II Samuel

What we all need: to die and be born again

From a history of sin, grief and shame, two children are born. The first son dies, nameless. The second son lives on and is called “loved-by-God.” From the same history, David is born again. The abuser dies. A righteous, caring king rises. The story from 2 Samuel 12 will be our introduction to the Christmas story this Sunday. Somewhere in a stable a child was born who died because of our sins, but also has the power to lead us into a renewed life. Isn’t that what we all need?

The church services, starting on Sunday 20 December will become fully internet based. This means the church will be closed and the service will be live-streamed on YouTube

 

Read more

Righteousness revealed

Most of us long to live a life with impact. We want to contribute to a better world. To help solve problems. To contribute to others. But what if we discover one day that the problems are not only outside, but also in us – far more than we could ever have imagined? In this period we prepare for celebrating Christmas. Jesus was born in this world to reveal true righteousness. And to deal with our problems herein. Upcoming Sunday we will read II Samuel 12. Here David’s eyes are opened for what God saw, when He looked at David.

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

 

Read more

Abuse Exposed

We long to live impactful lives, don’t we? It is an honour to get a position from where you can have much impact. Something you might not have thought about, is that you will without doubt be confronted with forms of corruption. You might become victim of it. You might become involved in it. You might even become the abuser yourself. Ever thought about that? Perhaps for you it’s not a `might’ – but it already is a part of your life’s story. For all of us, it is important that we come to know what it is and how it works. Upcoming Sunday’s sermon theme will be: `abuse exposed’. We will read from the Bible II Samuel 11, about David and Bathsheba.

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

Read more

Deepen Your Desire to Worship

Sunday again. After a lot of work, time for church, for gathering as God’s people. Do you long for it? Desire for it? Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t perhaps. Upcoming Sunday we learn how the Gospel deepens our desire to worship God. To deepen our desire we need an appropriate view on what God is doing and on what worship actually is. For this we look at the story in II Samuel 7:1-17.

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

The Children’s Ministry | Time: 12:30 am

The bible reading for coming Sunday Children’s Ministry is Matthew 7:15–23

 

Horrifying. But what if…?

Scripture reading: II Sam 6

While selecting the music for next Sunday’s service, a brother emailed me, “Could you please help me choose songs that match the Bible reading? I find the story quite confusing.” The story is indeed confusing, if not horrifying. David wants to bring the ark to Jerusalem. But the oxen that pull the cart carrying the Ark stumble. Uzzah reaches out and touches the Ark. He dies on the spot. I wonder. What if Uzza hadn’t intervened? What if the Ark was broken? What if God Himself came into this world and was crucified and died? What if God allows a pandemic to destroy public worship? Such a thing would be terrible. But can we also learn something from it?

Pastor Hans-Jan Roosenbrand

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

The Children’s Ministry | Time: 12:30 am

The bible reading for coming Sunday Children’s Ministry is Matthew 7:7-12.

 

Don’t look back in anger

The king is dead. Long live the king. Immediately after the death of King Saul, the inhabitants of Judah anoint David king. But before this happens, David mourns the loss of Saul and Jonathan. Grief is important. Standing still before moving on not only helps you deal with your emotions, it also helps you to stay focused on your mission.