A Service of Hymns

Yesterday's Service was a Service of Hymns which was led by Bro Ofori-Karikari. In his exhortation before the start of the Service, he read Job 1:8  where God asked Satan whether he(Satan) has considered Job, that there is none like him on earth. and Daniel 6:5 where the other presidents and princes sought to find something against Daniel but they realised that "we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God"
What will God say about you? was the question he asked us. Is our life pleasing to God? Can anybody tell from our lifestyle that we are followeres of Christ?

We began the Service with MHB 615 - Guide me O Thou great Jehovah - we need God to be our deliverer and our shield as we go through this life. His powerful Hand will protect us.

Our 2nd Hymn was MHB 516 - When we walk with the Lord - part of the 5th Stanza says 'what He says we will do; where He sends we will go...' In 1Sam 15:2~ God asked Saul to go to war with the Amalekites and kill everybody and every animal... we know what happened...Obedience is better than sacrifice. As Christians, do we do what God asks us to do, and do we go where He sends us?

MHB 538 - What a friend we have in Jesus - Prov18:24b ..and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Jesus is that friend who is closer to us than a brother. We have all been dispised or abandoned by friends before. The  only solution is to bring all these troubles to Jesus in prayer.

In MHB 371 (And can it be...), Charles Wesley was in church but had no peace in his heart until he boldly approached the Eternal Throne and claimed what belonged to him. He therefore wrote in the 5th Stanza
'No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal Throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

MHB 822 - Onward Christian Soldiers - was our next hymn. In it we receive the assurance that God has given us the victory already in Jesus Christ, so we should just march on.

MHB 821- Stand up stand up for Jesus - which we sang sitting, goes with Eph 6:10 "finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might".
- The arm of flesh will fail us
- the strife will not be long
- all the troubles and pain will end and finally, victory will be ours.
- so let us stand up for Jesus:
This day the noise of battle
The next the victor's song.

MHB 701 - The Church's one Foundation
Mr Ofori-Karikari continued his exhortation and reminded us that God uses people to set up Churches; but the foundation is and must always be Jesus. He is the Lord of the Church.
In Is 61:1, Jesus has been anointed by the Father to 'preach the good news' etc 

Rescue the perishing -  MHB 338 was our penultimate hymn -  We must save the lost at all cost; but Jesus must live in our hearts before we can do that. Our lifestyles must be attractive to the lost.
PHB 161 was our last Hymn.

Christ Our Example - Selfless Service

Is 53:4-12; Heb5:1-10 and Mk10:35-45

Preaching the Sermon, with reference to the Readings for the day, the Rev.d Isaac Jackson said the prophecy of Isaiah took 700 years to  be fulfilled, it was God's purpose to let Christ die for the rest of the world. Christ was innocent but became the Lamb of God to die in our place to make us acceptable to God.  In fact Jesus gave up his life for the salvation of the world, and that should be our example as believers.
In Jesus' response to the request by the sons of Zebedee, James and John, for one of them to sit on Jesus' right and the other on his left in His Kingdom, Jesus emphasised the need for leaders or office seekers to first be servants.
Rev'd Jackson continued that because of Christ's selfless service, now at the name of Jesus every knee falls.
We should, as Christians, therefore give all we can for God's work. The selflessness of Christ has earned him the highest place in Heaven. He is indeed our example.

The Key to Fullness of Life (What must I do to inherit Eternal Life?)

A Valedictory Sermon by Rev'd Cyril Gershon Y. Fayose

The rich young ruler in the Bible was a hardworker and an achiever. He was religious and meticulous; but these could not earn him eternal life.
Rev'd Fayose identified three lessons that would help us understand what will earn us eternal life.
Lesson #1
Our best effort is not good enough and will not save us.
The rich young ruler was committed to religion and that led him to Jesus to find out from him what will earm him (the ruler) eternal life. With all his hardwork and wealth, he was empty and short of the mark. The things of this world therefore, cannot get us eternal life. In Lk10:3-8 Jesus told Martha what was important - the Word of God- which her sister Mary had chosen. See also Heb 4: 12-16

Lesson #2
Our spirituality will not grant us the fullness of life.
The rich young ruler had fulfilled the law since his youth but Jesus said to him, he still lacked something. Our ability to prophesy or speak in tongues, though good, will not gain us eternal life. In Amos 5, God told the Israelites He wanted them to uphold justice and not to take bribes. God is not impressed when we take bribes 6 days of the week and come to give offering on Sundays.

Lesson #3
The wealth of this world must not prevent us from gaining eternal life.
Wealth and treasure should not become our God 1Tim 6: 6+. Wealth and money is good; but the love of money will prevent us from entering the Kingdom of God.
Gaining eternal life is not something we do on our own, work for with our strength  or earn; but God by His grace, is ready to help us give up what we are holding on to.
Gaining eternal life is easy because the the grace of God to help us is free; but it is difficult because our hands are full of things we must give up.

Conclusion
Rev'd Fayose concluded his sermon with the assurance Jesus gave his disciples that everyone who has left home, parents, siblings and spouse to follow Him will get a hundredfold of what he has lost in this life.Touchung on how he became a Minister, he said in those days he thought he did not have what it took to become a Minister; but after being convinced and mentored by the Very Rev'd Livingstone Buamah, the current Moderator of the EP Church, he has not regretted and feel more blessed.
We should therefore look up to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

The Rev'd Cyril Farose ('Cyril' means young ruler or little master) has been with the Trinity United Church for 5 years and now hands over to the Rev'd Seth Kissi. He also celebtates 20 years of service in the Ministry. He asked for prayers for the work ahead of him. We wish him all the best

Trinity United shows Great Love to Out-going Minister-in-Charge, Rev'd Dr Fayose

Members and the various groups in the Church were full of praise for Rev'd Dr Cyril Fayose, the out-going Minister-in Charge at a send-off Service today, for his affable and outgoing nature. He has been with the TUC for 5 years and will hand over to Rev'd Seth Kissi sometime before the end of the year.

• Rev'd & Mrs Fayose receiving a present for their children

In attendance was the Wesleyan Symphony Group