A SERMON
TITLE: Kenya National Anthem – A Prayer for Kenya
TEXT: Jeremiah 29:1-14, 1 Peter 2:11-16, Kenya National Anthem
Kiswahili English 1 1 Ee Mungu nguvu yetu O God of all creation Ilete baraka kwetu Bless this our land and nation Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi Justice be our shield and defender Natukae na undugu May we dwell in unity Amani na uhuru Peace and liberty Raha tupate na ustawi. Plenty be found within our borders. 2 2 Amkeni ndugu zetu Let one and all arise Tufanye sote bidii With hearts both strong and true Nasi tujitoe kwa nguvu Service be our earnest endeavour Nchi yetu ya Kenya And our homeland of Kenya Tunayoipenda Heritage of splendour Tuwe tayari kuilinda Firm may we stand to defend. 3 3 Natujenge taifa letu Let all with one accord Ee, ndio wajibu wetu In common bond united Kenya istahili heshima Build this our nation together Tuungane mikono And the glory of Kenya Pamoja kazini The fruit of our labour Kila siku tuwe na shukrani Fill every heart with thanksgiving.
And the glory of Kenya
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John 1:14)
O God of all creation thank you for the people of Kenya, the glory of this nation. Kenya is known worldwide for athletics: there is no moment Kenyans are united as when they are supporting our athletes. The nation stands still as we cheer our men and women on the tracks and in the fields, its amazing. Not once have I found myself literally standing next to the Television, sometimes even touching it, as I urge my countrymen and women to finish and win the race.
The Only Begotten Son of God became flesh and dwelt amongst us. John writes that they beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son of God. It doesn’t mean Jesus was always shining or glaring in light but His life and speech exuded majesty, beauty, and honor. He was different, He represented a different Kingdom: and with every breathe He was true to His calling. We the people of the nation of Kenya are the glory of Kenya: not just by our mere existence but by own allegiance, our life, out conduct, our speech. When these are in line with honoring God who gave us this nation then we epitomize the meaning of this prayer line in the Kenya National Anthem.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ. In Him and through Him we learn and are enabled to live honorably. We learn and are enabled to be the glory of the land of Kenya. We learn and are enabled to propagate honor. Father, help us to appropriate these and other benefits that flow from the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Image Source: Trueafrica
And our homeland of Kenya
Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17)
O God of all creation, thank you for the good gift that is our homeland Kenya. I don’t know how many of us have ever reflected on our homeland Kenya as a gift, a gift from God? Or do we just feel entitled to this nation we call our home? How about those who treat it as an option? If things don’t work here I can always move to another part of the world ??.
What would happen if every time we sang the Kenya National Anthem specifically this line about our homeland of Kenya gratitude to God for the gift of a home would ooze from our hearts? The translation would be amazing. We would consciously take care of this gift. Simple but significantly negative behavior when compounded would be a thing of the past. Am talking about issues like dumping garbage out of moving cars, into drainage systems, misusing water and electricity, deforestation. One of the worst if not the worst forms of violence against our homeland is silence, yes silence. When we stand in silence and watch others abuse the gift that is our homeland in a myriad of ways, we are in essence participating in their crimes.
Our homeland of Kenya is a gift, let us treasure it and treat it as such.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for the gift of our homeland Kenya. I confess that we have been callous in how we have treated this gift: both with our actions and our silence. O God you whose property is to have mercy, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for abusing our homeland and help us henceforth to make step by step, day by day conscious decisions in our actions and words to portray to you our gratitude for this our homeland of Kenya. In Jesus Name, Amen!
This vice has a couple of sayings around it. Top off my head is “Everyone for himself and God for us all”
I see ‘Self-preservation’ in my society everywhere I turn, including inwards.
Self-Preservation says:
“As long as I am ok/safe, I am not very concerned about my neighbor”
“As long as the people I care about are safe, the rest can perish for all I care”
“As long as I . . . I don’t care about . . .
To the best of my memory the very first time I was ever asked to speak without notes on a subject was in high school during the inter-house music and drama festival. The scheduled speaker grew cold feet and I was asked to speak, I forget the subject but am pretty sure I still have the certificate because guess what, I won in that category.
As life has progressed I have had numerous opportunities to speak in public. And sadly along the way I lost the art of speaking impromptu on any subject. I now prefer to research, to study, to write down my speaking notes and follow them through on d-day. That has become my comfort zone, the place I have been flourishing in for most of my adult life.
We turned one yesterday!
As I look back to the one year since I started blogging, I can only stand and say EBENEZER – thus far the Lord has brought me, has brought ‘His Creation’.
One year ago yesterday, I wrote my first article on this blog. Since then, I have written a couple of series and by the grace of God one of those is already published as a book. Available on Amazon Kindle as well as in print; hallelujah! To God be the glory great things He has done.
My dear friend Babatomiwa Moses Owojaiye is the one that gave me the final push into blogging. Being the wiseman he is, he added an interesting bit “aim for publishing books in the long run”. I thank God for him, and for using him to push me into this space where I must confess I am thriving. James Kisinga is the man behind the scenes, he does all the technical work of keeping this blog running, updated and secure. I am glad to have met this exceptionally gifted young man, and to have him walk with me in my blogging journey has been an immeasurable gift. A shout out to Madam, Santinah Nyagah. An encourager per excellence. A woman willing to share her shine and her wisdom and knowledge with me as I started out into the blogging world. You are a gem sister, and I am so glad to call you my friend.
Yesterday, by God’s grace I had a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the birthday of His Creation surrounded by an amazing army of women. Thanks to Dadasphere and Valentine Njoroge, I got a platform to ‘be seen and be heard’ talking about the Kenya National Anthem and its potency to turn around the destiny of our country. The blog has borne a published book, that published book has borne a speaking and teaching space; I am in awe of God’s kindness.
Through the articles I have written on this blog, I have also had opportunity to minister to many people and meet some of those in person. I am grateful for the meaningful friendships that have been borne out of this blog. Most importantly, I am grateful for the lives God has touched through my writing.
In the beginning of 2017, the Lord spoke very clearly to me and said:
Google And He did that and continues to as concerns ‘His Creation’ and my own life.
Happy birthday His Creation.
Here is to many more by God’s grace and for His glory alone!
In June this year (2017) I had the privilege to meet Uncle Moody Awori the 9th Vice President of the Republic of Kenya. I was so excited for the meeting, I was literally falling all over myself.
I had written my first book (Kenya National Anthem Devotional) and was now in the stage of seeking endorsement from various persons. So, this one day I am in an office just outside town; I had gone to meet a certain person to seek their endorsement for my book. It was not to be, they politely declined. While there, my friend Stanley, I have known him for 20 years and counting, called me. It was a bit strange because we don’t talk on phone as often; but it was all providence. I asked to call him later because I was in a meeting. After the meeting I called him back and said I would pass by his office in town. When we met, I told him what I was upto and why I was in that office earlier. He looked through the Kenya National Anthem series on my blog and immediately said, I know the man to endorse you: Uncle Moody Awori.
Welcome to the #18daychallenge movement.
This is a movement committed to take 18 days to pray for Kenya in the words of the Kenya National Anthem using the KENYA NATIONAL ANTHEM DEVOTIONAL.
I know what you are thinking, the Anthem has 18 lines? Yes, it does. 18 lines to one of the most well thought, well articulated and potent prayers I have ever come across. And guess what, it is Kenyan through and through!
For many Kenyans the Kenyan National Anthem was introduced to us as law, as a compulsory component of the syllabus. We were taught to sing it since lower Primary School all through every education institution at the raising and sometimes at the lowering of the Kenyan flag. Not because we like the anthem, not because we even understood the anthem; but mostly because we did not have a choice.
Allow to reintroduce the Kenya National Anthem to you.
This Anthem is many things but for now I will let us in on two: It is a symbol of unity and it is a prayer.
The Kenya National Anthem is a symbol of unity. We only have one National Anthem for every tribe, every county, every individual in Kenya. When we sing it with pride, mostly during sporting events, we all sing one anthem. It brings us together, it binds us together.
Second and most important the Kenya National Anthem is a prayer, yes a prayer. If you sit down with the composers of the Anthem, yous see it shining in their eyes. The passion they have for the Anthem, and how sacred they hold it. How important they deem it, how precious they perceive it.
The Kenya National Anthem is a prayer. And the first line sets that out, just incase you are in doubt:
O God of all creation
We begin this potent prayer by raising our eyes up, our voices high to the God of all creation.
My challenge to you today, look for the words of the Kenya National Anthem, read through them slowly, reflectively. Then learn those words by heart: all three verses, the entire 18 lines. And next time you have an opportunity to sing the Anthem, pray through it. Pray to the God of all creation.
This is just the beginning of a journey for us as Kenyans, a journey of prayer, a journey to patriotism and nationalism.
Welcome to the a conscious singing of the Kenya National Anthem using the KENYA NATIONAL ANTHEM DEVOTIONAL.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3
On Saturday 8th July 2017 at Daystar University, Nairobi Campus surrounded by friends and family and only by the grace of God my first book (self published) KENYA NATIONAL ANTHEM, DEVOTIONAL was launched.
Wanjiku Joyce | hiscreation aririririririririririri aririririririririri ariririririririri ariririririririririri (ululations, I am a girl so I get four ????)
God did it for us. He walked with me and with us from idea conception to the launch and even after He still is with me and us. I a in awe of His kindness to me, especially knowing how frail and trivial and disobedient and unfaithful I can be with Him.
I call Him Father, and He has been a Good Good Father to me.
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