Dickson* was one of the most unhappy students I ever had in an African Church History class. While others collected oral histories and artefacts and presented them enthusiastically, Dickson muttered and grumbled his way through the semester. When he finished the module, I expected him to avoid registering for my classes again but surprisingly, he put his name down for biblical exegesis. He began the module true to form and half-way through, he disappeared. When I asked where he was, students tol...
Jul 27, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 139
One of our students was a prince and grew up in the royal palace. The royal family were leaders of their religion and ensured that Luka* was taught how to practice it devotedly. As he was growing up, Luka made friends with a Christian child at school. One day, when he was visiting his friend’s home, he saw a Bible lying on a table. While his friend was outside, Luka flipped the Bible open and read the first verse he saw. It was John 14:6 “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no on...
Jul 26, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Before he came to theological college to train for ordination, Yakubu* spent several years as an evangelist in an area that had very few Christians. His task was to preach the gospel among the population, in the marketplaces and outlying settlements. It was hard work and Yakubu often walked long distances to reach the villages. However, his preaching met with little success. People were resistant to the message about Jesus. Eventually, the time came for Yakubu to leave and start his theological ...
Jul 23, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Dauda* had grown up in a family that held to the traditions of the ancestors. His father was a medium and as a child, Dauda had witnessed the way the spirits tormented him. After his father died, Dauda followed in his footsteps. He learnt how to be a medium and travelled far across the country to gain “special powers” to protect himself against harm. He became so confident that he believed himself invincible. He joined a band of criminals and took part in armed robberies, confident that the powe...
Jul 22, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 136
One of the third-year students came to a biblical exegesis class on Monday morning in a state of confusion. On Sunday, a pastor had preached a sermon on redeeming the firstborn from Numbers 4:40-51. He told the congregation that each person needed to bring money the following Sunday to redeem their families. The reason for this, he explained, was that Jesus’ death on the cross is not enough to save us or our families. We also need to pay the money required in Numbers to obtain redemption. He the...
Jul 21, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Anyone who has been a student will know the difficulty of trying to make ends meet on a tight budget. At one of our theological colleges, students came “by faith”, without any visible means of support. Relatives, church members and fellow students would make contributions to their upkeep and sometimes local churches would donate sacks of grain or beans. Despite that, there were always students who fell through the cracks. To meet this need, we kept a small supply of dry foods in our pantry. One ...
Jul 20, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Two years ago, we met a former student at a conference. After nearly 18 years, we did not recognise him. He introduced himself as the father whose daughter we had saved and showed us a photo of a beautiful young lady. We looked at him questioningly. He reminded us of the measles epidemic in northern Nigeria and how his sick baby had been given an overdose of medication at the government hospital and had gone into a coma. Without money and desperate, he had come to us for help. There was a privat...
Jul 19, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 133
After three years of learning to prepare expository sermons, the time finally came when the theology students were permitted to preach at the weekly chapel service. With several hundred students and staff in attendance, it was a difficult place to begin. One year, we were surprised by a student whom everyone knew as quiet. When the time came, she launched into an expert and rousing sermon. Her voice was commanding. The exposition was punctuated with vivid stories and illustrations from the local...
Jul 16, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 132
We met a young local missionary at one of the theological colleges we served in. He had done some basic training but after a few years in the field, he encountered different teachings that confused him, and he felt the need to study the Bible further. When he mentioned this to his supporting agency, his funding was withdrawn because the organisation maintained that those who have the Spirit have no need to be taught. Nonetheless, the missionary decided to come to college without support. He volu...
Jul 14, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 131
The first class I taught as a new member of faculty at a theological college was Doctrine of Christ. I prepared the course with great expectation, assuming that the doctrine of Christ as both divine and human, as set out in the Scriptures and affirmed in the ancient Creeds of the Church would be fully accepted by the students. I was dismayed to find that some opposed the doctrine and argued that if Christ were God, then the whole world would have collapsed when he died on the cross. Therefore, t...
Jul 13, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 130
The third-year class was studying John’s Epistles. As a way of interacting with the third epistle, they set up a short, improvised drama in the classroom. Four students took on the roles of the John the Elder, Gaius the Beloved, Demetrius the Good and Diotrephes the First (who put himself first). The students playing John, Gaius and Demetrius did a good job, convincing the class of the wisdom, love, and goodness of the characters. The student who played Demetrius, however, stunned the class with...
Jul 12, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Every year the students went out on mission into areas of the country that were little evangelised. One year, we had a student who had been involved in traditional witchcraft before he became a Christian. As a result, he was not afraid to preach in houses where others held back. In one such house, a medicine man challenged him to a duel. He claimed superpowers that enabled him to eat unpalatable foods without harm. If the student’s God could protect him, then the medicine man would also become a...
Jul 09, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 128
Praying aloud in the hostel during the hours before dawn was a spiritual discipline valued by many of the young Christians who came to train for the ministry. It was a cool time of day that gave opportunity for personal prayer and fellowship with God. To these students, praying out loud so that others could hear showed that they were earnest about their faith. The problem was that it did not take into consideration the needs of other students in the hostel. Inevitably, the practice caused confli...
Jul 08, 2021•5 min•Season 4Ep. 127
A long-standing employment dispute had reached deadlock when I was asked to take on the role of acting principal of a theological college. The file was brought to me in my first week and I read diligently through it. It appeared that both sides had a valid argument and that neither was prepared to compromise. I contacted the lawyers, who were quite happy to continue with the impasse. Every time the matter went to court and was subsequently postponed, they could charge their fee. What we needed w...
Jul 07, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 126
An applicant presented excellent credentials for entry to the theological college. During his admission interview, he convinced the lecturers that he was a first-class student and would apply himself eagerly to his theological studies. Indeed, during the first semester at college, he appeared diligent and engaged. However, when time came to mark his first semester examination papers, the student had performed very badly. The academic dean enquired why the grades were so poor when his school resu...
Jul 06, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Have you ever been afraid of the dark? In some regions of Africa in which we have worked, the dark is the realm of the spirits. People can be afraid to go outside at night without wearing an amulet for protection or chanting incantations to ward off evil spirits. For Christians, however, the night often becomes a special time for prayer and worship. Students in theological colleges regularly hold all night prayer and praise sessions, using the time afforded by the dark as an opportunity to draw ...
Jul 05, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 124
A graduation ceremony usually calls for celebration. After years of hard work, students rejoice when they reap the rewards of their sacrifice and perseverance. It was an especially joyous occasion for students from South Sudan, who missed much of their foundational primary schooling when they fled the civil war and had to complete their secondary schooling in refugee camps in Kenya. Post-secondary education at theological college was not easy for them, but when they graduated, their joy was palp...
Jul 02, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 123
The Harmattan is a dry wind that blows fine sand dust from the Sahara Desert across West Africa during the dry winter months. It reduces the visibility in the whole region. When we were teaching at a theological college in northern Nigeria, the Harmattan would sometimes be so dense that we could not see more than a few metres in front of our door. When someone entered the compound, we would initially not be able to recognise them. An eery shape would appear in the mist, looking like a tree or bu...
Jul 01, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Augustine of Hippo was born in north Africa to a pagan Roman father and a Christian Berber mother. He spent his youth as a true pagan and in his Confessions, describes his time in a heretical sect in Rome and how he came to Christ by the grace of God and the preaching of Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who baptized him in 386. Having entered fully into the way of Christ, Augustine returned to Africa to become bishop of Hippo, and is recognized as one of the early Church's greatest theologians. *Thanks ...
Jun 30, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 121
After several decades of teaching and leadership in theological institutions across Africa, the time came when we heard the Lord calling us to devote our time to training the next generation of lecturers. We put together a proposal and approached various organisations without success. We got to the point where our contract was about to end, and we had no direction. We were only asking for a small amount of funding, but it seemed that no one shared the vision. Desperate, we cried out to the Lord ...
Jun 29, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Hilary of Poitiers was born in Gaul at the beginning of the 4th century to wealthy pagan parents, who gave him an excellent education with a high level of Greek. Later, upon reading the Old and New Testament writings, he abandoned Neo-Platonism and was baptized. The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that they elected him bishop unanimously in 350. Over the next twenty years, he vigorously confronted the Arian heresy that was threatening to take over the Gallic church, defending the Nice...
Jun 29, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Clement was a leading member of the church in Rome in the late first century, becoming the bishop of that large congregation in 88. In his letter to the Corinthians, the earliest authentic Christian document outside the New Testament, Clement emphasized the unity of the church and the unity of the body of Christ with all its various members, brought together by God to live and work together in harmony for the good of all. *Thanks to Barbara Gauthier for helping to arrange and contribute this dev...
Jun 28, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Clement was a leading member of the church in Rome in the late first century, becoming the bishop of that large congregation in 88. In his letter to the Corinthians, the earliest authentic Christian document outside the New Testament, Clement emphasized the unity of the church and the unity of the body of Christ with all its various members, brought together by God to live and work together in harmony for the good of all. *Thanks to Barbara Gauthier for helping to arrange and contribute this dev...
Jun 25, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Written by Very Rev Canon Sammy Wainaina-Provost Growing through persecutions part 2 Acts 8:1-11 John Piper has rightly observed that God uses the persecution and suffering of his people to spread the truth of Christ and to bless the world (cf. Luke 21:12-13). He rules over the sufferings of the church and causes them to spread spiritual power and the joy of faith in a lost world. It is not his only way. But it does seem to be a frequent way. Thus, “God spurs the church into missionary service b...
Jun 24, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Written by Very Rev Canon Sammy Wainaina-Provost Growing through Prayer Act 4:23-31, 12:1-18 It is interesting to observe what Peter and John do immediately upon their release. They do one thing that's very natural, and they do another thing that's very supernatural. The natural response is to seek the fellowship of friends. The supernatural response was prayer; not just that they prayed, but how they prayed and the result of that prayer. As we go through the devotion today you'll notice there a...
Jun 23, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Written by the Very Rev Canon Sammy Wainaina-Provost Growing through persecutions part 1: Acts 5:17-42 In the month of June 2021, the All Saints Cathedral Nairobi focused on the scattered Church. Today we reflect on growing through persecution. Enjoy these devotions. Beloved in Christ, we would be worried if the church was a human effort. If it was up to us alone to defend the church, maintain her unity, or increase her numbers, we’d have reason to be concerned. For the church would certainly fo...
Jun 22, 2021•5 min•Ep. 115
By Rev. Lilian Karinga, All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya Living in Light of the Day of the LORD – 2 Peter 3:1-18 Perspective is an important aspect of life. It dictates how we approach issues and how we go about our lives, yet often times, we do not take time to analyze what it is we really believe or what our driving force really is. The Apostle Peter is seen in his two epistles to bring out strongly what the key beliefs and tenets of Christianity are, strengthening the believers to nurture...
Jun 21, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 114
By Rev. Lilian Karinga, All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya Confirming Your Calling and Election – 2 Peter 1:10-11 In the first chapter of Peter’s second epistle, he instructs believers at least three times to make every effort. We can tell from his years as a disciple and an apostle, Peter knew that the life of a believer requires effort. This is despite the fact that he opened each letter with a prayer for God’s grace in abundance upon the believers. It has sometimes been thought that God’s g...
Jun 18, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 113
By Rev. Lilian Karinga, All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya Living for God – 1 Peter 4:1-6 It is said that sometimes it may be easier to die for Christ than to live for Him. We could have an argument for or against this statement with valid reasons. The point is however, that in many ways it is not easy to live for God. This is because of the fact that our spirit has to compete with our fleshly/evil desires as well as the world which more often than not represent ungodly standards and systems. ...
Jun 17, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 112
By Rev. Lilian Karinga, All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya A Call to Holiness 1:13-16 Looking at the passage we’ve read, we see the call to holiness in three ways: 1) as an appeal to the mind; 2) appeal to the heart and; 3) as an appeal to character. An appeal to the mind Notice how in this passage Peter focuses on his reason for writing. He is intentional in addressing the mind of a believer in order to stimulate them into wholesome thinking (2 Pet 3:1). He calls the believers to alertness an...
Jun 16, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 111
