During his visit to Ghana, District Apostle Michael Ehrich conducted the last of three (3) divine services at Cape Coast Apostle Working Area, held at University of Cape Coast Auditorium 900 on Sunday June 18, 2023. He was accompanied by the two Lead Apostles and all Apostles and Bishops in Ghana.

The special festive divine service was based on John 6:35, ‘And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’

In his opening address, the District Apostle remarked that divine services in the New Apostolic Church may not be spectacular with ‘big healings’ and miracles because they are based on the reference of divine services by the early Church in the New Testament. The structure of our divine services was contained in the life activity and gospel of Jesus, and continued by the early Apostles would later survive and define our divine services after many thousand years.

He continued: “Jesus once explained the importance between earthly and spiritual miracles. For example, four friends brought their paralytic friend to Jesus in the midst of thick crowd. To be able to get their friend to Jesus, they had to climb on top of a roof, make a hole so that the paralytic man could be lowered down to Jesus. After Jesus saw and realised their thoughts, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven. Arise, you are healed’. This act is an important sign; Jesus did not first heal and forgive the sins of the paralytic. Rather He forgave and then healed him. Jesus Christ can do same for us. That is why our divine services are not spectacular because the priority is about the feeding and healing of our souls, and the preparation for the return of Christ.”

Elaborating on the text word, the District Apostle explained that ‘bread’ in many cultures means food. An naturally, food sustains life. However, in the context of the text wood, Jesus was indicating that He did not come for our earthly needs but for our spiritual needs. “That is why Christ said; ‘Anyone who comes to me would neither hunger nor thirst’.” To come to Christ means to believe in Him. Many biblical examples attest to this, such as the woman who received healing having bled for 12 years and blind Bartimeus who gained his sight.

These examples showed that the receivers of these miracles believed and had faith in Jesus Christ and were healed. But what does this mean to us on a spiritual level?

• The importance to follow Jesus Christ in faith, keep His commandments and show love to Him and our neighbours.
• The definition of sin, including our human errors, since we do not heed to the word of God.

Concluding the sermon, District Apostle Ehrich said, “One message from today's service tells us to come, believe in the Lord Jesus and He will give us our needs, help and bless us. And when He returns to complete His work, He will look after those who came, believed in Him and followed the Apostles of Jesus Christ.”

As part of the service, the District Apostle also performed Holy Sealing on the grandchild of Apostle Robert Ashie Kotei.

Thereafter, he placed Apostle Robert Ashie Kotei, the Apostle for Cape Coast Working Area, into retirement. In his place, he ordained District Elder Emmanuel Quansah as the new Apostle.

District Apostle Michael Ehrich was assisted by Apostle Robert Ashie Kotei.