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Why Sheep Need the Shepherd’s Cup to Overflow

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Why Sheep Need the Shepherd’s Cup to Overflow

… thou anointest my head with oil; MY CUP RUNNETH OVER.

Psalm 23:5

A Case For Faith & Hope

I did not know that a shepherd has a literal cup until I learnt it from a real shepherd who carried a bottle containing a mixture of brandy and water.  This shepherd’s mixture of brandy and water overflowed into a blessing of healing and restoration for freezing sheep that were distressed by extreme weather.  The overflowing cup of the shepherd was a life-giving cup to the sheep.

Indeed, our Lord Jesus’ blood overflowed to bring salvation and healing to the whole world.  The cup of every pastor must overflow to bring life and healing to needy sheep.  Phillip Keller, an experienced shepherd, tells us how he practically ministered to sheep from his “overflowing cup”.

He says:

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Blizzards can blow up or sleet storms suddenly shroud the hills. The flock and their owner can pass through appalling suffering together.

It is here that I grasp another aspect altogether of the meaning of a cup that overflows. There is in every life a cup of suffering. Jesus Christ referred to His agony in the garden of Gethsemane and at Calvary as His cup. And had it not overflowed with His life poured out for men, we would have perished.

In tending my sheep I carried a bottle in my pocket containing a mixture of brandy and water. Whenever a ewe or lamb was chilled from undue exposure to wet, cold weather I would pour a few spoonfuls down his throat. In a matter of minutes the chilled creature would be on its feet and full of renewed energy. It was especially cute the way the lambs would wiggle their tails with joyous excitement as the warmth from the brandy spread through their bodies.

The important thing was for me to be there on time, to find the frozen, chilled sheep before it was too late. I had to be in the storm with them, alert to everyone that was in distress. Some of the most vivid memories of my sheep ranching days are wrapped around the awful storms my flock and I went through together.

Be Diligent And Seek Christ’s Holiness

I can see again the gray-black banks of storm clouds sweeping in off the sea; I can see the sleet and hail and snow sweeping across the hills; I can see the sheep racing for shelter in the tall timber; I can see them standing there soaked, chilled, and dejected. Especially the young lambs went through appalling misery without the benefit of a full, heavy fleece to protect them. Some would succumb and lie down in distress only to become more cramped and chilled. Then it was that my mixture of brandy and water came to their rescue. I’m sure the Palestine shepherds must have likewise shared their wine with their chilled and frozen sheep.

What a picture of my Master, sharing the wine, the very life blood of His own suffering from His overflowing cup, poured out at Calvary for me. He is there with me in every storm. My Shepherd is alert to every approaching disaster that threatens His people. He has been through the storms of suffering before. He bore our sorrows and was acquainted with our grief.

by Pastor Dag Heward-Mills

Christians in Ghana are urged to seek God’s revival in their thoughts and lives

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Christians in Ghana are urged to seek God’s revival in their thoughts and lives

Christians have been urged to seek God’s revival in their thoughts and lives to win more souls for the Lord.

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Reverend David Ampadu Berkoh, Pastor in charge of the Berean Assemblies of God Church, Manet Ogbojo, near Madina said events around the world has called for massive revival among the church.

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“We need revival in our prayer life, our work, family and the nation”.


Speaking at a church service to quick start the year, Rev Berkoh said Christians needed revival to continue to bear the fruit of the spirit and win souls for the Lord.

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Comparing the Christian Life to that of a plant, which thrives on water to grow, he said it was important that “we seek the face of God so he could sustain us with the Holy Spirit in order to bear fruit of the spirit.”

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He said if Christians were revived, they could do exploits and they would aggressively pursue soul winning for God’s kingdom.


Anyone who calls for revival, needs help and it is crucial that after being revived by God, it has to be reflected in his or her thoughts and life.

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He admonished the church to continue to vigorously pursue soul winning as that formed one of the key areas of the church’s agenda for this year.


The theme Assemblies of God, Ghana for 2021 is “Revive us again, Lord.”

Source: GNA

“Christians Must Spread Gospel Through ICT”

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“Christians Must Spread Gospel Through ICT”

Christians have been asked to utilize Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to spread the Gospel by Reverend Paul Frimpong- Manso.

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“While there is a lot on the internet, including immoral materials, we Christians can also make positive inroads and try to change the world into a better place through the same internet,” Reverend Paul Frimpong-Manso, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church-Ghana.

He spoke at a ceremony in Accra that launched the Digital Version of the Sunday School Manual of the Church.

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The manual is called “Lessman App,” it is expected to enhance core activities of the Church such as reaching out to members far and near, ensuring the effective reach of vital church matters, and interaction amongst congregation.

Reverend Paul Frimpong-Manso said that Christians need to realise that the internet, like any other tool of purpose, was meant basically to improve upon human lives, however, “every good thing often has the potential to be used negatively.”

Reverend Frimpong-Manso said now more than ever, Christians had to strive towards reaching the very ends of the earth through the amazingly far reaching power of the internet, and even work towards changing attitudes through it.

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According to him the current congregation of the Assemblies of God-Ghana had increased to such an extent that it had become necessary to find a means of reaching everyone, some of whom were outside the country.

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The new App, makes it possible to reach people far and near, would also facilitate interaction amongst members, which was crucial to the sustenance and growth of the Church.

Reverend Doctor Abraham Obeng-Amoako, the Managing Director of the Assemblies of God Church Bookshops, said the launch of a digital version of the Sunday School Manual was part of a carefully thought out programme towards digitalising the Bookshops.
It would also help the systematic integration of digital technology into all areas of the Church’s activities, he said.

“We are convinced that the Lessman App is a game-changer and a win-win intervention for our members across the country,” he said.

Christianity the Faith for Africa

Source: GNA

“Unreached people’s hardship is different from Christian suffering”

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“Unreached people’s hardship is different from Christian suffering”

Gospel in one hand and humanitarian aid in the other have been our best strategy since our encounter with the unreached. It is scripturally grounded, morally upright and strategically perfect.

Apostle James encouraged Christians to be sensitive to the plight of their fellow brethren by practically meeting the needs of the less privileged. Instead of expressing faith and blessing them with words of prayers only, he enjoined believers to practically demonstrate the love of Christ by deeds of compassion. According to him, faith without work is dead. (James 2:15-17)

Jesus showed compassion to the people that he preached the Gospel to; he provided food to those listening to His teachings and was moved with compassion to minister healing to their bodies. The Gospel of Christ is holistic; it is for the body, soul and spirit. We shall do no less than what Jesus did. It will amount to negligence and insensitivity for a preacher of the Gospel to see a naked a woman and preach the Gospel to her and abandon her nakedness.

Preaching the Gospel alone could be good enough to save their souls but it will be better if we minister to their bodily well-being as well. I sincerely do understand that the Gospel is what is needed to transform lives and prepare converts for eternity, but several times I have been moved to tears at the dehumanizing status of the unreached. Whether they will make heaven under such status is not debatable, they will surely make heaven.

I am a strong proponent of Christian suffering and have made it clear in my book and teachings that the call to Christianity is the call to suffer for Christ, the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.  But it is obvious that the unreached are not suffering for any of these but because of marginalization, rejection and man’s inhumanity towards man. Is it not better if we see these people as the least of Christ’s brothers and minister foods, drinks, clothes, etc. as Jesus enjoined us?

Some people criticize evangelical organizations that do not provide help without accompanying evangelization. We are convinced that the greatest gift that we can give to any man is to introduce Jesus to him. Every other gift should be geared towards fostering proximity of the recipients to Christ. In all interventions, we let the target group know that all we come with are given to us by Christ to give to them. In one of our meetings some women came to us and told us to ask Jesus to visit their village.

According to them “we want to know him and thank him for all the things that he has sent to us through you.” There is a video on our website about a wife of the chief priest of an idol in one of our remote mission fields whom we met with leaf covering her pubic region. She and her husband used swords to chase us round the village and stopped us from having access to the people.

We ran out of the village and when we strategized and went back, clothed the woman and the entire community and provided enough food for them, they allowed us to preach Christ to them and they all surrendered to the saving power of Christ. Today, the wife of the chief priest is an evangelist, moving from village to village, telling others about Jesus. She has one outstanding testimony, according to her, “my primary message to other women is that Christianity has stopped me from covering my nakedness with leaves and they too can come to Christ for the glorious covering.”

The place of humanitarian intervention in Gospel propagation among the unreached cannot be overemphasized.  Missionaries often cannot access them without first showing them kindness. No matter how anointed and zealous a preacher may be, he will find it difficult to gain access to some communities without the act of Christian kindness.

The strategy of Gospel in one hand and humanitarian aid in the other catalyzes the preaching of the Gospel and makes the target persons less hostile and friendly.  It is a protective strategy for the missionaries who are prone to attack. In one of our mission fields, some group of youths approached our team with their swords and machetes and we thought that it was all over.  We had prayed, “Unto your hands we commit our spirits,” but I said, “Before I die, let me show my last act of Christian kindness.”

I beckoned them and gave small packs of rice, noodles, soaps and detergents to each and every one of them.  They stepped back and held a brief meeting and came back to us and said, “We came to kill you but because of these gifts, we want to become Christians. Since we were born, no one has ever given us a gift and now that you gave us gifts, we want to serve the same God that you are serving.”  We could not believe what we heard but that was how God saved our lives through little acts of kindness.

We so much believe in the words of Francis of Assisi:  Witness always, use words when necessary.  We share our faith by demonstrating the love of Christ to the unreached and where necessary, we communicate the Gospel orally.  It is important to note that the unreached understand the Gospel better when it is communicated in love and deeds of compassion than in words.

Written by Oscar Amaechina

Christianity the Faith for Africa

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Christianity the Faith for Africa

The first Annual African Apologetics Conference engages with postmodern and traditional African world views by asking the question if Christianity is the faith for Africa.

Christian group Apologetics Kenya hosted the even, which involved, over 26 lectures, public apologetics debates, panels and workshop. Those involved were African theologians, church leaders and Christian activists.

“Younger generations are asking about the validity of their Christian faith in a global world,” Kevin Muriithi, chairmanof Apologetics Kenya. “We decided, since COVID is there and we have the technology, then why don’t we do something special?”

Muriithi mentioned that Christians in Africa face an apologetics challenge. They must be grounded enough in biblical truth to argue with postmodernism, traditional Western atheism, traditional African religions and Christians that believe the prosperity gospel.

“We need to be able to understand what we believe and why we believe it as Christians and Africans,” he said. “We need to answer those questions with confidence, clarity and compassion.”

According to Pew Research, there are 70 times more Christians in Africa than in 1900, which also makes the continent the one with the most people who identify themselves as Christian.
However, Muriithi, explains that these numbers presented are relative as many African Christians believe in the prosperity gospel and don’t really understand the real Gospel of Christ.

“Some feel uncomfortable with Christianity because of the colonial past. They turn to critical race theory or traditional tribal faiths because they feel like Christianity is a “white man’s religion,” Muriithi said.

Muriithi cited the words of Kenya’s first prime minister, Jomo Kenyatta, who once said: “When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.”

Africans have been part of Christian history since the beginning, Muriithi explained. Jesus spent his childhood in Egypt, the African Simon of Cyrene carried his cross when he grew too weak to bear it and one of the first converts to Christianity was an Ethiopian court official. Some of the Church’s most important theologians, including Saint Augustine, Athanasius of Alexandria and Origen, all came from Africa.

“Looking at Christianity, it’s been there for a pretty long time,” Muriithi said.

Christianity grows quickly in Africa for two reasons, he explained. First, God has blessed and moved within the Church on the continent. Secondly, African cultures place a high value on living in community result in the rapid spread of the Gospel. People tell their friends about God instead of seeing faith as a quiet, personal decision.

“If someone trusts in Christ, they share their story with those around them,” he said. “The church is really a part of society in Africa. People come to their church for support. That makes Christianity very much a part of everyday life.”

Source: Black Christian News

Book Review: “The Art of Leadership”

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Book Review: “The Art of Leadership”

The handbook to great leadership!

In the book “The Art of Leadership”, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills takes the time to explain what has made him a great leader. He reflects on the key principles of what makes you a good leader and how people will follow.

This book is a good guide, not only for churches but also for businesses. The truths in this book, will turn you to the Art of Leadership!!

Chapter Eleven: Give People Hope

‘Do you wonder why nobody stays in your company or church for very long?  Perhaps there is not much hope for the future.  Perhaps they cannot see good things in store for them in the future.

Six Ways to Give People Hope
1.         Make promises and keep them.

Every time you break a promise, you erode people’s trust in you.  It is very difficult to make people trust you.  When people do not trust you, they will not follow you.  The whole of Jesus’ ministry was centred around a promise for the future.
…I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:2,3
Jesus’ disciples were made to believe that there were good things in store for them in the future.  They knew that Jesus would keep his promise so they had hope.’

2.         Preach the Word of God.
The Word of God is full of hope.  Anyone who preaches the Word of God will not minister discouragement, disappointment and disillusionment.

3.         Speak more about rewards than punishment.
The disciples had hope.  They had hope in the glory and the rewards of Heaven.  This was a great source of motivation to them.  You must understand that Jesus’ disciples were so highly motivated that they had left their secular jobs for the ministry.  They eventually died for their beliefs.

4.         Show positive examples that inspire hope.
In your business or church, you must accept the fact that people need to be motivated.  The key to having motivated people is “hope for the future”.  That is why Jesus often spoke of Heaven and the rewards that await his faithful servants.  If you want to inspire pilots for instance, show them how many pilots have successfully flown for years and eventually retired.  That is the sort of example that will give hope.  If you want to inspire pastors, show them examples of ministers who have made it in ministry.

5.         Avoid speaking about examples that bring about discouragement and depression.If people see how badly others have fared, they will be discouraged.  They will say to themselves, “This is how I will end up one day.”  If you are an airline pilot, there is no point in discussing all the terrifying air crashes in aviation history.

6.         Build permanent structures.
People have more hope in permanent things.  It is natural to gravitate towards something that is more permanent.  Every pastor who puts up a building, inspires hope in his congregation.

“Art of Leadership” by Dag Heward-Mills can be purchased here.

‘We All Need to Lean on God’

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‘We All Need to Lean on God’

Victor Glover, who is an astronaut, is going for a six-month trip in outer space. He says his Christian faith will help him through this assignment.

Glover recently explained his faith, the key role it plays in his family and how he is planning to continue to develop his spirituality whiles going to space.

Last Sunday, Glover and three other astronauts left the Kennedy Space Center to take part in a science project at the International Space Station.

During an with the Christian Chronicle, Glover explained the unique experience he’s had since being selected as an astronaut for NASA and why God will always be an important part of his life.

“This has been a really interesting journey, the seven years I’ve been at NASA, and it’s been a real exercise personally and professionally, but also spiritually,” he explained. “Understanding the role of God in my life and God’s authority and my submission to that and the love, support, and encouragement that that can create in my life.”

“I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA,” Glover added. “That’s really the thing I think the most about.”

“I have a job to do. Sometimes that gets lost in the emotion of it. I’m looking forward to looking out the window and taking the pictures and taking in the moment.”

Although he will be on his way to space, Glover plans to not give up on his routines.

“God assigned me a few really important things: this life, this vessel, but also my wife and that relationship, the two of us becoming one and then the family that we’ve grown with our four daughters.”

“We all need to lean on God but we also need to lean on each other and be encouraging to one another,” Glover said as a reaction to what is happening in America.

Glover mentioned that in times like these, people need to go to God for answers.

“There are so many really simple lessons from the Bible. To love God first and foremost, to love yourself – have a healthy love of yourself and then to love your brother as yourself. If all of us are doing that, so many of these other issues that we allow to divide us stop becoming barriers to relationships,” he concluded.

Source: CBN News

Police prays with church members as hurricane Iota hits Honduras

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Police prays with church members as hurricane Iota hits Honduras

Images have emerged of Police in Honduras, joining members of a local church. They were praying towards Hurricane Iota that has hit the region.

Although the storm has been deemed a tropical storm, Iota still has a destructive character in the South of Honduras. The region has been tainted by serious rainfall that has caused flooding.

In a video shared by the National Police of Honduras (Policía Nacional de Honduras), a large group of church members and police officers are crying out to God on a bridge that looks over the Ulúa river in the Pimienta municipality of Cortés, Honduras.

Tweets read: “Prayer with faith by police officers and members of churches, in the flow of the Ulúa River, in Pimienta, Cortés.

Residents have been evacuating in Tegucigalpla as they are afraid of landslides caused by the rain. Evacuations have been happening on the east of the country as the residents are battling flooding.

Other tweets by the National Police showed agents performing a high-risk evacuation on a hillside and other officers gathering together to “pray for national healing”.

Source: Premier Christian News

“Use your influence for Kingdom advancement”

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“Use your influence for Kingdom advancement”

Pastor Ben Ochola is encouraging Christians not to step away from positions of influence.
He says that God puts Christians in different places of authority with a divine purpose to fulfil.

“A believer’s desire ought to be kingdom advancement,” he said, “It’s what drives us,”.

To commit to Christ whiles having an influential position, Pastor Ochola explained that a person should have the zeal for what God has planned on earthy and for the Holy Spirit.

“The zeal of our father’s house consumes us,” he said, as he read John 2:17.

Pastor Ochola uses King David, Joseph (Mark 15:46) and Dorcas (Acts 9:39) to explain how God calls people to be the candle in the dark.

“Our purpose (in places of influence) goes beyond luxury, comfort and enjoyment,” he said.

“It is about the kingdom. Therefore, our wealth is solely for the advancement of the kingdom. This is because we are pilgrims here on earth and all we have ultimately comes to pass. We therefore use our blessings to tap into the economy of eternity,” – Pastor Ochola.

People are influenced by the seven mountains, which have a huge impact on the thoughts and daily lifestyles. These are Family, Business, Politics, Education, Spirituality, Media and the Arts.

Pastor Ochola believes that Christians must engage in these “mountains” for Christ and His kingdom. “We therefore use our blessings to tap into the economy of eternity,” he said.

“Joseph was a man who understood the kingdom purpose for wealth. He used his wealth and influence to get the body of our Lord, to get Him a long linen cloth and to bury Him in a grave craved out of a rock! Dorcas was another disciple who used her business to bless the poor and the widows,”

Source: UG Christian News

“Accept Christ And Be Part Of God’s Family” – Apostle Eric Nyamekye

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“Accept Christ And Be Part Of God’s Family” – Apostle Eric Nyamekye

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost in Ghana, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, explained that the only way to be part of God’s family is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour.

“Anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord, no matter the background, is born into God’s family and has become a brother,” he said, “Whoever believes in Christ becomes part of God’s family; they come with their nationalities; they come with their race; they come with their backgrounds; they come with their perspectives. Whether we like them or not we have become one family in Christ and then we form the temple of God in which God dwells by His Spirit.”

During the Sunday ‘Special Evening Service with the Chairman’ series, Apostle Nyamekye explained that the church is an extension of the family of God in heaven. He also mentioned that the church is a house of many vessel, which makes it great.

Apostle Nyamekye urged the church to be “the new humanity, God’s new community, a model of a human community, a family reconciled to God and to one another, who love their Father and love each other with whom God dwells by His Spirit and this Spirit cries in them “Abba Father!”

He said that as a new human race who no longer alienate but reconciliate, the church must avoid division and hostility but rather encourage peace and unity.

Apostle Nyamekye explained that if a person belongs to Christ, then they are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise that was made, without taking into consideration their nationality, sex, etnicity, and educational.

“Our identities have been dissolved in the blood; we have all put on Christ so Christ covers our identities,” he said.

Apostle Nyamekye read Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 8:11 to emphasise how Jews and Gentiles have access by one Spirit to the Father through Jesus Christ.

“Jesus’ Father is our Father; the Creator Holy Spirit lives in us. The same Spirit that was in Christ is the same in us, who are born again. By this Spirit, He cries Father and with the same Spirit we also cry Father,” he said.
“In this family, if God is our Father, then Jesus is our big brother because we know that He is the Son of God.

Source: Instagram

“Jesus rent the curtains that separated us from God and has allowed us access to God and reconciled us to one another. We have been born into the body of Christ and God’s family.”

According to Apostle Nyamekye, the power of a great family of God lies in unity.

“The greatness of this family or the power of this family is not because God is our Father, No. Not because Jesus is our big brother, No. But it is in our unity; our oneness. Our unity is our beauty, our testimony, our strength that we are children of God,” he said.

However, Apostle Nyamekye stated that: “Disunity renders our prayer non-effective and our fellowship unavailing. So without unity, we may have God, we may have Jesus; we may have the Holy Spirit but our prayer will not be effective. So when we gather together it will be a futile exercise, sometimes a waste of time.”

Apostle Nyamekye explained that the devil always sows seeds of disunity among the people of God to divide them to see themselves as enemies. The Word of God is therefore the guide for the people.

“In this family, our rule is the Word; it sets our boundaries. Our aim is His glory. Our rule is not what angels say; it doesn’t come from the dreams of people. Angels serve us; we don’t take instructions from them,”.

Apostle Nyamekye told church leaders to be careful not to build what Jesus has demolished.

“The Gospel has the power to equip the believer with the help of the Holy Spirit to live holy and God-honouring lives.”

Source: Church of Pentecost

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