God’s mercy. Upcoming Sunday we look at John the Baptist’s prophetic ministry and we will see how this ministry continues to be important for today’s church.

Pastor Jos Slager

Treasure Seekers

During the ICF Delft service the children leave for their own Bible teaching at Treasure Seekers part-way through the service, after the kids’ song, and rejoin for the final song of the service. The creche room is also available for 0-2 year olds. For those not attending ICFD in person, we’ll continue to send materials by email.

Lesson Title: The King’s Power over Evil
Text: Mark 5:1-20
Big Idea: Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, showing his power over evil and his willingness to restore hopeless people.

Lesson Aim: To teach that Jesus has power over evil to restore broken people because he is God; we should trust and want to follow him. Here is a video explaining the story. The kids’ song is He’s the King of Kings (Who Is This Man?).

The memory verse for this Mark series is:

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah!” Mark 8:29 [NIV]