Original Christianity Restored

As time goes by we may know that the Bible is an important book. But we may feel that we need a contemporary preacher to interpret it for us. So that it may become relevant for us. Such feelings are not new. When the apostles began to die and the Gospel had arrived in new places and times, people felt like that. In the end of his life, the apostle Peter put in every effort to remind them (and us!), of the fact that the Gospel is already relevant. The Gospel and the Bible, consisting of the writings of the prophets and the apostles, already have given to us the decisive interpretation of the greatest facts in history. Which are the coming, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What we need are not contemporary preachers making it all relevant for us. What we need are faithful ministers who will remind us of the interpretation that is given to us in the Bible – which is not coming from men, but from the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a historic faith. It does not need renewal, but reminder and faithful explanation and application. From the Bible they show us what it means that Jesus is the Saviour and the King and Lord, Who came and will come. For we tend to forget about it, to fall asleep in a spiritual sense.

In an almost invisible way new teachers can cause the church to drift away from its historic apostolic content and to drift away from the Bible. They can feed the thought that the Bible is too difficult for modern people and that they need modern theologians with new interpretations. Peter’s last words are devoted to awaken us to not let such thoughts creep in. Unless the church continues to pay attention to the Scriptures as to her light for contemporary times to prepare her for the return of her Lord and Saviour, she will stumble and fall. New teachings will ultimately result into a church becoming like the world around her. Through the words of the apostle Peter in his second letter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus and of God is knocking on our door. Are we drifting away from historic, apostolic Christian faith? The great need of the church in all times is that original Christianity is preached and restored from the Bible as its only relevant and reliable source.

Upcoming Sunday you can hear more about this when we gather as ICF-Delft for worship. You are very welcome to join!

Pastor Jos Slager

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When impactful Christian living gets twisted

Have you ever felt a gap between your life and what you believe that the life of a Christian should look like? A gap between the church as it is now and as it might have been intended? That is nothing strange! Original Christianity, the message of the Gospel, is not only a life saving faith. It is also a life changing faith. Those who have received it become active, they change, their lives and their fellowships are transformed. Unless… the message is changed. When the original message is swapped for a subtly twisted version, wherein the Gospel is blurred, then gradually the original impact on believers lives will disappear. Upcoming Sunday you can hear more about this, when we continue to read from II Peter 1. We will read chapter 1 until verse 12 and we will pay special attention to verses 5-11.

You are very welcome to join physically!

 

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The Gospel Goes On

The Roman emperor Nero once tried to get rid of all Christians in his city and in his empire. He hated their `Gospel’, their `Good news, there has been a change-of-rule – message’. Though they respected him and prayed for him, he knew they were speaking about another Lord, called `Jesus Christ’. Many Christians were tortured, thrown to the lions, burnt… But the Gospel they proclaimed went on. It still does. Throughout history many attempts have been made to stop this ongoing Gospel. But it seems that the more it was tried to stop it, the more it came back. Think of Russia, China, Iran and other countries where this was or is tried and where we however see a vibrant Christianity.

Upcoming Sunday we read Mark 16:9-20 and learn more about how the Gospel goes on and how you can be part of it. Invite others, join and be very welcome!

 

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Free from Fear of Failure

We all know fear of failure at times. What if… ? Often when we experience stress, underlying we fear failure. How can we deal with this fear? Of course we can try harder to be successful and avoid failures. We can hide our failures or look at the failures of others to feel better. But the Gospel shows us a liberating different way to deal with fear of failure. Upcoming Sunday we will learn more about this. You are very welcome to join the service and invite others who might be interested.

 

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Holiness honoured

How do you feel when you failed for your exams? Can you tell it to your family? How do we feel when you are not successful in raising your children? When your marriage is not doing  well? We all hate it to feel ashamed. However, shame comes to us in life. Because of things we did wrong. However, also when we do right, we can be put to shame. We call this misplaced shame. However, then still we feel how strong these feelings can be.

Upcoming Sunday we look at how to deal with shame. Again we look at Bathsheba. And we look at Mary. First it felt as if they were to be blamed for their pregnancy and to be put to shame. But ultimately they would be honoured by God. When we want to follow Jesus, sometimes people will make us feel ashamed. However the Gospel does not only have the power to free us from guilt, but also from shame.

If you want to visit the Nieuwe Kerk, please register here beforehand.  Deadline: register before the night of Friday to Saturday (00:00)

 

 

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(Un) Impressed

The secret of Christians living out the Gospel in an impressive way, is never that they are so heroic, but always that they are deeply impressed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At first sight the Gospel is not very impressive. But when our eyes are spiritually opened, we become so deeply impressed, that all the dangers and threads of the world will become unimpressive by what we have seen. Upcoming Sunday we look at Psalm 110, a Psalm of David and we will be enabled to see how these words point in a deeply impressive way to Jesus.

If you want to visit the Nieuwe Kerk, please register here beforehand.  Deadline: register before the night of Friday to Saturday (00:00)

 

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The Gospel in a multi-religious society Salvation and the Muslim concept of Sharia 29 April

Salvation and the Muslim concept of Sharia

Islam has been in the news often in the last couple of decades. Christian-Muslim
relationships often are not without tensions, but what happens when Muslims and
Christians have a serious encounter and talk about salvation?

Superficially Muslims and Christians seem to have much in common: the belief in a God who
is the Creator; God’s revelation in holy writings, the belief in final judgment, prophets,
angels, and also Jesus who did miracles and will return on earth.
Nevertheless when it comes to central questions like the character of God, the nature of sin
and the way of salvation, Muslims and Christians diverge widely. In the Muslim-Christian
encounter the big question arises: Allah or Jesus? For Muslims aqeeda (what they need to
believe) and sharia (how they ought to live) is essential. But what do Christians mean when
they confess that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life?

In the service of ICF-Delft on Sunday 29th April we explore crucial questions about the way
of salvation, and the character of grace, based on the Gospel of John (chapter 14 verses 1 –
17). For example: Why did God create us and for what did He designate us? How do we find
peace with God and true hope for the future? How shall we escape condemnation at eternal
judgment?

Why not inviting your Muslim friends or colleagues to join you for this Sunday service? They
are very welcome, and we are glad to engage them in further discussion over tea and coffee
after the service! The service starts at 12 hrs 15 in de Génestetkerk, Oude Delft 102.

Pastor Niek Tramper