A chest that could move

It was a veritable treasure chest: constructed of acacia wood, richly adorned with gold both inside and outside, hung on two carrying poles, and closed with an exquisite lid. All of this alone would suffice to make it extremely valuable—to say nothing of the contents!

August 8, 2022

Divine service Doctrine 

+1

• Sacraments

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Questions about the future? Ask God!

No one can see into the future, except God. But we can all plan for tomorrow. This is something that New Apostolic congregations do by minimising their impact on the environment, by being there for the upcoming generations, or seeing to sustainable development.

August 5, 2022

Africa

+12

• Annual motto
• Buildings
• Charity work
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Event
• Ministry
• Music
• Pastoral care
• Youth

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Divine services on six continents

There are members everywhere who are doing what they can these days to ensure that divine services are transmitted via Internet and telephone. There is only one continent from which the New Apostolic Church does not transmit online services.

August 5, 2022

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Music
• Social commitment

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USA initiates a generational shift

The New Apostolic Church in the USA is preparing to write a new chapter in its history. In little over a year, District Apostle Leonard R. Kolb (born 1956) will retire. His designated successor is to be assigned as a District Apostle Helper this coming Sunday.

August 4, 2022

America

+8

• Apostolate
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• History 
• Ministry

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Moving forward with God’s help!

“This was the first time that I could travel into this part of the province of North Kivu,” Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider wrote. And that is saying something, because for many years he travelled throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo as District Apostle.

August 3, 2022

Ascension Day

+4

• Chief Apostle
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 

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The sacraments (60): An order for the beyond

Things got off to a turbulent start. But step by step the New Apostolic Church has put order into its sacraments for the departed. Once the practical part had been brought into line, the theory followed suit. Here is the history in fast-forward mode.

August 2, 2022

Chief Apostle Christmas

+9

• Concept of salvation for the departed
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• History 
• Holy Communion
• Ministry
• Pentecost
• Sacraments

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Earth, water, fire, and air: where God reveals Himself

Where does God live and how does He reveal Himself to us humans? This is an age-old question—and one that not only interests children—for which there are many answers. Some of them will be explored in the New Apostolic divine services in August.

August 1, 2022

Congregation

+3

• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Sacraments

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“Something very beautiful came of this, beyond the music”

Music creates bonds. This is something that four choirs and orchestras from France and Germany can testify to. Here is an excerpt to mark World Friendship Day on 30 July.

July 30, 2022

Congregation

+4

• Divine service
• Event
• Music
• Youth

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Praying together

Hearing the word of God and the absolution, receiving blessing, and worshipping God together… These are some the key elements of divine service. And all this is possible virtually, even during the pandemic.

July 29, 2022

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Easter
• Music

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Pleading our own cause: we want you to share!

The web, apps, and print products are all channels through which nac.today conveys information and news. Some people, however, still want to share it in their own way. Is that okay? There is a clear answer to this question—along with three little points to observe.

July 28, 2022

Chief Apostle

+1

• Congregation

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United in Christ and with each other

It was “a Sunday like no other” in the Stade Martyr in Kinshasa, where the national football team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo usually plays. That is at least how the Chief Apostle felt about it. More than 35,000 young people had come to see and hear him.

July 27, 2022

Chief Apostle

+7

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• Sacraments
• Society
• Youth

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Ministry (17): Effective in combination

Ministry without authority? That won’t work. Ministry without a mandate? This happens more often than one might think. One is universally valid, while the other is bound to circumstances. And yet the two are closely interconnected.

July 26, 2022

Apostolate

+9

• Congregation
• Doctrine 
• Grieving
• Holy Communion
• Investiture
• Ministry
• Pastoral care
• Retirement
• Sacraments

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Training ministers, building churches, and planting trees

Young people in Bolivia cleaned up a local park. In Africa and Europe ministers got together to learn how to deliver better sermons. And in Sierra Leone, Apostle Braima Saffa dedicated three churches in one day.

July 25, 2022

Acts of blessing

+14

• Africa
• Confirmation
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Europe
• Investiture
• Ministry
• Music
• Organisation
• Pastoral care
• Social commitment
• Youth

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Across borders

“There is no place like home.” This is something that many people have discovered also in terms of online services. If you cannot be together with the members of your own congregation, you can draw joy from the plurality of languages and personalities.

July 22, 2022

Africa

+9

• America
• Asia
• Australia / Pacific
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Easter
• Europe
• Music

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The sacraments (59): For the departed under the hands of the Apostles

Can the departed receive salvation too? The question is as old as Christianity itself. The answer of the New Apostolic Church is not even all that new—and nevertheless, it is unusual. Here is the story of how the sacraments for the departed came to be dispensed.

July 21, 2022

Ascension Day

+8

• Chief Apostle
• Concept of salvation for the departed
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• History 
• Holy Sealing
• Sacraments

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Wedding preparations of a church

The service was about Adam and Eve, about Jesus Christ and the bridal congregation, and about the marriage feast in heaven. “This marriage is kind of complicated,” the Chief Apostle remarked during the service and began to explain.

July 20, 2022

Chief Apostle

+5

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• Sacraments

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From the city into the country

The bricks travelled 40 kilometres from Hamburg-Borgfelde to Doosthof. These were the first bricks that were owned by the New Apostolic Church. Almost 80 years later, these historic bricks still adorn a church building.

July 18, 2022

Buildings Chief Apostle

+5

• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• History 
• Youth

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Doing good in the middle of a war

One hundred and forty-one days into the Russian attack on Ukraine, the solidarity of the New Apostolic congregations in Europe is still huge. Private individuals, congregations, and aid organisations are doing their best to help.

July 15, 2022

Baptism 

+10

• Charity work
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Europe
• Good Friday
• Sacraments
• Social commitment
• Youth

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Virtual worship

The New Apostolic Church has known divine service transmissions for years, usually for special occasions. Since March 2020 though, the churches worldwide have been broadcasting on a weekly basis, in some cases even several times a week.

July 15, 2022

Chief Apostle

+4

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Easter
• Music

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Experiencing how God leads and guides

Some 17,000 people are still grappling with the aftermath. The deadly flood in the Ahr Valley in Germany last year killed 133 people and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes. Ulrich Thurau, who has been rector of the congregation of Sinzig since 1998, reports the following.

July 14, 2022

Congregation

+2

• District Apostle
• Divine service

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Digging, weeding, and getting rid of pests

Weeds, pesky critters, and no support: young plants have quite a few problems to deal with. This image translates into our faith. What can we do so that the divine seed can germinate within us? Here is a workshop on pastoral care from a divine service by the Chief Apostle.

July 13, 2022

Chief Apostle

+6

• Congregation
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• Pastoral care
• Sacraments

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Baptism: in whose name and why?

The baptism of John or the baptism of Jesus? Is there a difference? Yes, a big one and once upon a time this difference played an important role. The one baptised with a baptism of repentance, the other one with a baptism of salvation.

July 12, 2022

Asia Australia / Pacific

+5

• Baptism 
• Congregation
• Doctrine 
• Easter
• Sacraments

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Spotlight 11/2022: A sense of togetherness is important

Feeling spiritually connected with one another is an expression of the power of the Holy Spirit. Such a sense of togetherness is a question of will and not of limited opportunities, says District Apostle Rüdiger Krause (Germany).

July 11, 2022

Annual motto

+6

• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• District Apostle
• Divine service
• Doctrine 
• Easter

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At home worldwide: Together in Christ

Worldwide, Covid made getting together in the congregation almost impossible. Now that the restrictions have been relaxed, people are excited that they can finally see each other again and do things together.

July 8, 2022

Africa

+14

• America
• Annual motto
• Ascension Day
• Chief Apostle
• Congregation
• Divine service
• Europe
• Event
• History 
• Music
• Pentecost
• Seniors
• Social commitment
• Youth

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The word of God in multimedia form

A hundred years ago it would have been unthinkable: divine services via phone-in, on television, via satellite, or the internet. Today divine services are just a click away. Quite a lot of work goes into this to make it possible.

July 8, 2022

Chief Apostle

+3

• Divine service
• Easter
• Music

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The sacraments (58): Because corpses cannot eat

Vicarious baptism is a biblical pillar that supports the New Apostolic Church’s conception of salvation for the departed. An episcopal council is said to have forbidden it. This is how the story usually goes, but it is not quite correct. Here is the background and how it came to the decision.

July 7, 2022

Africa

+6

• Concept of salvation for the departed
• Congregation
• Doctrine 
• History 
• Holy Communion
• Sacraments

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