The Sunday services in July will focus on very typical New Apostolic subjects: our concept of the departed, the Apostle ministry, and rebirth out of water and the Spirit. But there will also be some surprises.
Help only comes from Jesus
Intercession alone is not enough. This is what the first Sunday service in July explains in connection with the service for the departed. The Bible text is: “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10: 13).
“Calling on the name of the Lord” means believing in God, His existence, His care, His help and the salvation He offers, and in His perfection, mercy, and justice. Only God’s grace can save the living and the dead.
Giving glory to God alone
Apostles are human. Only their mission is divine. The second Sunday in July makes this clear. The occasion: on 14 July we commemorate the renewed occupation of the Apostle ministry. On this day in 1835 the rectors of the Catholic Apostolic congregations in London, England, called and separated the first Apostles of modern times for their ministry.
That this is no reason for any kind of glorification is shown by the Bible text from Acts 14: 14–15. Paul and Barnabas healed a sick man and were suddenly worshipped as gods by the crowd. The two Apostles vigorously opposed this.
The message: Apostles of Jesus Christ flatly refuse to be worshipped as gods. They confess that they are human beings and that this is associated with sinfulness. They know that they are called by God and strive to carry out their mission in true humbleness. However, this also poses a challenge to the faithful.
Baptism is just the beginning
Baptism is necessary for salvation and is therefore dispensed to both the living and the dead—regardless of their ethnicity, tradition, physical condition, or gender orientation. This is the New Apostolic understanding. Holy Baptism washes away original sin and the baptised are incorporated into the body of Christ and thus become part of the church of Christ.
But that is only the beginning: the beginning of a lifelong mission to honour the name of Christ in word and deed. This is the subject of the third Sunday in July, which takes a closer look at the incident with Philip and the Ethiopian, which we can read about in Acts 8. The divine service is based on verses 36 and 38.
God is the Father of all
All people can address God as their Father. He is neither male nor female. He cares for all human beings with equal love, like a father and a mother. The Bible testifies to this repeatedly.
That is one side of the Bible text that the fourth Sunday in July is based on: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3: 1).
The other side is the spiritual dimension of childhood in God in connection with Holy Sealing. Believers who are reborn out of water and the Spirit and who focus their lives on the return of Christ will proclaim the gospel to the living and the dead in the kingdom of peace and will inherit eternal life. This has always been central to the New Apostolic faith.
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