Divine services 2019: No one should feel unloved!

13 January 2019, Benguela (Angola):

“God expects us to comfort and strengthen one another, and to support one another with the word of God. He even tells us that we are to teach and admonish one another, but He immediately goes on to add: ‘in all wisdom’! After all, none of us enjoys having someone else talk down to us to teach us a lesson. Treat others as you expect them to treat you.”

3 February 2019, Berlin (Germany):

“The Holy Spirit does not tell us everything about the future, but He does tell us, ‘When you are with God, it will be so great that you will no longer think back to the past. You will experience the perfect love of God.’”

3 March 2019, Bujumbura (Burundi):

“We prove that fellowship with God is a good thing if we attend the divine services regularly. We prove that fellowship with God is a great thing if we continually seek fellowship with Him in prayer. We prove our love for our neighbour by asking God, ‘Give him the same treasure You have given us.’”

7 April 2019, Amsterdam (Netherlands):

“Today we no longer have such success. One the one hand, the message of the gospel—and the message of the Apostles at work today—is no longer accepted as much. But by no means does this mean that God is not with us! He is with us just as He was with Jesus, who had been sent by the Father and was not accepted by the people either. But that did not mean God was not with Him!”

26 May 2019, Havel (Germany):

„“God does what He says He will do! Even if the reality at times appears different. Those who harbour this belief, this trust in the testimony of the Holy Spirit, can already be saved today and experience, witness, and feel: “God is there. He lives! He is still at work. He loves me. He knows me.’”

30 June 2019, Oberhausen (Germany):

“We cannot say, ‘If you stay nice and New Apostolic, bring your offerings, and serve the Lord, then God will remedy all your problems in earthly life.’ Just think of our members who wish for children, or who are single, or who are suffer from long-term or serious illnesses, or those who are in great financial need. God gives them the guarantee that the things they lack will not impair their relationship with Him, and that they can nevertheless have a very strong and intimate fellowship with God.”

21 July 2019, Lusaka (Zambia):

“Let us not try to impose our will upon God. Naturally, the Bible tells us that God blesses those who obey Him and that He hears the prayers of the righteous. But our prayers and our obedience do not oblige God to do what we want! Instead of this, we should ask God for strength to overcome our own will just as the Lord Jesus did: “…nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.”

11 August 2019, Uster (Switzerland):

“We profess Jesus Christ and make our position clear. We do not pursue politics. We are aware that it is not our responsibility to change society, but it can at least be expected of us to repeatedly say: ‘This is not consistent with the gospel. I cannot agree to that.’”

15 September 2019, Apia (Samoa):

“No one should feel unloved! In today’s society, other laws often apply. There people are often a little more selfish. Everything is always about me, my ideas, my wishes, and my needs—always only me, me, me! In order to survive in such a community, we must grow in love—if only to ensure that we do not become egotistical ourselves. Let us remember that that which we know about the love of Christ is far more important than that which we know about our neighbour!”

6 October 2019, St. Petersburg (Russia):

“God gives us the creation. He gives us salvation. He gives us the church. We are thankful for these things. We should, we must, and we are permitted to work for these things. And we are responsible for the creation, for our salvation, and for the church. Let us not damage it, but see to it that we can enjoy it today—and look to the future.”

17 November 2019, St. Gallen (Switzerland):

“Do not let any distance arise between us and Christ. Come back to Jesus. Christ foretold challenges, and promised His assistance. The task of the ministers is to do precisely that which Jesus says. And above all, this means making people into disciples of Christ, not members of the Church.”

1 December 2019, Málaga (Spain):

“The Holy Spirit proclaims the promises of God to us. The Holy Spirit keeps them alive in our hearts. The Holy Spirit allows us to experience their fulfilment. That is the work and the mission of the Holy Spirit to this day. We are so thankful to God that He has given us a righteous Saviour. If we allow it to work upon us, this message of the Holy Spirit will nourish the love in our hearts.”

Total of 31 countries visited in one year

The list of the countries visited by Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider this year is a long one. His pastoral journeys led him to 31 different countries spanning all continents. In alphabetical order, these are: American Samoa, Angola, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, Samoa, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, the USA, and Zambia.

Photo: Oliver Rütten