meaningful

“I am the bright Morning Star”

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It’s almost Christmas. In a few days, people from all over the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Christians prepare for Jesus’ second coming into this world. Think about this: If Jesus should come back tomorrow and if judgment day begins, will you then be ready? And what does that mean, to be ready? What, in life, really matters? Coming Sunday, December 24 at 12:15pm we will have a ‘regular’ Sunday Service, and we listen to some of the final words of Jesus in the Bible. We also celebrate Holy Communion. Welcome!

I look forward to seeing you there!  Rev. Hans-Jan Roosenbrand

Death and After

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Death and After

People have always wondered what happens after death. But the honest Christian answer is: we don’t know. Death is a mystery to us. This Sunday, November 26, we will therefore look at the Old Testament. There we find the story about Joseph’s death in Genesis 50, 22-26: a brief, down-to-earth story that tells us what we need to know about life, death and beyond.

Discover more in our service coming Sunday, 26 November at 12:15pm.

 

Sunday School – Change of location!

Due to a special occasion, the Sunday School this Sunday will take place in the chapel of the Old Church (Heilige Geestkerkhof 25, 2611 HP, Delft).

We kindly ask, that you would bring your children to the Old Church at 12.05pm. Then you will have time to go to the Service and we will begin with the class by 12:15pm. We will have the full length of the Sunday School service in the Old Church, so please be sure to give any updated contact information and a phone number where we can reach you in case needed during Sunday School.

After the Service in the Génestet Church is over, please come right after to pick up your children again from the Old Church.

Evil in God’s plan?

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Evil in God’s plan?

How can you combine the existence of a God who is almighty and merciful with the reality of evil in this world? It’s an old question and not just a theoretical problem. When people who love God come across sin and suffering – and they often do! – how can they continue to trust God and to hope for the new world that He promised?

We face this question when we read the last chapter of the book of Genesis (50). Joseph meets his brothers after the death of their father Jacob. The brothers are afraid. ‘Now Joseph will take revenge on us for all evil we have done to him.’ But Joseph’s answer is the opposite of what they expect: ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good: the saving of many lives.’

Joseph says that God is able to use evil in His plan, although He doesn’t want it. How is that possible? What, if you face evil (problems, set backs, mistakes and suffering)? Can this have a meaning in your life?

Discover more about how God deals with evil and how we should deal with it! You are most welcome to the ICF Delft church service on Sunday, November 19, at 12:15pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you there! Pastor Niek Tramper

God’s truth about our lives

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Life is full of judgements
Most of us have passed assessments and exams in their life. It means that other people judge the results of our efforts and our capacities. It happens when we go for a swim diploma or a driver’s license, when we apply for a scholarship or a job, when we defend our master or doctoral thesis. In day-to-day life numerous little evaluations and judgments occur. Sometimes they bring us an inconvenient truth, criticizing or rejecting us secretly or even openly. Sometimes we question the authority and capability of the ones who judge us.

Paternal blessing of judgment and promise
What to say about a final judgment of our life? And who actually has authority to do this? Important to know what is the solid ground to pass this final life exam!

When Jacob, the old father of Joseph, is going to die, he speaks his last words for everybody of his sons, including Joseph. We find these words in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapter 49. It is nothing less than a prophetic voice speaking God’s truth about their lives. A paternal blessing that includes both judgment and promise.

The two cities
Imagine that we had been there. Imagine that we heard the truth of the eternal God about our life. Should it disclose an inconvenient truth? What actually is a solid reason to expect a hopeful future?

Jacob’s last words reveal the truth of two cities, representing two kingdoms. The one obvious, the other difficult to find. The one brilliant and appealing, the other humble and less attractive at first sight, the one disappearing, the other lasting. The two cities direct the main road in all our lives. God’s truth makes us discern which city harbours a real hopeful future.

Join us in the coming church service, November 12, in ICF Delft, 12:15 pm , Génestet Church, Oude Delft 102.

Taste and see that God is good
In the service we read part of the Bible (this Sunday Genesis 49), and we also celebrate the Holy Communion. The Holy Communion is a special celebration of what Jesus did for us. In HC we receive a piece of bread and a little bit of wine as signs of his broken body and shed blood. All who confess Him as their Saviour and Lord are very welcome to partake. If you are still unsure or searches to know God, you may come for a blessing, and we warmly invite you

“God’s direct interaction with people”

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The ICF Delft prayer group will meet on Thursday 19 October from 8-9 PM in the chapel of the Old Church (Heilige Geestkerkhof 25, Delft).
You are most welcome to join. The meeting focuses on the following main activities:

  • Praise and adoration to God
  • Reflection and mediation based on a Bible text
  • Sharing life (joys, gratitude, concerns, needs) with one another in an open, friendly and trustworthy environment
  • Praying together, for example, adoring and thanking God, and interceding and bringing request to God regarding yourself, family, friends, city, churches and the world around
  • Giving and receiving support from one another by being in the meeting and staying connected afterwards

The theme of this meeting’s reflection is, “God’s direct interaction with people”. We will read from Judges 6: 11-14 (see the text below), which is an account of a God’s angel talking to Gideon about saving Israel out of Midian.

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Judges 6:11-14New International Version (NIV)

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

work that is meaningful!

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How can I be sure that my work is meaningful?

Do you believe that your study/work is meaningful? Whether you think about your job, or search for a job, or invest in your family, it is difficult, when you experience hardships, set backs and frustrations! How to be sure that it all makes sense in the end? Can you believe that fruits are lasting? And how to be sure that –after all- death is not the end of everything?

It is important to search for a meaningful life and a transformed world. But what actually are good reasons for it? And there is an important reason for it: The apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (ch. 15) gives moving arguments how we can be sure that our work is not in vain. The main reason he gives is: the resurrection of Christ from the dead. There are compelling reasons to believe that and if this is true, then there is a real perspective for our life and our work: although we will experience that it is very incomplete, and we had hoped to do much better, it still finds a place in God’s new world, and it will be complete, transformed by his grace!

This is the last sermon in the series ‘Christian@work’. Welcome in the ICF-service, Sunday 30 April, 12.15 hrs in de Génestetchurch, Oude Delft 102.