New Apostolic Church Dallas North, TX

Perhaps you have heard the phrase - "We are all the church, all the time."
What does it mean to "be the church"? How should it impact our individual
lives?
This month, as the church, we will explore the following:
• We preserve and profess - through the example of Peter, we understand
how to preserve and profess, and what it means to belong to the church.
• We magnify the Lord - through the example of Mary and her song, we
learn how to praise God.
• We worship God - the first commandment teaches us who God is and how
we worship Him.
• We remember the Sabbath - the third commandment opens up a teaching
on what the Sabbath means in our lives and how we can commemorate it.
• We believe and pray - in anticipation of the Service for the Departed, we
understand our responsibilities to believe and pray.
• We self-reflect - the Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32) urges us
to reflect on our confirmation vow. May our actions, inspired and
empowered by the Holy Spirit, bring glory to God in the church (Ephesians
3:20-21)

Lent gave us the opportunity to prepare our hearts for Holy Week, to walk
the path to the cross with Christ. April leads us into the joyous season of
Eastertide - the longest liturgical celebration in the Christian calendar. It
also gives us the time to truly celebrate the Risen One; an event as
astounding as the resurrection could not be contained in just one day.
Christ's victory over sin and death, prompt Proclamations of the
Resurrection - truths that we will unearth as we, along with the disciples,
encounter the Risen Christ:
• I live with Christ! - now and in the future
• The tomb is empty! - the women's testimony
• I believe! - Thomas' move from doubt to faith
• Enlightened in wisdom, Rooted in love - a prayer for the church
• He is perfect! - the people recognize their Messiah
From our Meditations of Lent resource: He who this day rose from the
clods of earth, we expect one day from the clouds of heaven: to raise our
bodies, to perform His promises, to finish our faith, to perfect our glory
and to draw us unto Himself. Let us celebrate the Risen Christ!

Good Friday

Continuing our walk through Holy Week:

Good Friday:

Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.

According to Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.

Meanwhile, before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus endured the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. After multiple unlawful trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.

Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and pierced him with a crown of thorns. Then Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary where, again, he was mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross.

Jesus spoke seven final statements from the cross. His first words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34, NIV). His last words were, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46, NIV)

Then, about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Jesus breathed his last breath and died.

By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb.

Friday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and John 18:28-19:37.

We’ve received many questions on one of Jesus’ statements when he was being crucified, and we hope we can provide a clear answer.

The question is: Why did Jesus cry out, “My God My God! Why have You forsaken Me!” Was Jesus losing faith or doubting?

The answer: Jesus was NOT losing faith, He was NOT doubting! He was fulfilling scripture! In Psalm 22 written by David, the beginning of the chapter reads... “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken me!” The chapter goes on to describe our Lord Jesus death on the cross. This is why it is absolutely imperative that we read our Bible and KNOW it!

Please take today to stay quiet, to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice and suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ! The love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

The month of March leads our preaching through Lent and the holy
days of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. Lent is a time of
reflection and repentance that allows us to intentionally know Jesus in a
new way; we walk with Him on the path that led Him to His death, and
ultimately His victory on Easter.
Each sermon leads us further on the path with Christ:
A prayer of confidence in God's mercy,
A reflection on the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53,
An invitation to the realities of Christ's table,
A perspective of His kingdom through the events of Palm Sunday,
A journey to the foot of the cross on Good Friday, and
A celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday.
To walk and preach this journey takes focus and intention. This is our
proclamation for this month - resolved to know nothing... except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Lent - NAC-USA Development Institute This training website is exclusively for New Apostolic Church USA members

Please join us on Wednesday, February 14th for a service about how even the righteous can fall.

We're not perfect, we make mistakes. We want to come before God with a humble and repentant heart out of love and devotion to Him.

Join us online → www.youtube.com/c/newapostolicchurchcanada

Salt and Light Content from New Apostolic Church USA

How effective is Sunday school in your congregation? This is Sunday School teachers training in Mozambique 🇲🇿. They were given Certificates.
For Sunday School to be effective, there are three Elements involves.

1. The Punctuality and Consistency of the Sunday school teacher. A Sunday school teacher should be a brother or Minister devoted to the things of God. He must be an individual who has vast knowledge on the Catechism and doctrine of The New Apostolic Church. He must be able to interpret Bible stories through illustrations. He must be time conscious.

2. Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it. The Parents: You parent has great responsibility to trained up your Child, it should not only base on home training. Biblical training is the most Soul guiding training a child has at a very younger age. Where do you think that child will get that training from? It is from the Sunday School he/she regularly attends. All the Bible stories has moral lessons a child imitates or learn from. Remember the popular verse in the bible "Proverbs 22:6 KJV
Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

3. The Child: Every child should know that he/she was made by God, and therefore has every responsibility to know him and also serve him. The child should not considered it a burden to serve God.

The last Elements to consider is the Rector of the church, you as a Rector of the congregation should make sure that you monitored your Sunday school teacher to see if the class is effective.

Let us take this responsibility to see that our Catechism and doctrine is made known to our children when growing up.

Let the brotherly and sisterly Love continue.

God is good and reliable So how is this frequently quoted concept of firstling to be understood? The Chief Apostle made it clear that this is not a question of the exclusiveness of an elitist group. Once again he explained that this is about the call to serve God and our neighbour.

Note: dates are subject to change
February 2024
● Wed 14 - Start of Lent
● Sun 25 - Preparation Service for the
Departed
…………….
March 2024
● Sun 3 - Service for the Departed
● Sun 10 - Daylight Savings Time
begins
● Sun 24 - Palm Sunday
● Fri 29 - Good Friday
● Sun 31 - Easter Sunday
…………….
April 2024
● 7 First Sunday of EasterIde
…………….
May 2024
● 2 NaIonal Day of Prayer
● 9 Ascension Day
● 12 Mother’s Day/Last Sunday of
● EasterIde
● 19 Pentecost

The phrase “in Jesus’ name” is a direct reference to John 16:23:
Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My Name He
will give to you.
It is clear from this text that what we ask of the Father, we should do in the
name of Christ. Asking in His name includes an acknowledgment of our own
unworthiness to receive any favor from God, and our entire dependence
upon Christ as the Lord. Knowing that Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1)
gives us confidence when we pray.
“We pray in the name of Jesus. Following the example given by Jesus, we
turn to God with humility, giving more importance to our fellowship with
the Giver than to His gifts, trusting in His love.”
Chief Apostle Schneider, September 2020, Sarrebourg
Prayer works when we pray in Jesus’ name! These words not only signify who
we are praying through, but also in Jesus we are given a pattern from which
we can get a better grasp on how our longings align with God’s will. This
pattern, or example, that Jesus provides applies to many other aspects of
our lives as His disciples: how we serve, how we are known by Him, and
what He has sent us to do. When we walk the way of Christ, we can be sure
we are living according to the will of God

“Prayer works!” is the motto of the year 2024. In his New Year’s address, the Chief Apostle explains how prayer works and gives initial impulses on how we can tap into the power of prayer.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Regardless of what we may experience in the coming year, there is a source of strength that is often underestimated: our personal prayer! We are absolutely convinced that prayer works!

And this is the motto I would like to issue for 2024: Prayer works!

As always, our example in this is Jesus Christ. He had intimate conversations with His Father. He prayed for His own, He intercedes for us today. His prayers are effective. This gives us comfort and confidence for the coming year.

What are the effects of prayer?

Prayer makes us grateful. In fact, praying is giving thanks. It is praise, thanksgiving, and worship. But we don’t always feel like praising; on the contrary, we often feel more like complaining or grumbling. In such moments, it is important to reflect on what God has done for us. He has strengthened, preserved, and blessed us. And this makes us grateful.

Prayer makes us compassionate. Our intercessions are inspired by Jesus. In intercession, we move away from ourselves and our own wishes and direct our attention to the needs and requirements of our neighbour. We pray for our neighbours because we care about their well-being. We want to do more than just sympathize or feel pity. Let us rather be active, and comfort, strengthen, and help others.

Prayer makes us strong. We do not pray just in case, thinking: “Maybe it will work.” Our prayer is based on our experience: we know that God helps. Even if His answer sometimes surprises us: our trust in Him makes us confident. And this strengthens us to continue on our way.

Prayer sanctifies us. When we go to a quiet place to pray, the noise of the world falls silent and our relationship with God becomes the focus. Like Jesus, let us go into the desert or up a mountain: let us withdraw from outside influences and adopt a different perspective. Doing so helps us to remain serene in these fast-moving times.

Prayer unites us. We do not only pray the Lord’s Prayer with one another but also for one another. The whole congregation prays for your daily bread and the forgiveness of your sins. When we pray, we all stand before God together.

So much for the effect. But what about our prayer practice?

Just a few hints:
Let us pray always. We should not only pray to God when things are going particularly well or particularly bad. Let us pray in every situation.

Let us pray sincerely. Prayer is more than just meditation. It is our personal dialogue with God. We cannot hide anything from Him. He will answer. Let us be sincere and earnest when it comes to our prayers.

Let us also pray together. This not only applies to the congregation, but also to families and couples. Those who pray together open themselves up to one another, which creates closeness and strengthens the bonds between one another.

Let us always ask in the name of Jesus. The Son of God taught us to always pray first for our salvation. Because then we can be sure: “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”

Dear brothers and sisters, so let us tap into the power of prayer and realize how great it is. This is our programme for 2024.

I wish you all a blessed New Year.

Jean-Luc Schneider