
BIBLICAL FESTIVALS
God’s rehearsals for God’s people​
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to participate in God’s story ​centred on God’s Son​​
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restoring God’s creation for God’s glory.
Just as Anzac Day is a culture-shaping holiday for Australia and New Zealand, the festival days that God gave to his people thousands of years ago are culture-shaping days of reflection and celebration. God has chosen particular seasons to reveal particular aspects of His Story to his people. The days we know as Biblical Festivals keep us in a rhythm of remembering and rehearsing His Story. View the infographics below to explore more of the details.

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Frequently Asked Questions
Why celebrate the Biblical Festivals?
New Life Church chooses to align with God’s calendar for His Biblical Festivals in order to celebrate the whole story of the gospel. This includes Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, as well as God’s covenants, the central role of Israel, and the glorious return of Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge. As a church, we have found that emphasising the Biblical Festivals has enlarged our vision of Jesus and connection with the Scriptures. In everything we seek to remain faithful to all Scripture, honouring God in everything and exalting the worthiness of Jesus Christ.
How do you celebrate the Biblical Festivals?
New Life Church has two main Festival Seasons: The festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits are celebrated in March/April/May (dates change each year according to the Lunar calendar). Our community gathers in homes for a simple Passover meal that includes some prayer and worship, Bible readings and sharing a meal together. Following Passover, we count down 50 days to Pentecost, acknowledging that this is a valuable season for reflection and prayer, leading up to Pentecost. It is also a time when we thank God for the gift of His Spirit and we intercede for the future, widespread outpouring of God’s Spirit as prophesied in the scriptures. Pentecost is celebrated at New Life Church with a special Sunday celebration followed by morning tea. A daily devotional reading is made available in booklet and podcast format during this time. The readings begin 10 days before Passover and continue all the way through to the day of Pentecost. If you would like to read or listen to these devotionals, please email info@newlifefremantle.com.au for more information. The festivals of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Shelters are celebrated in September/October (dates change each year according to the Lunar calendar). At the Feast of Trumpets we gather as a community for a 21 day Sacred Assembly, a consecrated time of extended prayer and fasting that concludes with the Day of Atonement. We encourage everyone to set apart the Day of Atonement with prayer and fasting, and to pray especially for Israel’s salvation. The festival of Shelters follows one week later. It is celebrated with joy and thanksgiving during our Sunday Celebration and the shared community lunch that follows. We encourage our community to gather in homes during the Shelters week for thanksgiving meals with friends and family. A daily devotional reading is made available in booklet and podcast format during this time. The readings follow the 21 days of our Sacred Assembly, including the Feast of Trumpets and day of Atonement, and continue all the way through to the end of the Shelters week. If you would like to read or listen to these devotionals, please email info@newlifefremantle.com.au for more information.
What about Christmas and Easter?
New Life Church does not prescribe what people can and cannot do at Easter or Christmas. Instead, we urge people to make Christ the central focus wherever possible as they gather with family and friends on these holidays. Every disciple of Jesus Christ, and every Christian household has a responsibility to work out how to honour God in all of life, in obedience to the Scriptures, in the cultural context they live. Christmas and Easter have long been the two focal events of Christian tradition. However, it was not always this way, The Bible gives no instruction for commemorating the birth, death or resurrection of Jesus, except for the Biblical Festivals. The dates for Christmas and Easter themselves vary according to differing church traditions. In the time of Roman Emperor Constantine (306-337AD), a deliberate move (which was both politically and anti-semitically motivated) was made to disassociate Christian commemoratives of Christ from any Jewish connections. Over the centuries, a number of the ‘traditional’ celebrations of Christmas and Easter have incorporated traditions and rituals of pagan origins. In modern times the culture of the Easter Bunny, Father Christmas and excessive greed (consumers of money, possessions and food) have overshadowed many remnants of Christ-honouring celebrations in these seasons. New Life Church commits to being faithful to all Scripture, honouring God in everything and exalting the worthiness of Jesus Christ. As such, as a community we choose to align with God’s calendar for His Biblical Festivals in order to celebrate the whole story of the gospel. This includes Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, as well as God’s covenants, the central role of Israel, and the glorious return of Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge over the entire cosmos.
Are you trying to be Jewish?
New Life Church believes that the Biblical Festivals profoundly deepen our understanding of God’s eternal redemptive story, but Jewish culture and tradition is not a requirement for this. We believe that God has made Jews and Gentiles to be distinct, yet equal together before Him. We affirm God’s ongoing covenant with Israel and the continuity of Jewish identity for those who place their faith in Jesus as Messiah. We do not aspire to take on Jewish culture, or demand that Jewish culture be adjusted to our preference. New Life Church seeks to keep everything we do centred on Christ and the consistency of Scripture from Genesis through to Revelation, so that Jesus may be honoured, and God’s eternal story proclaimed.