Day: April 9, 2023

Dr Michael Boadi Nyamekye, the General Overseer of the Maker’s House Chapel International, has admonished Christians, especially the youth, to utilise their social media platforms to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

It was unfortunate, he said, that today’s generation were dedicated to sharing bad news and information that was unhelpful to society through their tiktok, instagram and other handles.

He was delivering the Resurrection Sunday sermon at the Destiny Arena – the multi purpose complex headquarters of the Church, at Kwabenya in the Ga East District.

Using the story of Mary Magdalene and the other women who went to town to broadcast the good news of Christ’s resurrection, he said Christians must also be enthusiastic about sharing positive news for building the Kingdom of God and society.

The occasion, which climaxed the annual Easter Supernatural Conference of the Church, was also used to commission the fully-occupied 5,000-seater ultramodern auditorium of the Church.

Dr Boadi Nyamekye reminded Christians that they could not live their lives anyhow if they professed to be followers of Christ Jesus.

Consequently, they must die to their old sinful nature and its works and lead exemplary lives befitting the Children of Christ the King.

Referencing the account of Luke 24:5, where the angels asked Mary and her companions why they were living for the living among the dead, Dr Boadi Nyamekye said it was important for Christians to part ways with ungodly attitudes and actions.

They also should be sensitive to their locations as many accounts in the Bible demonstrated that how God chose specific locations to reveal His plans, purposes and assignments to His chosen.

For instance, on the use of mountains God chose Mt Ararat to rest the Ark of the Covenant after the floods in Noah’s era, Mt Moriah for Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac, Mt Sinai for giving the tablets of the Ten Commandments to Moses, Mt Zion for David’s installation as king, Mt Olives for Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem, and Mt Calvary for Jesus’ crucifixion.

Consequently, Christians could not take where they wanted to seek the face for granted.

Dr Boadi Nyamekye also encouraged Christians to be resolute in their faith, especially in trying times where they were likely to be abandoned by their loved ones and the people they had helped.

God always came through for His faithful ones, he assured, saying that sometimes God chose to reveal His glory by allowing believers to go through affliction.

The service was charged as the celebrants, clothed in mainly white attires, sang joyfully with the resident choir and danced to celebrate the power of the Risen Christ.

Dr Boadi Nyamekye acknowledged God for granting him supernatural abilities towards building his Ministry.

He also a commended the people who had assisted him in diverse ways to be faithful to his calling.

The Maker’s House Chapel International is a bible-believing church with branches in several areas in Ghana and beyond.

It strives for church excellence and empowering believers to live worthy fulfilling lives, while preparing them for heaven.

Source: Ghana News Agency

With joyous congregational services and some processions across the country, Christians in Ghanaare today joining their counterparts worldwide to commemoratethe resurrection of Jesus Christ some 2000 years ago.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, hailed as the son of God who accepted to die to atone for the sins of man, is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

Some accounts in the New Testament reveal that the resurrection occurred on the third day after his burial, which followed his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary.

This was after he was accused of claiming to be the King of the Jews and the Messiah promised to the Jews in the Old Testament scripture.

Believers celebrate Jesus Christ’s victory over death through His resurrection.

According to the Christian faith, his resurrection symbolisesbelievers’ anticipation of having their own resurrection to spend eternity with God.

Many Christians, therefore, wear white apparel to signifyChrist’s victory over death.

Across the globe, the day is also celebrated with special church services, candle light and ringing church bells.

In the Philippines and Spain for instance, processions are held on this day.

Some believers in Ghana also hold processions Sunday dawn, with others visiting cemeteries to symbolically search for their buried saviour.

In the gospel, Mary Magdalene visited the tomb, where Jesus was buried and found it empty.

However, an angel told her that, Jesus had risen as he had prophesied.

Ahead of the Easter festival, preceded by Lent and Palm Sunday, many Christian leaders have emphasised Christ’s message ofunconditional love, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, compassion, a godly life, humility among others.

Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, the Presiding Bishop of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches, delivering his Good Friday sermon, charged Christians to live a life that was worthy of Christ’s sacrifice.

Christians must, therefore, eschew vices such as alcoholism, stealing, fornication, adultery and robbery, he emphasised.

‘To follow Jesus is not easy. It requires sacrifices because you can’t follow Jesus and continue to do what you claim you have repented from,’ he explained.

‘All the bad things you used to do in your past life are supposed to die with the past life.’

The Reverend Dr Lawrence Tetteh, Founder and President of Worldwide Miracle Outreach, also urged Christians to learn lessons from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to give meaning to His suffering.

He said Jesus Christ’s humility, service, obedience and selflessness should be ‘our hallmark.’

‘My prayer is that as a people, we will reflect on the mercies of our God and bless others accordingly…. May the nations be blessed as we renew our minds to deepen our relationship with our maker,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Passenger Terminal of the Port of Luanda was consumed by the fire on Saturday night, as a result of a road accident, the company’s management has said.

The fire consumed an area of 430 square metres, affecting ticketing services, a café/bar, a pantry and sanitary facilities.

Despite the violence of the accident and the total destruction of the vehicle, the four occupants left with only a few injuries.

According to a press note released by the management of the Port of Luanda, the accident occurred at around 9:30 pm.

The flames started in the crashed vehicle and reached part of the passenger concentration zone of the said maritime terminal.

At the moment, the situation is under control and the shift work teams as well as the goods needed to secure the operation of the terminal, are out of danger, after the quick intervention of firefighters department.

The Provincial Governor of Luanda Manuel Homem visited the site to learn of the situation.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Christians in Seychelles join others around the world to celebrate Easter on Sunday in their traditional ways, unlike these past three years when there were restrictions on gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In wishing believers a Happy Easter, the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese, Bishop Alain Harel, and Archbishop James Wong of the Anglican Diocese, bring a message of hope for the resurrection of the social body of Seychelles and hope to face the uncertainties of the world.

Harel said on Good Friday, “Many of us were at the foot of the Cross, contemplating, with emotion, Jesus crucified, Jesus disfigured, Jesus drawn and quartered. We were also tempted to look away. This mutilated man, hanging on a cross, calls out to us, because it brings us back to a burning issue.”

He said that the “crucifixion of Jesus reminds us of the suffering of so many Seychellois brothers and sisters alienated from their humanity by destructive forces. Yes, the crucifixion of Jesus continues through these 10,000 Seychellois enslaved to cocaine, crack and synthetic drugs.”

The Roman Catholic Bishop spoke about the BBC programme that covered the scourge of drugs in Seychelles and how this dramatic documentary is playing out live in so many families, cantons, and even schools in Seychelles.

He said that many citizens move forward as if in a thick fog and find it difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, between what is permitted and what is forbidden, but even more so to give themselves a goal, an ideal in life.

Harel asked if like all the people went away after witnessing the killing of Jesus, “will we also be content to watch, as passive witnesses, what is happening in our society, even if it means beating our chests afterwards? In conscience, we cannot live in denial because it is the Seychellois society as a whole that is pierced, just like Jesus on the Cross.”

He said that “this moral, health and demographic crisis should challenge us, disturb us and make us react and that God elicits our cooperation to free us from what shackles us, from what hurts us deeply – body and soul.”

This can be done by “allowing ourselves to be accompanied and guided by the risen Jesus, let us look reality in the face with courage,” said Harel.

He said every branch of the government and all institutions should have as their sole objective the common good of the Seychellois society.

“Thus, we are all called upon to pool our energies and our will to protect society from the scourges that affect us. […] Families and all of us must better shoulder our responsibilities. To educate means to grow,” he said.

“As we go through the desert following Jesus, let us go up to Golgotha. With and following Jesus, let us come out of our graves so that we may be freer, more united, and more fraternal. With and through the life-giving power of God, let us become what we are called to be, from before the foundation of the world, that is, sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ. On this feast of Easter, let us pray to the Lord for the resurrection of the social body of Seychelles. This is our Hope,” said Harel.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Wong said that the immeasurable power of God flowed into Jesus’ dead body and raised Him from the dark tomb and there is no better news for us than this.

Wong spoke about the graffities on the walls and doors of two church buildings in Port Glaud and Anse Royale and ask believers to pray for God’s forgiveness on those who wrote these words on these churches.

He said he believes in what Jürgen Moltmann, a professor of systematic theology, once wrote; “Totally without hope one cannot live. To live without hope is to cease to live.”

“I believe there is a great deal of truth in those words. In the difficult and often confusing world in which we live today, hope, for many people, is something that seems to be in short supply. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that in a world of pain, grief and sorrow, of complex family relationships, of problems at work – alongside many other hardships of life causing sadness, loneliness and depression – hope, for many people, has died a death,” said Wong.

He added that hope is “one of the key Christian attributes and one of the most important gifts we can give to the world today. Nothing brings hope back to life like the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter message gives us hope in a bewildering world and hope to face the uncertainties of the future. This special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one: True life, eternal life, glorious life.”

“This hope can be with us in every moment of our life. Believe in the mighty power of God that defeats the enemy, changes circumstances, heals sick bodies and enables us to stand strong through the storms of life. And this power is available to us in unlimited supply. […] My dear brethren, may the miracle of Easter bring you hope, peace, renewed faith, and comfort. God bless you, and may you have a beautiful Easter,” said Wong.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced alarm Saturday at the tense situation in Sudan, urging all sides to redouble their efforts towards restoring a civilian-led government.

Pro-democracy activists in Sudan marched against the army and paramilitaries on Thursday as the civilian opposition marked a key anniversary in the decades-old struggle against military rule with new protests.

A new delay to the signing of a deal to restore the transition to civilian government, which had been rescheduled for Thursday, prompted the civilian opposition to call for nationwide protests instead.

Turk, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, urged all sides to de-escalate tensions and refrain from violence.

“The country is at a decisive juncture. Much work has been done and many positive steps taken towards the signature of a final agreement — all efforts must now be made to get the political transition back on the right path,” he said in a statement.

April 6 is a symbolic date for Sudan’s civilian opposition, the anniversary of uprisings in 1985 and 2019 that ended up ousting two leaders who had seized power in coups.

Sudan is still ruled by a military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who took power in an October 2021 coup, aborting the transition to civilian rule agreed after the 2019 overthrow of Islamist general Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup.

Turk urged all sides to work together to avoid further delays in signing an agreement for a transition to civilian government, while also calling on non-signatories to join the process.

“I urge the authorities to ensure that the rights of the people to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fully respected and that security forces are clearly instructed to respond to demonstrations in line with human rights laws and standards,” he said.

“We must not see a repeat of the use of unnecessary, disproportionate force.”

The worsening state of Sudan’s economy has put pressure on all sides to reach a deal, which is a precondition for the resumption of international aid to the impoverished country.

Source: Seychelles News Agency