Home Cell Guide (Sunday 18th August 2019)
Praise the Lord! Last week, our Provost the Ven. Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye was the main expositor at the Alabaster Ladies Conference held at the Cathedral under the Theme: “Living at the Altar” (Rom 12:1-2). She stated that, living at the altar is a self-presentation/ a language of worship that requires constant dedication and devotion of our lives to God. It also refers to a continuous action and lifestyle that one chooses to be in the presence of the Lord and that it’s not a onetime thing but rather a continuous action in the presence of God. She said that in O.T, we were required to offer an animal e.g. Bulls, pigeons at the altar as sacrifice to God so that our sins would be forgiven which was temporal, it was a continuous action pointing to the permanent sacrifice referred in the N.T through the person of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 5:7, Heb 10:12) who offered himself as the perfect sacrificial lamb/an Atonement and died for our sins once for all.
The Provost addressed the significance and need of Living at the Altar as indicated below;
To acknowledge His finished work, worship, treasure Christ, and be an instrument of righteousness.
• To pour out your dirty linen before the Lord. Have no phobia before God because at the altar we are cleansed, forgiven, accepted, restored, rejuvenated, revived, re-established and renewed.
• To be filled with joy, power and forgiveness in Christ.
• One can receive transformation, you can have a testimony.
• Physical deliverance is given, we learn to give wholeheartedly and continuously towards his work.
• It is reflected in the way we worship or praise the Lord. Once you chose to live at the altar you are released to praise the Lord
• Waiting on the Lord, leads to the right people. Greed is a sign of not staying in the presence of the Lord, show mercy to others because God has been merciful to us.
• You are not your own, honour God at all times, glorify God with your body. Desist from worrying about worldly things but rather choose to seek first the kingdom of God.
• It helps you to wait upon the Lord, no matter how long it may take, and God will do it.
• It makes you feel accepted through Christ’s perfection. It’s not because of our looks but the way we act. Christ in us is our beauty and our bodies should reflect that beauty.
• Present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual act of worship.
Guidelines and Questions
1) Kindly share your testimony of Living at the Altar.
2) Have we crawled off the Altar? If yes, what was the spot your departure?
3) Prayerfully surrender the any mentioned issues and lay your lives at the Altar.
More study helps
Rom. 6:12-13, Rom 8:1, Heb 13:15, 1 Cor 6:19-20, Isaiah 53:2-3
Rev. Patrick Kamara
Priest in Charge: Home Cell and Pastoral Care
0772482433/0754 482433 /0753922448