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Gay Lawyer Warns Parents: ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Will Rob Kids’ Innocence

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A gay lawyer warned that Disney’s push for LGBT-inclusion could rob children’s innocence.

“Prime-time network television is geared for an adult audience; one that understands the world we live in. Adults have long lost their innocence. Whether it be sex, drugs or violence, many of us have had our eyes open to the hardships of the world. We lost our innocence when we grew out of adolescence, but do we really want our kids to lose theirs in adolescence?” Joseph R. Murray writes in an opinion piece for the Orlando Sentinel.

His comments may surprise his fellow LGBT community members, many of whom are praising Disney’s move to include more gay characters, as in the cartoon Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, which featured multiple same-sex couples kissing at a boy band concert.

Disney’s new movie, Beauty and the Beast, will feature the first openly gay character, LeFou, who “is somebody who on one day, wants to be Gaston, and on another day, wants to kiss Gaston.”

“Why do we have to expose our kids to such mature themes? Do they not have plenty of time to grow up? Or maybe the point is to make them grow up too soon, and that is where I part ways with my community,” Murray writes.

Murray says he enjoys mature content on television because he is an adult. He argues a traditionally family-friendly company such as Disney has gone too far pushing an agenda, especially when children are involved.

“The vision for Walt’s world was clear: Entertain children. Disney characters were about hope, optimism and, above all else, making sure children were able to enjoy their innocence for as long as the outside world would permit. And Disney understood that part of its mission was to provide a buffer for as long as possible,” Murray writes.

“Somewhere along the line, Disney went off course. No longer did it see itself as a defender of children’s innocence. Instead, it saw itself as a conduit to social change. Walt Disney became [gay activist and politician] Harvey Milk.”

Conservative Christians, including Franklin Graham, have called for a boycott of the movie. Some theaters refuse to even show the film due to LeFou’s sexuality.

Source: Charisma News

UMC To Finally Crack Down On Lesbian Bishop?

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The United Methodist Church set an oral hearing date to evaluate if they should defrock Bishop Karen Oliveto, a married lesbian.

The hearing is set for April 25 and is open to the public.

Oliveto was consecrated in July 2016 in the Western Jurisdiction. The UMC received multiple complaints about her role, and Good News Magazine urged “faithful” UMC members to renounce her.

“With the election of the Rev. Karen Oliveto as a bishop of the United Methodist Church, a pastor who is married to another woman and therefore unqualified to assume the office, it is clear to most people that the church has reached a crisis point,” Good News said in a statement.

“Therefore, we call upon the Council of Bishops to do one of the following: [1] To do all within its power to rectify this breach of our covenant by issuing a strong statement opposing Oliveto’s election, and petitioning the Judicial Council to rule the election null and void. Or [2], expedite the appointment of the members to its ‘Special Commission,’ and to revise the commission’s mandate as follows: the sole purpose of the special commission is to devise an equitable and structured plan of separation of The United Methodist Church, and to present such a plan to a called General Conference to be held no later than October 31, 2018,” the statement continued.

Homosexuality is still against the UMC’s Book of Discipline.

The hearing will determine if Oliveto is fit to serve as a leader given her marital status.

“Specifically, the petition addresses action by the Western Jurisdiction in electing the Rev. Karen Oliveto, reported to be an openly gay clergy member, as a bishop,” wrote Louisiana Area Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey, in a letter to Judicial Council. Harvey was chairing the conference session when the motion was passed.

“Accordingly, the petition will directly affect Bishop Oliveto, her qualifications and the efficacy of her election as bishop,” the letter said. “More generally, the petition will affect all jurisdictions and jurisdictional conferences … who have an interest in the election and appointment of bishops in The United Methodist Church,” Fierro continued.

Andrew Trimble: Rugby, Religion And Me

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They are some of the best-known lines from one of the nation’s favourite poems, the mantra of numerous self-help manuals and an inspiration for a range of politicians from President Franklin D Roosevelt to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same.”

But while the words of Rudyard Kipling’s poem are familiar, the application of them is altogether more challenging. How does one live without being lifted by success or dumped by failure? How can anyone maintain such detachment from the vicissitudes of life? After playing in 69 international rugby matches, Ireland’s wing three-quarter Andrew Trimble knows the highs and lows of professional sport. Last year, the team achieved its best ever series of results, with victories over southern hemisphere giants Australia and South Africa and then, for the first time in 111 years, Ireland beat the reigning world champions, the New Zealand All Blacks.
“There’s no bigger moment than beating the All Blacks,” Trimble explains. “After the game, we were walking around just shaking our heads and saying, ‘What have we done? We’ve just beaten the All Blacks!’ No Irish team has ever done this before.”

So was his life suddenly and completely fulfilled by winning these important matches?

“I love the game,” he says. “It’s a driving force and a massive part of what I want to do. But it’s important to be reminded that there’s something else out there, there’s something more important than rugby.” We’re seated in the wooden pews of Ballyalbany Presbyterian Church in County Monaghan, about two miles from where the international team has just completed an open training session in preparation for Saturday’s Six Nations match against France. Standing on the touchline throughout the session, it’s hard to imagine how rugby union professionals can do anything other than submit themselves to the demands of the game. It’s relentlessly fast, consistently ferocious. It is all-consuming. Off the field, Trimble is impeccably courteous to every autograph-hunter and maintains that having “something more important than rugby” actually enables him to cope better with the pressures of professional sport. Just 16 months ago, after two operations on the same foot injury were followed by a stress fracture, he began to believe that his career might be over.

Trimble was dropped from Ireland’s squad for World Cup 2015 and, aged 29, was faced with losing something that had dominated his life since the age of seven. “If it’s over, you have to draw on something else so rugby doesn’t become the be-all-and-end-all. It doesn’t define me, I’m defined by something more important. It’s a different mindset and perspective.”So what is that perspective? “There’s an eternal perspective,” he explains. “Rugby lasts for 10, 15 years but the perspective of having a faith, and a sincere faith, is something that doesn’t end and something that lasts forever.”

Trimble believes that spirituality enhances his love for the sport.

“I’m far happier having that perspective and knowing that there is a bigger picture than putting all my trust in rugby, in a career that can be over in 10 years or a lot less than 10 years.” He says that his Christian faith has also enabled him to fight against the temptation to become entirely self-absorbed. Last year, he visited a camp in Tanzania. It’s run by Oxfam and houses hundreds of refugees from Burundi. He was profoundly moved by the experience. “Some of these people will live their entire lives in refugee camps. They had families, they had careers, they had hopes and dreams and they’ve been cut short.” Trimble laments his own ignorance of the issue and says if he hadn’t been taken to Tanzania by Oxfam, he would never have known about the refugee crisis in Africa. And his motivation to do something is shaped by his theology. “Pope Francis says they’re all created in the image of God.

They’re just like you and me, they’re no less special. It’s a real shame that they’re forgotten about because they’re considered less important.” With that, our time together runs out and Trimble returns to the Ireland training camp – with the French in his sights. He certainly embodies Kipling’s view that triumph and disaster should be treated “just the same”. But in some ways, his approach is closer to that of 17th Century poet Richard Lovelace. In his poem, To Lucasta, Going to the Wars, Lovelace argues that his affections are only heightened by being answerable to a higher authority. “I could not love thee, Dear, so much, Loved I not honour more.”

According to Andrew Trimble, an eternal perspective does the same for him – win, lose or draw.

‘O’ & ‘A’ Level Educational System Should Be Brought Back – Charismatic Bishops Council

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The Charismatic Bishops’ Conference has called on government to reintroduce the ‘O’ and ‘A’ level educational system which according to them, will restore the integrity of formal education in Ghana.

‘O’ and ‘A’ level education are better than what we currently have. Ghana has been subjected to an inferior form of education through the JHS and SHS for many years,” the Conference said in a communiqué. The Charismatic Bishops’ Conference, which was founded by Bishop Dag Heward Mills, and comprises seasoned Ghanaian clergy, further proposed in the communiqué four key initiatives it says are “The Lord’s prophetic words to Ghana…to do a new thing in the nation.”

Ghana currently has a Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS) system of education. Issued on Monday, March 13, 2017, the communiqué stated that “we call the JHS and SHS an inferior form of education because international universities require our SHS graduates to do a foundational course for a whole year before admitting them to the university proper. Years ago, graduates from secondary schools in Ghana did not have to do such foundational courses because they already had a good foundation.” “We call the JHS and SHS an inferior form of education because we have reason to doubt the current ability of the WAEC to conduct credible examinations. It is common knowledge that the examinations are flawed with serious leakages, such that many students today do not know how to study, unless they have seen leaked papers.” Ban importation of chicken The Conference further called on government to ban the importation of chicken to save the country’s poultry industry and create employment. It noted that, the sector has in the past few years regressed under government agreements that has made farmers poorer.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference is Born!

According to the conference, some prominent poultry businesses in the country “have been wiped out before our eyes and made incapable of producing poultry for consumption in the country. It does not make sense to have poultry farms any longer because a locally grown chicken is sold for GHS 40, while the imported ones are sold for GHS15.” “The chickens that are imported, are loaded with growth hormones causing many medical problems. For instance, the young girls now start having their menstrual periods from as young as 9 years. No matter the reasons and excuses given by experts, economists and specialists of global trade, we feel that common sense and common logic should be applied to the problems which we are facing after 60 years. Ghana has run out of excuses for why it cannot feed itself and grow its own chicken,” it said. ‘On road infrastructure’ On road infrastructure, the conference in its instructive communique called for a shift from asphalt road construction to the use of concrete.

It suggested that government should move away from securing loans from foreign donors for road construction and made do with local materials and local people. It said government should not allow tolls collected along major highways to be deposited into central government funds, but be used entirely for maintaining and managing the roads. It also urged government to charge an equivalent of US$1 per car as road toll. ‘Security in Ghana’ The Charismatic Bishops’ Conference also bemoaned the increasing spate of armed robbery, among other crimes in the country. It asked the government deploy the Military to help address the challenge and make the country safe. “There is no region of Ghana that is safe from armed robbery. Students in universities cannot walk freely on campuses. Student hostels are routinely attacked on campuses. “What is the use of an army if people do not feel safe in their own country? Why are we maintaining such an institution with tax payers money if it is not benefiting the nation?

Let us be practical! It is not just the duty of the police. It is the duty of all Ghanaians including the Army, the Air Force and the Navy to ensure that Ghana is a safe place again.” “As other nations become unstable, all sorts of people will migrate to Ghana to find stability so we can never tell who is coming next. Be real! Be practical! If the government really cares about Ghana, it should deploy the Forces to make Ghana a safe place again,” the communique said. It said the suggestions were part of prophesies of what the country must do to be moved unto a path of development and prosperity. “It is time to govern and lead our nation in a new way! The old ways have been tried and tested for sixty years. It is clear that the old ways are not working,” it said.

The full communique is indeoth and revealing. Click here to download and read it

Finland Votes To Protect Children From Christianity

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Helsinki, Finland – In this Scandinavian country of just over 5 million souls, the government ratified a new law curbing the power of Christianity over children. Dubbed The Richard Dawkins Act after the renowned British biologist and atheist, the regulation bans children under the age of 13 from religious indoctrination.

“Every parent knows young children do not have the ability to differentiate between what is real and not real,” explained the Minister of Child Safety Kari Kinnard. “It’s in the best interest of the child and the state that he or she is not in an environment where Bronze Age myths and prejudices are accepted as fact.”

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Children of all ages are celebrating the move. Groups of students have spontaneously broken out in singing Steve Martin’s Atheists Don’t Have No Songs. The cheekier kids follow up Mr. Martin’s tune with the classic from Monty Python Every Sperm is Sacred.

Many who are familiar with the socio-political workings of Finland point to the Lutheran Evangelical Church’s refusal to marry same-sex couples as the rallying point to pass The Richard Dawkins Act. Same-sex marriage just became legal in Finland, making it the last Scandinavian country to recognize that homosexuals are real people with feelings and such.

The government of Finland recognizes that some events like marriages and funerals are commonly held in churches and may cause distress amongst parents who wish their children to attend. The new law states that parents may bring their young ones to such services as long as the children are read the official disclaimer by the officialized social worker before entering.

Young child, you are living in a world where people seriously accept the claims that morality is based on a book where snakes talk, a donkey talks, and divine love is defined with the threat of eternal punishment. In short, don’t take this seriously.

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For the very young, the social worker present will use puppets to explain how many adults have imaginary friends.

Unsurprisingly the religious establishment in Finland is up in arms. They point to the long tradition of filling children’s heads with traditional prejudices and lies that supposedly hold the country’s social fabric together.

“If we keep going on this path, then we will become a godless hellhole like Sweden,” stated Bishop Hans Kotka.

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The Finnish government refuses to rescind The Richard Dawkins Act. Anonymous sources in the government state that the Lutheran Evangelical Church will do just fine if they can convince those with critical thinking skills the merits of the Church’s ideas.

Poverty & Dignity: The Sad Story Of Tom Fletcher

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To kick off his 1964 “war on poverty” initiative, President Lyndon B. Johnson held a photo op at the home of a man named Tom Fletcher, an unemployed 38-year-old father of eight.

While Fletcher benefited from Johnson’s welfare programs, he never managed to climb out of poverty. Fletcher even remarried and had two more children—one of which his new wife murdered to collect the burial benefits.

As AEI president Arthur Brooks notes, “In 2004, with his wife still in prison, Fletcher died, never having gotten much closer to the American dream than he was when Johnson climbed onto his porch.”

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The problem, as Brooks explains, is not merely that men like Fletcher face a material deficit but that they struggle with a “dignity deficit”:

At its core, to be treated with dignity means being considered worthy of respect. Certain situations bring out a clear, conscious sense of our own dignity: when we receive praise or promotions at work, when we see our children succeed, when we see a volunteer effort pay off and change our neighborhood for the better. We feel a sense of dignity when our own lives produce value for ourselves and others. Put simply, to feel dignified, one must be needed by others.

The War on Poverty did not fail because it did not raise the daily caloric consumption of Tom Fletcher (it did). It failed because it did nothing significant to make him and Americans like him needed and thus help them gain a sense of dignity. It also got the U.S. government into the business of treating people left behind by economic change as liabilities to manage rather than as human assets to develop.

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The dignity deficit that has resulted is particularly acute among working-class men, most of whom are white and live in rural and exurban parts of the United States. In his recent book Men Without Work, the political economist (and American Enterprise Institute scholar) Nicholas Eberstadt shows that the percentage of working-age men outside the labor force—that is, neither working nor seeking work—has more than tripled since 1965, rising from 3.3 percent to 11.6 percent. And men without a high school degree are more than twice as likely to be part of this “un-working” class.

Ghana: St. Dominic Catholic Church Bids Fr. Ernest Dugah Farewell

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A farewell Mass has been held in honour of Rev. Fr. Ernest Kofi Dugah following his transfer from St. Dominic Catholic Church to St. Kizito, Nima.

The ceremony held over the weekend at the St. Dominic Catholic Church, Taifa, brought together parishioners, pupils and staff of St. Dominic Basic School, friends and other dignitaries.

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Speaking at the ceremony on behalf of the Church Pastoral Council, Mrs. Lawrenda Osei Brako described Fr. Ernest as a zealous and a delightful Priest who has the desire to help all manner of persons who find themselves in challenging situations and an advocate for healthy living.

“Father Ernest is a delightful and heartwarming person who cares deeply about all people, not just as a Priest, which is his life’s calling, but as someone who sees wrongs in our world and who does whatever he can to help make things better for those who find themselves in difficult situations.”

“He has been enlightening people to help those less fortunate and to help those who are having difficulties whether it is in health, finances or just loneliness. He does not hold back when given the chance to try new things when it may benefit others. He is an advocate for raising awareness about health concerns and strife.” Mrs. Osei Brako said.

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In his speech, Fr. Ernest said his send off Mass for him, is a thanksgiving to God for how far he has brought the St. Dominic Church Community. He expressed appreciation to the parishioners for their immense support while he served as priest in Charge of the Church in Taifa and urged them to give their maximum support to Frs. Emmanuel Obeng Codjoe and Courage Senam Dogbey as he finally says goodbye.

“Today is in thanksgiving to God for how far he has brought the St. Dominic Family. When we look at the past and now, we cannot but say God has blessed. I want to thank all of you for being part of the development. Thank you for the support, advice and encouragement. St. Dominic has made progress but just as we started, we can still go further. Frs. Emmanuel and Courage have been very good brothers. I will miss them” he said.

Despite his love for the military, Fr. Ernest went from Education, having already received a teaching certificate into theology at St. Peter’s major seminary Pedu, Cape Coast.

He served at the St Dominic Church, Taifa for approximately 10 years. His response to being awarded always was one of modesty. He was appointed Assistant priest for Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Tema in 2003 and priest in Charge of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Taifa in 2007. He also served as Chaplin for a number of schools and institutions.

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While at St. Dominic Fr. Ernest started and completed the multi-purpose rectory/ mission house for Priests, renovated and built a new Altar and a tabernacle.

He established a fundraiser to support people in Critical need, led in the re roofing and ceiling of the Church, replaced plastic chairs with pews and also led the change of the block design windows to glasses among others.

The Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Charles Palmer Buckle at his last visit to the Church in Taifa on January 8, appointed Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obeng Codjoe who was an assistant to Fr. Ernest as acting parochial administrator and Rev. Fr. Courage Senam Dogbey as parochial vicar.

What’s More Important Than Praying For Messiah’s Arrival?

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In 1867, Mark Twain visited Israel and wrote in his travel book Innocents Abroad that the land was “a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds … a silent mournful expanse … a desolation … hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”

Today, Twain’s reaction to the holy land would be entirely different. Over 250 million trees have been planted in Israel over the past century in fulfillment of biblical prophecies.

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“Every tree planted in Israel is a testament that God is faithful to His word,” shared Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Director of Israel365, an organization highlighting the connection between the Bible and Israel and building bridges between Jews and pro-Israel Christians worldwide. “As it says in Isaiah, ‘The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord'” (Is. 51:3, The Israel Bible).

This Saturday, Feb. 11, marks the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat). This day is referred to in the Talmud as the “New Year for Trees.” It is like a Jewish “Arbor Day” with significant biblical considerations.

“Tu B’Shvat is the premiere time to show appreciation for the beauty, fruits and health benefits that trees provide, especially in Israel,” noted Rabbi Weisz.

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“So important are planting trees in Israel that the ancient rabbis in the Talmud taught us that if a person is planting a tree and hears that the Messiah has arrived, he should finish planting the tree before going to greet the Messiah!”

In Israel, it is a universal custom to plant trees in honor of Tu B’Shvat. Over a million Jewish Israelis are expected to take part in Tu B’Shvat tree planting activities this week. Additionally, the Israeli holiday is commemorated by partaking in the seven special foods for which the Bible praises Israel: “It is a land of wheat and barley, grapes, fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and dates” (Deut. 8:8, The Israel Bible).

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This past November, Palestinian terrorists destroyed 130,000 dunams of Israeli forests, making the replenishment of the land an urgent mission. To that end, Israel365 has a Tree Planting Campaign to encourage all lovers of the Holy Land to donate toward its reforestation.

Deuteronomy 20:19-20 states, “When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?”

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Rabbi Weisz explained that these phrases not only emphasize the holiness of every tree but also compares mankind to a tree. Tu B’Shvat is a particularly good day for people to cultivate strong spiritual roots by increasing their good deeds. “Judaism teaches that the earth belongs to God and we are His partners in preserving the planet and its resources,” he said. “I pray that those people who love Israel will join Israel365 in celebrating Tu B’Shvat and plant a tree in Israel to strengthen both their spiritual and physical roots in Israel.”

WHAT COAT ARE YOU WEARING?

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What coat are you wearing? Is it a coat of blessing or a coat of cursing? Some people accept a coat of cursing and try to make it into a coat of blessing. “Look at my coat… I’m blessed.” But they have had to return their motorcar because of lack of payments and they are having their house repossessed, yet they say, “My Father gave this to me. It’s His will. I’m sick and diseased and my Father did this to me.”

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If you’re guilty of doing this, you had better check out whose closet you’ve been looking in because you’ve picked up a coat that doesn’t come from heaven. You’ve picked up a coat from hell. There are some coats you want to lose; there are some coats you wouldn’t miss if you lost them. But you want to keep the coat your Father gave you.

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When Joseph was in Potiphar’s house, he not only lost his coat, he lost everything.

Potiphar’s wife grabbed his coat off him and he ran out of the house naked. Now that’s the kind of coat you don’t mind losing.

Rodney M. Howard- Browne

JEHOVAH ZABAOTH – (A Prayer of Power)

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“With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood”.

– 1 Kings 18:32-33

Glory to Jesus. Today we will look at a prayer of power.

Elijah was ready to take his turn to prove to the people that the Lord indeed is God. Before he prayed, he prepared the altar of the Lord (which was torn down) with twelve stones signifying the covenant God had with the people of Israel. He also took the sacrifice, which was the bull, and laid it on the altar. With this, Elijah lifted up a powerful prayer and God honoured the words of Elijah.

God responds to a prayer based on the power and the authority of His Word. He said in 2 Chronicles 2:14 that “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.

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There are two things attributed to a powerful prayer. It must be made on a powerful altar and it must be backed by sacrifice.

We must seek an altar that has a proven history of God’s manifestation. An altar which is not associated with evil like the altar made for Baal. We must also bring a sacrifice which is worthy. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice which took away our sins and today, based on that sacrifice, we can lift up our prayers to God and He will answer us.

Today I want you to lift up a prayer of power unto God. Invoke the altar of your father Sam Korankye Ankrah. Offer a worthy sacrifice unto God and I assure you that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will take over all your battles in Jesus’ name. Amen.

#RoyalhouseChapel

Apostle General Sam Korankye Ankrah