The four weeks leading up to Christmas are not only a time of holiday lights, pleasant scents, and the excited countdown to Christmas. The season of Advent challenges people: “Struggle for encounters with God. Experience God in dialogue.”

They travel by air, sea, or land and log mile after mile as they bump over rough terrain and potholed dirt tracks in four-wheel drives. Getting to their congregations can be exhausting for Apostles and even dangerous.

Advent spirit and Christmas joy? Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere. In the time leading up to Christmas conflicts, war, egoism, and bullying do not cease. Reflections on Advent.

On Sunday Christianity observes the first Sunday of Advent. Here are some of the different ways our brothers and sisters around the world will start off the new church year.

December ushers in Advent, Christmas, and the end of the year. These periods determine the contents of our sermons in December. The focus is on admonition, expectation, and joy—also in our divine services.

“My congregation in a shoebox” was a campaign that was started in the run-up to the 2014 International Church Convention intended to forge bonds between congregations. But what does love have to do with it? Well, at least one of the bonds forged ended up to be more permanent than initially intended. Here is the story of Jolanthe and Tobias.

The liturgical year is an annual cycle of feasts that focus on Christmas and Easter. The New Apostolic Church also follows the liturgical year. What is this exactly?

“Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Based loosely on Ephesians 5: 19, religions and various denominations are moving closing together to promote a common cause, and right in there is the New Apostolic Church.

The only way children really have a future is with a good education. This not only applies in everyday life, but also spiritually. Featured in this week’s review are these two aspects, as well the Chief Apostle’s recent trip to the USA.

The end of the year is just a few weeks away, and a new liturgical year has just started. The season of Advent is upon us. New Apostolic services in the month of December are dedicated to the theme “Time of fulfilment”. Following is a closer look at what to expect.

Los Angeles, a fascinating city. It brings to mind images of beaches and the sun. The city is a big tourist destination. But the purpose of Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider’s trip there is not pleasure. He has a tight schedule.

The last month in the church year has dawned. Soon the Advent season will begin, and with it the new church year. But before that, New Apostolic divine services will focus on the last things. First and foremost, these include our hope for the future and the judgement. A true Christian never needs to be without hope.

Over the next few days, Muslims all over the world will be celebrating the festival of breaking the fast, which marks the end of Ramadan. Self-denial and abstinence are also familiar in Christianity. Following is a brief outline.

Easter is just around the corner. On 27 March 2016 Christianity will observe its most important feast. Since apostolic times a period of fasting and preparation is observed before Easter. Lent provides for a 40-day fast starting on Ash Wednesday. This is one of two annual and extended periods of fasting.

Stop-and-go at Christmas in Brazil … This is not only caused by people travelling home over Christmas, but especially because people are stopping to admire the Christmas lights. This can even interfere with carefully timed bus schedules, Karin Zwar reports.

Christmas in Australia! How does that go? It is summer in the southern hemisphere. Daytime temperatures range between 25 to 32° Celsius, people are soaking up the sun. Do people get in the Christmas spirit? nac.today asked an “expert” in these matters, and his answer was a definite yes.

Our love for God, for Jesus Christ cannot be greater than our love for our neighbour. This is an old insight. And yet, how big is our love for the Lord really? And for our neighbour? Questions that need to be answered.

“One sees clearly only with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eye,” says Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in his novel The Little Prince. Unfortunately, people do not only look with the heart. Far too often a person’s own interests get in the way of a fair judgement. This is an appeal to take a close and careful look.