Divine service theme for the reaminder of July, "the church of Christ" The remaining divine services in July focus on the theme of the church of Christ. On the one hand, they deal with its internal form, specifically the question of how the members of the congregation are to interact with one another and the relationships which they should cultivate. On the other hand, these services also highlight the gifts that God has bestowed upon the church. The divine service on 14 July revolves around oneness. In this context it is also important to point out that the 14th of July is of great significance in the apostolic movement. It was on this date in 1835 that the twelve Apostles were consecrated to their ministry in London. The theme of this sermon is ‘oneness’. Oneness does not imply uniformity, but rather a common alignment that transcends all individual differences, namely our orientation to Jesus Christ, His word, His grace, and acceptance of His messengers. All of these things serve to help us remain together in our anticipation of the Lord’s appearing. The hope for such oneness has been one of the fundamentals of the apostolic movement from the start! The divine service on 21 July focuses on the concept of apostolicity. The Bible text on which it is based is 2 Corinthians 5: 18–19. The second epistle to the Corinthians contains an abundance of statements that describe how Paul understood the Apostle ministry. This letter thus provides an important source for the proper understanding of the Apostle ministry. The term ‘apostolicity’—which is the main focus here—is one that is common to the Christian church as a whole. All churches lay claim to apostolicity. By this they mean to imply that their doctrine, the lives of their believers, and their belief is founded upon that which the Apostles proclaimed about Jesus Christ! Without the proclamation of the early Christian Apostles, we would know nothing about Jesus. This proclamation is professed in the New Testament. The New Testament prescribes how we are to speak of Jesus Christ and the manner in which we must understand Jesus. The New Apostolic understanding of apostolicity emphasizes two aspects, namely a content-related aspect and a person related aspect. The content-related aspect has already been referenced above, but the person-related aspect is of no less importance. It refers to the fact that the Apostle ministry is part of the church of Christ. This ministry was instituted by Jesus Christ and given to His church. It was assigned various powers and functions, for example the proper administration of the sacraments and the gathering of the bridal congregation. This Sunday will thus deal with an essential aspect of our New Apostolic faith about which we are not to keep silent, namely the personal occupation of the Apostle ministry! “True worship” is the focus of the sermon on 28 July. On the basis of John 4: 23 the aim is to demonstrate what it means to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. If we do not give room to the Holy Spirit and strive for the nature of Jesus Christ—who is the personification of truth—we cannot be true worshippers.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 18:09:11 +0000
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