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What, Jesus?

by Ryan Duncan, Crosswalk.com Entertainment Editor

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." – Matthew 3:16-17 

It was Sunday morning, and I was making my way to my seat at church, when I happened to glance at the program. The title of the day’s sermon was short and to the point, “Jesus”. What happened next embarrassed me more than I can say. I looked at the title again and said to myself,

“Jesus? Why are we talking about that?”

C.S. Lewis once cautioned readers about how easy it is to start using Christianity as a convenience. The center of our faith can easily slip from Jesus sacrifice to preserving marriage, social justice, tithing, or a hundred other things Satan can use to distract us from God. The truth is that everything written down in the Bible, everything we believe as Christians, can be summed up in John 14.         

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '? "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves." Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. – John 14:7-13 

Jesus wasn’t just a great teacher, He wasn’t some vague Jewish mystic, He was God. Through His life and death, we are finally reconciled with our Creator. Nothing else, no politics or policy, is more important than that. As long as we remember that, we will remember Jesus.      
Intersecting Faith and Life: Have you allowed something minor to take your attention away from Christ? Take a moment to examine where the priorities of your faith lay.  
Further Reading
John 14

A TRIP WHERE YOU DISCOVERED SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF OR A PLACE YOU VISITED THAT YOU WEREN’T AWARE OF

CONTINUTATION.....

The next day I was greeted with the sound of the crowing cock which isn’t something you hear in the city very often. The atmosphere smelled pure and refreshing. My cousins immediately walked up to me and asked if I needed anything; they were practically at my beck and call. It felt so comforting with a piece of stick in my mouth that we broken from the branch of a tree in my uncles compound, I decided to join my cousins to go and fetch water from the stream nearby. 

The paths that lead to the stream was green and lush with trees and plants and the aroma of the bush filled my nostril. Once in a while I would see strange looking insects and animals. When we got back, I agreed to accompany my uncle, my dad and some of my older cousins to the farm while my mum, aunty and little cousins and brothers stayed behind prepare breakfast. After walking for over a mile or so through, bushes and forests, we reached the farm. It was my first of being to a farm. 

It was incredible how such a small family such as my uncles, was able to cultivate such a large piece of land. The farm stretched as far as the eye could see. They had all kinds of crops and vegetables. On one side were palm trees and mango trees, on the side were cocoyam, cassava, yam, maize and beans. They also had a snail farm. I wasn’t accustomed to farm work, but I tried to do the best I could, after trying to week and harvest some yams, it was obvious I wasn’t good at it. They worked really thoroughly on the farm and seemed to take it very seriously. 

It reminded me of how many times I had complained when I had been asked my parents to do something and I would grumble and complain even though what I was normally asked to do didn’t even come close to this one. I realized how hard they worked, yet how happy they were about it and still they managed to go school and study. Back in Accra most kids couldn’t even hold a cutlass, yet they would rather spend time watching TV than read their book. I realized how disadvantaged we really were even though we seemed to be enjoying.

TO BE CONTINUED....

A TRIP WHERE YOU DISCOVERED SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF OR A PLACE YOU VISITED THAT YOU WEREN’T AWARE OF

CONTINUATION....

After the 3hour drive we got off the bus after my dad yelled to the driver to stop at Ve-Deme. It was late afternoon by the time we got there and even though it seemed like a pretty remote village, there was some commercial activity going on. The folks seemed really friendly and welcoming. A few kids wanted to help us with our luggage which I held on to very tightly, even though it was heavy. Seconds later, an old gray haired man approached and shook my dad, they seemed quite pleased to see each other and after exchanging greetings.

The rest of the day was spent, greeting family members I didn’t even know existed, and hanging out with my new found cousins. They seemed pretty interesting; even though they weren’t too educated they seemed to have a lot of common sense, something we city boys seemed to lack. They knew so much about the town and the names of everyone in every house, like the whole village was one family. It reminded me of how everybody minded their own business in the city. Even though we spoke the same language, theirs seemed much stronger and seasoned; I felt really ignorant speaking with them and was amazed at how much they knew about our culture and people. 

I had spent all my life learning about someone else’s culture and neglecting my very own. Suddenly, I began to feel at home. The void I felt before didn’t feel so empty anymore. As the night wore on, we exchanged stories about our worlds and the more I listened the more I amazed I was. They were also very fascinated about my world too. I tried to describe the city to them, how busy it was and how there were tall building everywhere with people dressed in suits and ties and how every seemed so serious going about their. On the contrary, this place was peaceful, everybody waved and smile and greeted each other. They would spend time asking about the family and among other things.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

A TRIP WHERE YOU DISCOVERED SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF OR A PLACE YOU VISITED THAT YOU WEREN’T AWARE OF

Growing up, I often felt lost and a little out of place. I had lived in Accra my whole life and to tell the truth, there wasn’t a single place in the city I hadn’t been to. I knew every nook and cranny of the capital and even though I got lost occasionally, I always found my way back home. I just love adventure and for some reason I loved the country side. I loved to see the mountains, the trees and the breathtaking scenery of the numerous sites in Ghana I had visited. Still, there was a part of me that was felt incomplete.   

The Wednesday evening before our Easter breaks from school however, I heard the news that would eventually not only change my life, but also fill the void I had felt in my life for so long. My mum announced that we would be going to my hometown for the Easter interestingly I had never been there. At first, I didn’t know whether to be excited or sad; one hand, I would miss spending Easter with my friends here in Accra which I had been looking forward to made me sad, but thrill of visiting a new place and meeting new people got me excited. The hours that followed were thus filled with anxiety and anticipation.

When the day finally arrived, I called a couple of friends and said good bye. I had packed my stuff the day before so I quite ready to go. The rest of the family also seemed really enthusiastic too. My little brothers had made so much noise about the trip, they kept mentioning the name of our hometown in so many different ways, it almost felt like they had been there before. 

We boarded the bus at the station and set off to VE-DEME. The name was virtually engraved in my mind not only because of how much noise my little brothers had made about it, but also because of how interesting it sounded. For some reason I knew I’d never forget it. The journey was long and pretty tiring. 

I occupied myself with browsing on my phone and enjoying the beautiful scenery that decorated the side of the road. We stopped by a few places just to get some food and water. I took to the opportunity to stretch since my body had gotten stiff. 

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Contemporary Ghanaian Gospel Music

The gospel music genre is a genre that is by itself, diverse and dynamic as it encompasses a lot of other music genres such as reggae, hip hop, jazz, soul, rnb among others. The genre has undergone a lot of changes and still continues to experience a lot of infusions in terms of approach, audience, style of presentation and even beats. Gradually the Christians are moving away from the more traditional songs and hymns and are embracing the more youthful side of the genre. 

In countries such as the US and UK, musicians such as Cece Winans, Kirk Franklin, MaryMary, Deitrick Haddon, and Tye Tribett have led the revolution. This has however not been without its criticisms as they have often been tagged as rebellious and unchristian.

Cece WINANS

Kirk FRANKLIN

The gospel music revolution here is Ghana i believe has just begun. Even though a lot of Ghanaians still cherish our traditional gospel music and hymns and rightly so, the new crop of vibrant and more artistic gospel musicians are poised to change the trend.

Danny NETTEY

Contemporary Gospel music in Ghana has within the past few years gained a lot of grounds with the likes of Danny Nettey and Nii Okai who setting the pace. Today gospel artistes such as Cwesi Oteng, Joe Mettle and Eugene Zuta, Minister David among others are re-defining and stretching the boundaries of gospel music in Ghana. 

 

Cwesi OTENG

 

  Joe METTLE

Gradually more and more people are realizing that Christian music can still be fun and yet very spiritual. The youth who used to crave foreign gospel music are getting more accustomed to Ghanaian contemporary gospel music as the day goes by. More people realize today that contemporary music can carry as much power and Godly content without necessarily being traditional.

Youth in WORSHIP

Even though contemporary gospel music is on the rise in Ghana, very little or no recognition is given to the genre or the people who do it. A lot of the award shows don’t even have categories recognizing and motivating such talent but the trend i believe is gradually changing and one man who is leading the way is Cwesi Oteng...... TO BE CONTINUED

 

Cwesi Oteng- God Dey Bless