Excellency, Reverend Dr. Nicholas, Conference Secretary. Okay, let us pray.
God of graces and love, God who is compassionate and God who has given us time to partner and to serve humanity for the common good. The God who has called wisdom, knowledge and understanding. We thank you Lord for giving us an opportunity today. Hear my father that we may come listen together as we grow our country Kenya that you love. Lord God we want to lift our presidents. We want to lift the entire Kenya unto you. And we pray father in heaven that you may give us common mind as Lord we lift our church. We lift our governments and all who have the authority to rule. The Lord will give them all what they need at this time for the glory and honor of your name. And for our stay here, Lord, we pray that you will give us humble time together and in every discourse, our minds, everything Lord that you are going to discuss that it will be guided by your holy spirit. Lord, at the end of the day, all glory and honor be unto your holy name. This is a humble prayer of faith this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Let us all share the Lord's prayer together. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations, and deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Let us take our seats kindly. Your Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, Your Excellency, Professor Abraham Kithure Kindiki, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya. PS Patrick Kilimi, PS Cooperatives, PS Roselyn Njogu, PS State Department of Diaspora Affairs, Reverend Dr. John Maramba, presiding bishop Methodist Church of Kenya. The entire leadership of the Methodist Church in Kenya, bishops, reverends, pastors, lay leaders and all invited guests. Your Excellency, this morning will start with a short sermon led by the presiding bishop. But allow me to invite Kerry Kamau Kamura to give us the scripture reading which is found in Romans chapter 13 verse 1 which will be the anchor scripture for our sermon this morning.
Praise the Lord. I read, 'Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.' The authorities that exist have been established by God. Amen.
Amen. May the Lord bless the reading of his word. At this point, your Excellency, allow me to invite Reverend Dr. John Maramba, presiding bishop of the Methodist Church in Kenya, to deliver a short sermon. Welcome, Bishop.
Your Excellency Dr. Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Professor Kindiki, PSs present, the leadership of the Methodist Church here gathered. Buana, greet one another in the hair. Praise the Lord. You look great and thank you very much. Are you happy that we have come to pray and visit his Excellency the President? Your Excellency, thank you for giving me this space to say a few things in terms of a short sermon based on the reading that has been read to us. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of the Methodist Church in Kenya, I convey our sincere gratitude to your Excellency for the honor accorded to us to visit you at State House. We come not as critics from a distance but as partners in nation building, not as rivals to authority but as servants of God committed to the welfare of our beloved nation Kenya. Your Excellency sir, allow me to offer a few words of exhortation on the biblical foundation of church and state cooperation. The holy scriptures remind us in Romans 13 as written to us, let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. Government therefore is not a human accident. It is a divine institution meant to preserve honor, justice, and the common good. Likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ declared in Matthew 22:21, 'Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's.' In this profound statement, Christ establishes both distinction and cooperation in roles, cooperation in responsibility. The church does not govern the state. The state does not govern the church's doctrine. Yet, both are accountable to God and both serve the same citizens.
The church's obligation to the state is one of prayer. Scripture reminds us in 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2 to pray for kings and all in authority. Your Excellency, we assure you of our continuous prayers for wisdom like Solomon, courage like Joshua, and compassion like Christ. The church must uphold righteousness. According to Proverbs 14:34, righteousness exalts a nation. And brothers and sisters, I want to affirm here that we have come here as a nation, a very peaceful nation as it is and we cannot take that for granted. It is courtesy to the leadership and the ministry of our government through his Excellency. Therefore, Your Excellency, our role is to nurture ethical leadership, integrity, accountability and justice within society. When government builds infrastructure, the church builds character. When government develops policy, the church nurtures conscience. When government pursues economic empowerment, the church strengthens moral responsibility. In this way, Your Excellency and all of us gathered here, we complement and not compete. Biblically, rulers are described in Romans 13:4 as God's servants for our good. Today, brethren, from the Methodist Church in Kenya and the leadership, we have come to affirm this that his Excellency is a first servant of God in our state and government. The state guards justice, protects prosperity and property, ensures peace and creates an enabling environment where faith communities may serve freely and responsibly. And at this point in time, Your Excellency, I wish to extend a prayer that has been answered for your information that as a church we stand here today, a peaceful church, a church geared towards partnering with your government in issues of peace and cohesion. So when government protects justice the church flourishes. When the church flourishes society is strengthened and when society is strengthened the nation prospers. So this is what Your Excellency I'm calling divine synergy and it is heavily represented here by your very presence and the presence of your government and the church. The Methodist Church in Kenya, Your Excellency, stands committed to partnering with government in education and human capital development, health care and community wellness, culture empowerment and food security, youth and women empowerment, peace building and national cohesion. We believe the church must not retreat into silence nor must it step into political partnership. Our calling is prophetic yet respectful, supportive yet principled. We pray without ceasing and we serve God without discrimination. Conclusion. Your Excellency, today we renew our covenant of cooperation with your government. The church assures you that we will pray continually. The church will guide morally. The church will serve faithfully. And we will promote peace and unity and we trust that government will continue to create spaces for faith institutions to contribute to national transformation. Your Excellency, something I know is at the very heart of your leadership. So may the Lord bless Kenya. May he grant wisdom to his Excellency and the leadership of this country. May he protect our citizens. May righteousness flow like a river across our land. Your Excellency, we pledge our unqualified prayers and partnership as a Methodist Church in Kenya. So, God bless you and let's appreciate our Excellency once again for listening to me. Thank you.
Thank you. Another warm clap for presiding bishop Reverend Dr. Maramba. Your Excellency sir, with your permission at this point allow me to invite PS Kilimi to come and make some brief remarks.
Your Excellency, allow me to stand by protocol as stated. Your Excellency, with your permission, allow me again to say thank you for hosting the church of my grandfather, the church of my father, my church, to this very esteemed crowd. Your Excellency, many times I repeat, I tell people I'm a Methodist because this church, Your Excellency, is the Methodist Church. And Your Excellency, as I serve your government, and let me confess, all the three principal secretaries are Methodists. Needless to say, our deputy president is a son of a retired reverend of the Methodist Church. Your Excellency, because you are also a man of method, our manifesto is called the plan. S Motor plan. Allow me Your Excellency to say this. The sole objective of the church is to deliver us to heaven. And the sole objective of the government is to give us prosperity. That is why God in his wisdom when he was defining the tithe, he did not put an absolute number, he put a fraction. He said a tithe. So that as the country prospers, the church also prospers. Your Excellency, as you take us, as the church takes us to heaven, we pray that we pass through Singapore. I thank you.
Another clap for PS. Words of wisdom right there. As we go to heaven, we pass through Singapore. Your Excellency sir, allow me now to invite the conference secretary Reverend Dr. Nicholas Muti to make some brief remarks.
