Christians asked to refrain from nefarious activities

Accra, April 16, GNA-Christians have been called upon to open a new chapter by refraining from nefarious activities, which hinder national development.

Pastor Eric Aryee, Madina District Pastor of the Apostolic Church, Ghana made the call at the end of this year's Easter Convention held at Madina near Accra on Sunday.

More than 3,000 members drawn from Adenta, Madina, Ashalley Botwe, Haatso and Agboba branches of the church attended the convention, which was under the theme, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God".

Pastor Aryee said Christians would be doing disservice to the nation if they did not allow the teachings of Jesus Christ to reflect in their daily lives.

He said as a real Christians you have to explain vividly the crucifixion of Jesus Christ instead of creating the impression that his death was meaningless.

Pastor Aryee attributed the country's socio-economic woes to Christians mad rush for monetary gains instead of seeking their spiritual upliftment.

He called on the members to instil in their children a sense of discipline, which is worthy of emulation.

The District Pastor called on other religious leaders to use the pulpit to educate their members on government's policies and programmes.

Tamale

Christians from the various denominations in Tamale on Sunday marked the resurrection of Jesus Christ with joy and celebrations. Most of the Churches were filled to capacity with believers singing, dancing and praising God for giving his son to die for the sins of humanity to reconcile man with Him.

The singing and dancing in some of the churches were temporarily marred by a power outage; lights were however restored after a short period.

At the Winners Chapel International (WCI), Pastor Honour Olukorede, in a sermon, said: "The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christianity since without it our hope and faith will be meaningless". He called on Christians to let the resurrection of Christ mark a new beginning in their lives dedicated to serving God in humility and reverence so that he would continue to be merciful to them.

He said: "Just as Christ died so that our sins will be forgiven so should every Christian learn to forgive his neighbour in the true spirit of reconciliation".

Tamale

Pastor Olukorede admonished Christians to learn to share their love, their wealth and the little blessings God had given them with their less privileged brothers.

"Let us learn to show concern about things happening in our community and try to change situations for the better," he said. He said the resurrection of Christ signified the burial of old habits and attitudes and therefore appealed to believers to bury their past and strive to live lives worthy of emulation.

Pastor Olukorede asked Christians to pray for the presence of God in their lives to lead and guide them, saying: "God's presence, guarantees his blessing".

At the Northern Region Deeper Christian Bible Church, Pastor Francis Fosu, the Overseer, urged Christians to emulate Christ who worked tirelessly to bring salvation to mankind.

He said God entrusted the world to man to maintain and keep it and therefore every man was expected to work diligently in any occupation he found himself in to create wealth and leave an inheritance for his children.

He called on Ghanaians to work hard to improve the economy of the country to enable more jobs to be created for the benefit of the people.

KASOA

Kasoa, April 16, GNA - Pastor J.K. Effah of the Apostolic Church, Ghana, has said that the resurrection of Jesus Christ calls for a renewed heart and zeal to serve the nation and God.

He said Christ did not only render a selfless service but also put down his life for the salvation of mankind and called on Ghanaians to place the welfare of the nation above monetary gains.

Pastor Effah who is in-charge of the Kasoa East District of the Church, said the resurrection of Jesus should strengthen both Christians and non-Christians to stand up against the wrong things, which retard the progress of both the Church and the state and to respect authority. Pastor Effah also asked the people to trust that God would provide them with their needs instead of resorting to means that would incur the displeasure of God and bring them into conflict with the law.

He urged the youth to comport themselves and to refrain from lawlessness and acts that would mar their, reputation, that of the Church and their parents.

Akyem Oda

Right Reverend Joseph B. Impraim, Bishop of Akyem Oda Diocese of the Methodist Church of Ghana on Sunday urged Christians to be 'ambassadors of reconciliation' in society.

Preaching at Saint Luke Methodist Cathedral at Akyem Oda, on Easter Sunday, Rev. Impraim appealed to Christians to reflect on measures that would make them cooperate with the Government to sustain peace and reconciliation in the country.

He also laid a foundation stone to construct a church hall. Rev. Impraim said Jesus Christ showed mankind the way to perfect peace and reconciliation when he forgave those who crucified him and prayed for them.

He reminded Christians that they could move a step forward towards world peace when within their hearts they forgave each other as Jesus Christ forgave his enemies.

Rev. Impraim noted that Christians were peacemakers and should build bridges of understanding and reconciliation to remove rancour and mistrust in society adding; "No country can make significant progress in an atmosphere of fear an insecurity."

Bawku

At Bawku, the District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Timothy Kere, has appealed to religious leaders to use Easter celebrations to seek true and genuine reconciliation with one another to sustain peace and order in the country.

He noted that mistrust, suspicion and greed among leaders have led to social disintegration, which do not augur well for the welfare of mankind and should be replaced with a renewing spirit of forgiveness. Rev. Kere made the appeal at the closing ceremony of a three-day Easter convention and district launch of the 75th anniversary of the church at Bawku on Sunday.

He said church leaders need to be humble and bold enough to admit their wrongdoings in order to seek for forgiveness from God and to forgive fellow human.

He asked people in responsible positions to be patriotic and trust in the Lord so that they would be able to surmount all obstacles and bring development to the nation.

Rev. Kere noted that greed had made some leaders to be blind in spirit whereby they exploit the flock to satisfy their evil desires. He called on such leaders to refrain from their acts and seek reconciliation with God before it was too late and were exposed. He expressed concern about the way people attaining leadership positions in church as well as other bodies in societies due to their influence and wealth.

Accra

The Reverend Canon Glyn Conway, an Anglican Minister based in Wales, United Kingdom, preaching on Easter Sunday in Accra urged Christians to show love and compassion to the underprivileged. He said the Church must also embrace radical changes in its activities to become relevant to the needs of the people it served. Rev Conway was delivery a sermon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Accra on Easter Sunday church service to mark the resurrection of Christ.

The service, which was under theme: "New life in Jesus Christ" attracted hundreds, who filled the main auditorium of the church to capacity while the rest who could not gain spaces inside sat under canopies outside the hall.

He said the resurrection of Christ signified the vision and mission of Christ to mankind and urged Christians to emulate Jesus and work for the peace and stability of the world.

He said Christian must believe and trust in the power of God as well as show concern to the poor and the afflicted. "We need to listen to one another in love" he stressed. Rev Canon also asked the congregation to pray for God's wisdom and understanding for the leaders of the Church as well as lead exemplary lives.

Accra

The Reverend Sefa Boakye, Pastor of the French Assembly at the Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Accra, urged believers to be obey God to enable them to have peace.

He said it was better for Christians to obey the commands of God than to live perpetually in prayer camps and in striving to do things their own way.

He noted that most often believers give too much attention to their problems and that lessened the impact of the word of God on their lives. Rev Safa Boakye, who spoke on: "The Supremacy of the Word of God," said there were countless evidences and testimonies that attested to the supremacy of the word of God in terms of healing and in dealings with demonic oppressions.

He stated that God only required men to be obedient so that He would pour upon them all the blessings that He had promised including healing, deliverance from various bondages, peace and security. "The word of God may require us to do things that may look foolish and unthinkable, but the end result may be glorious," he said.