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By Elder Barnabas Apau Manu Altar Today, April 26, 2019 @Christ Temple, Nyamekrom Elder Barnabas Apau Manu speaks on THREATS Acts 4:13-31 Background Apostles Peter and John were preaching Jesus in whose name they had just healed a well known cripple. They were arrested and severely warned with threats to desist from preaching in the name of Jesus. They reacted appropriately, and that has become a guide to us concerning how we should deal with threatening challenges as Christians. Definition and Description Threats consist in public embarrassment and apparent demonstration of superior power against and above that which is in us! They can come in the form of misrepresentations, sicknesses, debts, death of loved ones, etc., that appear to expose our 'impotence'. Intended Effects of Threats 1. Make us stop serving the Lord fully and sincerely 2. Make us deny the power of the Lord and His ability to make supernatural interventions 3. Make us challenge or contradic

THE ROLE OF TITHING IN BUILDING THE CHURCH Main Readings: Matthew 16:18, Genesis 14:18-20, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4  1.  What Does Tithing Do for Me? This is usually the question that many people seem to be interested in addressing:  Will I become rich if I tithe, or will God curse me if I don’t?   This  message will rather look at what tithing does for the church .  We will see how the Bible teaches that tithing has a role to play in the building of the church. 2.  I Will Build My Church Jesus did not mention tithing when He made the statement about building His church. However, He stated that HE will build His church, and who is HE? Among other things, Jesus is known as: •  The Christ,  •  T he Savior,  •  T he Lord,  •  T he High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek  3.  Melchizedek Genesis 14:18-20, Psalm 110:4 The  C ommunion-giving Lord/Priest:  the bread and wine given to Abraham symbolizes the body and blood of Christ that was sacrificed for our salv

The Lifestyle of a Missionary Missionary is a person who has left his comfort zone in response to God's call to settle among a people of a different culture in order to reach them for Christ through Christlike living and preaching and teaching of the Word of God.  Biblical theology puts Jesus forth as the prototype and St. Paul models a classical missionary: Jesus Jesus left His glory and took on our entire life (and even our death) upon Himself. Jesus did not look down upon us, but He didn't copy any of our evil ways Jesus went about doing (seeking our) good, to the extent that it became very clear that He was not on any selfish mission. He began to shine in selflessness (light of the world) in the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus preached (to the world) and taught those who believed (His disciples), using the full range of teaching methodologies that ensured that cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains were trained Jesus gradually entrusted responsibilit

THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING IN BUILDING THE CHURCH Matthew 16:18, 1 Peter 2:5, Acts 2:42 The grounds for using people to build the church is their acknowledgment (recognition and faithful acceptance) of Jesus Christ as Son of God and Savior of the World, like Peter did. Such people must then offer themselves as living stones for building a spiritual house, the church. The first characteristic of the flourishing church is that they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ Teaching. This sermon looks at how that is so crucial. Here is the outline. WHO ARE THE APOSTLES? 1. Those that Jesus specifically designated as such (Mark 3:14) 2. Those referred to in the New Testament as such (Rom. 16:7, Gal. 1:19) 3. Those recognized in the church as being/having such gifts as follows: a) Capacity to lead the entire church to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ even at the peril of their lives. b) Mature Christian leaders recognized by the church as humble and selfless leaders with the abilit

WORSHIP OF FACTS, IDOLS, AND TRUTH All people worship something or someone. SCIENCE is a worship of Facts (a creation of God) and IDOLATORY is a worship of beings and objects (according to human imaginations). Jesus declared CHRISTIANITY to be worship in truth. This is because after science has exhausted it's experimentation and idolatry it's imagination the Christian faith steps in with SURE REMEDY to the human condition, supported by abundance of proof For example, Worship of Facts has it's temples as the academic institutions. Yet it doesn't do the following: 1. Promise Eternal life 2. Promise power over sin (sin is the enjoyment of what will eventually destroy you) Nor does Idolatry 3. Tell you what lies beyond ritual worship 4. Give you the peace of knowing there is a Father who loves you and demands accountability of you and for all his other children (humanity) Worship in TRUTH alone does all these. Idolatry and science proceed from human effort, but

BRIEFLY ON CHURCH MUSIC And CHURCH GROWTH God has blessed us with the gift of music for its great effect on our emotions and memory. People who share a common musical taste tend to bond together and messages heard through music are not easy to forget. If an accurate message of the Gospel is put into the music of a group of people, they will congregate around it and propagate it. If the message put in the same music is confusing the people will be confused and though they FEEL like one on the surface, they will be divided in HOW THEY RESPOND OR ACT. Currently, it appears multiple and even opposing "Gospel" messages in the so-called Gospel music is significantly responsible for the apparent confused Christian front: While some present the Gospel as meant for earthly prosperity and for destroying human enemies, others are preaching, "store your treasures in Heaven" and "Love your enemies and pray for those who harm you", sometimes in the same church or de

LIVING STONES IN FELLOWSHIP 1 Peter 2:5, Acts 4:42, Galatians 2:9 A. Introduction: Gifts and Hand of Fellowship The differences in spiritual gifts began to emerge very early in the church, and it is through their activity that the growing church was kept together. The Apostles TAUGHT and GUIDED, Barnabas and co. CONTRIBUTED, the Deacons SERVED and EXHORTED (Ac. 4-8). “and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.” (Gal. 2:9, cf. Rom. 12:6) B. Living Stones of Different Gifts (1 Peter 2:5) 1. We are a holy priesthood (one people) 2. We offer spiritual sacrifices (different gifts) 3. We must build one another up/ 1Thes. 5:11 C. Fellowship of Spiritual Gifts Building the church is the Holy Spirit working in DIFFERENT ways through people who are ONE to produce more of their kind. We are differen

The Gift of Family Life as a Tool for Building the Church Family is the natural offshoot of marriage, an institution of God Himself. In the beginning, God blessed marriage, and in His redemption promise, God ordained the blessing of all families. It is not mere coincidence that the salvation of humanity through Christ Jesus is linked with the blessing of the family. The human race has come to love the institution in all its forms and it has exerted unparalleled influence throughout the ages,  such as  dominating rulership as dynasties , and being the most suitable nickname even for the church. A.  The Nature and Purpose of the  Family  1)  Family Defined : Nuclear  (Husband, Wife Children only),  Extended  (All relatives) and Familiar references . NB:  Focus on the nuclear family alone (usually called household in the Bible ) , is neither natural nor Biblical. The extended family must also be cared for . 2)  Purpose of the Family : A vehicle for passing on God’s love, even unt

HOW CHRISTIANS RESOLVE CONFLICTS Christians resolve conflicts by using Jesus’ principles to help people to correct their mistakes and live together in peace. Firstly, the principle of resolving conflicts between fellow believers is as follows: “Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17). Secondly, the principle of settling conflicts between a believer and an unbeliever also follows: “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also” (M

God is the Creator of everything. He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering and just. He created mankind and prepared the earth for them to live in. He blessed them with fruitfulness and power over the earth. Mankind dishonoured God, and God cursed the earth because of them. Their sin opened them to death, and God set a date for their judgement. Mankind could not make peace between God and themselves. They neither repented nor could they do what would atone for the dishonour they had done to God. Therefore, they became more and more sinful.Left alone, mankind would have been condemned to eternal punishment from God. So God moved to save mankind by Himself. With His meetings with Abraham God showed that sinful man can be changed into a man who honours God. He gave laws to Israel to remind mankind of His will and to teach that man can be saved through the correct atonement. This right atonement would be made by a Saviour, whose personality and work was foretold again and again. At th

July 3 at 7:48 AM  ·  On the Christian and the Law of Moses Since Christ has set you free from the curse of the Law, now put to death the following: 1. Fornication 2. Uncleanness 3. Passion (letting evil thoughts control you) 4. Evil desires 5. Covetousness, which is idolatry 6. Anger, or wrath 7. Malice 8. Blasphemy 9. Filthy language 10. Lies "Because of these, God's wrath comes on the disobedient, ... "For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism." (Colossians 3:5-11, 25) Observation : Whoever has been set free by Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, is now more acutely aware of the destructive nature of what the law forbids, and why God abhors them. He or she is therefore expected to uproot them from his/her system (put them to death, NOT JUST SHOW THE SURFACE LEVEL COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW). Otherwise, they should expect the same judgment that God visits on those who do them! For, th

 LESSONS FROM THE FIRST CHRISTIAN RALLY IN ACTS 2 1. Create the Rally Let every member around get involved in praising God: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues”. 2. Anticipate at least Three (3) Initial Responses a. Confusion: “How is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?" b. Limited Interest: “What does this mean?” (How does this meet our needs)? c. Dismissal and Rejection: “They have had too much wine”  3. Preach Quickly clear any grounds for rejection or dismissal, and capitalize on explaining the confusion from the Scriptures to establish the full interest that people must have as follows: a. Establish the fact that you are worth hearing: “These men are not drunk as you suppose” b. Reason with the Scriptures as Your basis: “This is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel ... David said about Him (Jesus)” c. Guide the people to become aware of their sinfulness and its solution only in Christ: “God

REMAIN IN THE ANOINTING "...The anointing you received remains in you." 1 John 2:27 It is quite a relief to learn that anointing isn't found in bottles! Even in  the Old Testament, when priests, kings and prophets were anointed, the oil per se was of symbolic significance (and stones and bowls were anointed as well). The real deal was that people supposed to have been anointed were set apart and supernaturally empowered for the SERVICE of God. In some cases the anointing ran through families (as was strictly the case in the priesthood and partially in the royal lines). You wouldn't find any out and out Prophet on whom oil was poured for the purpose (very very interesting).  The extraordinary endowments of the anointed includes the ability to hear from God for the people (prophecy), supernatural strength, wisdom, insight and ability to perform miracles. These were not entitlements meant for personal enjoyment. Implied, and sometimes clearly stated, conditio