“My dearly beloved in Christ, we will continue to thank Our Heavenly father. If we want to consider all He has done for us we cannot thank Him enough.” Those were the opening remarks of Apostle Amos Osei-Du when he served 1,176 brothers and sisters from various congregations within Kumasi Elder Area on the first Sunday of the New Year, 5th January 2020.

The bible passage for the service was read from Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again by the yoke of bondage”.

In his sermon the Apostle intimated that God has not created us slaves but for the sin of mankind, we were under bondage. He said every slave is under a law and he has no freedom. God gave His commandments to His people to guide them to be an example to many but many were disobedient. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. He said that the Son makes us free and through Him we have been liberated from the bondage of the law.

The Apostle appealed to the congregation to demonstrate the love of God to their neighbours, share in their sufferings and support one another to demonstrate our liberty through the grace of Christ. “Let us show forth the fruits the Holy Spirit and eschew acts that will make us slaves again to sin. We must not for the sake of our liberty allow the flesh overcome the spirit” he said.

He continued: “Let us not doubt our liberty that Christ has brought us, so that we can partake in the Holy Communion without any reservation and also live our lives as those Christ made free. If we do not align our lives to the teachings of Christ who has given us our liberty, then we will still remain in the yoke of bondage.”

In conclusion, the Apostle admonished members to watch their ways and live lives like those who wait for the return of the Lord. “We must always be present in the house of the Lord to receive guidance and counsel from the altar by the messengers sent to us. If we humble ourselves before the Word of God, we will not plunge ourselves into any yoke of bondage.”