Theology

 *29/03/2023* *MID WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *UNNAMED PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE* TOPIC: *RULER OF THE FEAST AT CANA* Text: John 2:1-10 At a Jewish wedding, one of the guests served as a governor of the feast, similar to a master of ceremonies at a banquet. Our modern equivalent is probably a head waiter. This person was responsible for seating the guests and the correct running of the feast. Usually the better wine was served first. Then, after the guests palates were dulled, the everyday wine was served. But this wine was so good that the master of the feast was surprised to see it being served late in the celebration. *©2023* *Ecumenican Church Nigeria ®* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp/Telegram: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#ECN Ibadan #* Powered by *JDIS*

 *26/03/2023* *ANOINTING HEALING AND COMMUNION SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* TOPIC: *THE GREATEST NATION* (a revived Roman Empire) Text: Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7, 23 Isaiah 9:7; 60:12 *"... and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth"* Daniel 2:35 Cont'd The third beast was like a leopard with four bird like wings and four heads. Daniel 7:6 Leopards are characterized by agility, speed and an appetite for blood, and the fact that this one has wings means that it can act exceptionally fast. This third beast has been identified as the Grecian Empire that succeeded the Medo - Persian one. Under Alexander the Great, the borders of Greece were rapidly enlarged. The four heads symbolize the four generals who divided Alexander's realm after his death. *©2023* *Ecumenican Church Nigeria ®* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp/Telegram: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#ECN Ibadan

 *22/03/2023* *MID WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *UNNAMED PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE* TOPIC: *EZEKIEL'S WIFE* Text: Ezekiel 24:15-27 The picture of Ezekiel's wife dying and Ezekiel not being allowed to grieve illustrated God's pain over the death of His wife - Jerusalem - and His inability to mourn because the nation deserved the punishment. Ezekiel was called by God to "be a sign to the exiles" by demonstrating what they should do in response to the "death" of their desire and delight - their nation and its capital city. What Ezekiel was commanded to accept and do illustrated the degree of personal sacrifice and separation from ordinary life that the prophetic ministry often required. A long period of mourning was the normal, ritual response to the death of a loved one in the ancient Middle East. 1 Samuel 4:12 2 Samuel 1:12,17; 3:31,35; 15:30; 19:4 Isaiah 58:5 Jeremiah 16:7 Micah 1:8, 10 *©2023* *Ecumenican Church Nigeria ®* Instagram: *@e

 *19/03/2023* *THIRD SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* TOPIC: *THE GREATEST NATION* (a revived Roman Empire) Text: Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7, 23 Isaiah 9:7; 60:12 *"... and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth"* Daniel 2:35 Cont'd *Alexander's Empire (323 B.C)* In 334 B.C. Alexander, son of Philip II of Macedon, began a military quest to destroy the Persian Empire. Moving from west to east, he was victorious in battle at Issus in 333 B.C. against the Persian Darius III. Moving south, Alexander defeated the Phoenicians at Tyre in 332 B.C; swept through Palestine and conquered Egypt in 331 B.C. Reengaging Darius III near Nineveh, Alexander defeated him again. Alexander's campaigns continued east into India, securing vast territory for *the Greek Empire*. He died in Babylon in 323 B.C. According to Daniel 8:5, the *goat* represents Greece (Daniel 8:21). The *notable horn* symbolizes Alexander the Great who launched

 *15/03/2023* *MID WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *UNNAMED PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE* TOPIC: *JOB'S WIFE* Text: Job 2:9-10 Job's wife is mentioned here for the first time. Satan appears to have succeeded as far as she is concerned. She can no longer stand the catastrophes that have befallen her family and her husband, and therefore tells Job: *Are you still holding on to your integrity?* *Curse God and die!* God has told Satan that Job still maintains his integrity Job 2:3 While God has been confident that Job would maintain his integrity even in the present horrible situation, his wife insists, 'It is sheer folly to maintain your integrity under the present circumstances'. It is possible that Satan is launching his final attack through her, as she urges her husband to utter the curses that Satan has predicted would follow such suffering. Job rebukes his wife: *"You are talking like a foolish woman and then reminds her what the proper response should

 *12/03/2023* *SECOND SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* TOPIC: *THE GREATEST NATION* (a revived Roman Empire) Text: Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7, 23 Isaiah 9:7; 60:12 *"... and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth"* Daniel 2:35 Cont'd THE THIRD NATION The third empire - the belly and the thighs of bronze (Daniel 2:32) - is Greece (Daniel 8:21). Greece defeated Medo - Persia and established itself as the *third world empire* Daniel 2:39; 7:17; 8:21 If the second beast of Daniel's dream represents the Medo - Persian Empire (Daniel 7:5), the leopard represents Greece (Daniel 2:39) *Four symbolizes universality according to Daniel 7:2; wings are synonymous with speed* The Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great rapidly conquered the known world. *Four heads* describes "heads" of government. After Alexander's death, his empire was divided among his generals into four different parts (Daniel 8:8, 22)

 *08/03/2023* *MID WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *UNNAMED PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE* TOPIC: *NAAMAN'S WIFE & SERVANT* Text: 2 Kings 5 God used the testimony of a Jewish servant girl and brought the commanding general of Israel's greatest military foe to biblical faith. For some reason Elisha did not meet with the general face to face. Perhaps it was because contact with one with skin disorder would render the prophet unclean and therefore cut off his ministry with others. Numbers 5:1-4 *Elisha's instruction for Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan emphasizes that the full cure for Naaman's condition could be effected solely by the power of Israel's sovereign God.* *The proud Aramean needed a lesson in humility and putting his personal trust in God alone* 2 Kings 5:15 *The issue was obedience* Understandably, Naaman's initial response was one of disbelief and anger. This seemed a very strange and humiliating command for a general in the arm

 *05/03/2023* *THANKSGIVING SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* TOPIC: *THE GREATEST NATION* (a revived Roman Empire) Text: Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7,23 Isaiah 9:7; 60:12 *"... and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth"* Daniel 2:35 Cont'd THE SECOND NATION The second beast was like a bear, a beast second only to the lion in its strength and fierceness, as was the Medo - Persian Empire that succeeded the Babylonian Empire in history. Isaiah 13:17-18 The Medo - Persian conquest of an empire extends from the Indus River in the East to Egypt and the Aegean sea in the West. The conquest by the Ram was not unusual. What was unusual about the ram with two horns which symbolized the Medo - Persian coalition according to Daniel 8:20, was that the horn which developed later grew longer than the other. Daniel 8:3 Persia was a minor power and Media a major one in 612 BC when Media helped Babylonia defeat Assyria. But by 550 BC Cyrus, a Persi