By Benjamin A. Commey
Accra, Jan. 1, GNA – Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, Presiding Bishop of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches, has urged Christians to embrace obedience to God’s commandments as the pathway to divine blessings.
Delivering a 31st watch night sermon, he said God had set before humanity a clear choice between blessing and curse, both directly linked to obedience.
“The Bible teaches us that the blessing of the Lord comes directly in response to your obedience…A blessing if you obey, and a curse if you disobey,” he said.
The sermon, themed “2026; a Year of Blessings, No Curses,” was delivered as worshippers ushered in the New Year across various time zones.
The service attracted hundreds of members and visitors, while many others participated through online platforms. Most worshippers were dressed in white, symbolising victory.
Bishop Heward-Mills said blessings were deliberate outcomes of aligning one’s life with God’s instructions and addressed concerns among some Christians about the concept of curses, describing them as biblically grounded consequences of disobedience.
Referencing Genesis 3:17, he noted that God first pronounced a curse following Adam’s disobedience.
“Most of the curses that we know about come from God,” he said, explaining that curses often manifested as sorrow, pain, struggle and frustration.
Bishop Heward-Mills linked “thorns and thistles” in Scripture to pain and hardship, and “sweat” to human struggle and stress.
Without divine intervention, he said, human labour often yielded little reward, noting: “All over the world, it takes a blessing to go beyond just surviving and eating bread.”
“If you have something extra, a house or stability, it means a blessing has prevailed,” he added.
Beyond obedience, Bishop Heward-Mills urged Christians to seek God’s mercies and give offerings as means of obtaining blessings and ending curses.
Citing the account of blind Bartimaeus, he described mercy as a powerful appeal to God and referenced Noah’s sacrifice after the flood as evidence that offerings could bring an end to curses.
“When God smelled the offering, He said, ‘I will not curse again,’” he noted.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth sackey