Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Audacity of Faith ... With Pastor Kola


The Audacity of Faith (7)
Matthew 14:28-29 KJV
“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”
Faith is a risk! The Faith Walk is a risky Walk! Faith is audacious because it sometimes dangerously run against the grains of normalcy. When you walk in faith, sometimes people are going to get concerned about you. Some will mock you or even hate you because you are going against what constitutes the holy grail of existence from their perspectives.
Abraham would have been seen as a mad man to live the known for the unknown when he was called out of his father's house from amongst his brethren to go to a land he was yet to be shown. It takes a bold and daring person to obey and leave.
The three Hebrew boys' daring insolence to the king and refusal to bow to the graven image made by King Nebuchadnezzar was most audacious! It could have cost them their lives and it came across as dangerously stupid given the totalitarian powers the king had!
Daniel's decision to pray as he had often done after knowing that the decree had been signed into law prohibiting anybody from praying to any other god but the king and his sojourn into the lion's den are actions only bold and audacious individuals can take.
All of these people traded their common sense for heaven's sense. They moved from operating natural rules to engaging supernatural rules. They transcended logic to the illogical realm and by their acts obtained good testimonies.
You and I can't do less! We must take bold audacious steps that will transit us beyond the natural into the supernatural. We must engage heaven's sense and suspend common sense when we walk in faith. If we ever attempt to use our common sense to walk the faith walk, we will forever play safe, remain in the boat and live colorless lives!
The Christian Faith Walk is a bold and audacious Walk, without a heart, you can't make a mark!!!
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays

07030000054; 07030000087

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Why I love films by Femi Odugbemi





I love Films. Always have. From back in the day when as kids we sneaked into Super Cinema in Surulere Lagos to watch Indian & Chinese epics that weren't even sub-titled in English.

It's why today I enjoy film festival jury work. It's always a great chance to see the world through its stories. The tales of our flawed humanity Set against the conflicts of characters & cultures, history & modernity, pain & progress, defeat & triumph, the human spirit is always resilient, always hopeful & always a work-in-progress.


On festival jury duty I get to watch a lot of films for free! And I marvel at the rich talent of Africa behind & in front of camera whether it's South Africa, Uganda, Kenya or Nigeria. I have no doubt that Africa will thrive someday soon in the global economy on the strength of her storytelling heritage!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Happy Birthday Wisdom Nwankwo Nollywood Veteran


We celebrate a Nollywood Veteran Wisdom Nwankwo who has contributed so much to the Nigerian Film Industry as an Actor and a Film Producer. Wishing him a happy birthday.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for ... with Pastor Kolawole


Reflections 2015 (186)
The Audacity of Faith (1)
Hebrews 11:1-2 KJV
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.”
Faith by definition makes no natural sense. How can something you have not seen or handled but hope for being a substance that is tangible? It is not logical. It does not follow common sense!
By definition, evidence is proof and requires that you have either seen or heard something. How can you then have an evidence of things not seen? It sounds ridiculous and crazy! This is however Faith as defined in Hebrews.
The human mind is locked into the five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. All these reside in the realm of logic, but Faith stands contrary to all these. You, therefore, cannot walk in Faith and live by logic! You will fail if you try!
You need heaven's senses and not natural senses to walk in faith. Faith thrives in the illogical. If you are not willing to be seen as weird sometimes, crazy at other times and suicidal some other times, you cannot walk in faith. If you are not willing to go against the grains of the times or you are trapped in the hole of predictable behaviors based on societal expectations, you cannot walk in faith.
If the elders obtained a good report because of faith, we need to understand this concept so we can walk in it to obtain a good report too.
We will explore this concept in the coming weeks
May your understanding be enlightened!
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays

07030000054; 07030000087

Happy Birthday Mike Ezuruonye


Thursday, September 17, 2015

Looking unto Jesus the author and ... with Pastor Kola


Reflections 2015 (183)
Purpose, Pursuit and Power (93)
Hebrews 12:2 KJV
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
If we bring my experience with the telephone conversation I had with the man who felt I was exerting an influence over him and combine it with Abraham's life and the life of Christ as discussed in the last three days, a practical definition of Power comes through.
Power is therefore INFLUENCE on thoughts and action. Whoever influences or controls your thoughts and action has power over you. Such a person can make you act or behave in certain ways that you ordinarily on your own may never want to behave.
You surrender your sovereignty to such a person willingly and not by coercion. It is voluntary surrender or obedience. This is true power or Authority. Today, nobody forces us as Christians to call ourselves children of Abraham and confess that His blessings are ours.
In the same vein, God expects that when we walk according to Purpose and we apprehend, people, organizations, institutions, businesses, nations, our world and generations yet unborn should surrender their sovereignty willingly to us while our descendants and the world bless God we lived long after we may have gone in our ripe old age! When in death, you are still speaking, that is true power!
May we enter this realm by grace
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays
07030000054; 07030000087


Sunday, September 13, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONALISA CHINDA







Wishing a happy birthday to a wonderful Nollywood Diva, Actor/Producer | UN Ambassador | Founder, Arise Monalisa Foundation | Host 'You & I with Monalisa' TV Show


Sunday, September 6, 2015

Review of Power; the last element on Purpose, Pursuit and Power... with Pastor Kolawole

Abraham and Sara

Reflections 2015 (174)
Purpose, Pursuit and Power (84)
Isaiah 51:1-2
“Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock .....Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.”
This week, we will start a review of Power; the last element of this series of teaching on Purpose, Pursuit and Power.
We saw the injunction to look onto Jesus in Hebrews 12 as our role model in the pursuit of purpose. Here in this scripture, we are encouraged also to look onto Abraham. If you are a God lover and seeker; if you follow after righteousness, then look onto Abraham for an example of how to enter into the blessing and walk in Power.
There is a reference to how Abraham was called alone in this scripture. This reference is found in Gen 12:1-3 and we are introduced to the three-dimensional blessing of God upon humanity as embodied in the blessing of God upon Abraham.
Most humanities struggle to enter the first dimension alone. Some do better and manage to enter the second dimension while very few manage to enter into the third. Even though the first and the second are good, God desires and has provisions for us at the third dimension.
These three dimensions are found in God's pronouncement to Abraham as found in the following quotations from Gen 12:1-3. The first is: 'And I will bless thee'. The second is:'And thou shall be a blessing'. The third is: 'And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed'.
We will look at each of these and their ultimate connection with Power in the days ahead.
May we all walk in the reality of the blessings of Abraham.
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays

07030000054; 07030000087

Friday, September 4, 2015

‘Film festival will attract multi-million naira investments to Nigeria’



Mr Hope Obioma Opara is the President and Founder Eko International Film Festival.  In this interview with‘Wale Olapade, of Tribune Newspaper  he speaks on the Eko Film Festival, the need to invest in the industry, how it will boost tourism, among sundry issues. Excerpts:

Mr Opara

What informed the idea of launching Eko Film festival?

From inception, I started a magazine named Supple Magazine currently online that is based on films and film festival which also included movie celebrities. I actually interviewed the former Audio Visual Attaché of the French Embassy in 2008, after going through my magazine, he advised me to write on film and film festival, this actually spurred me to get interested in the film festival.  Ever since, I have attended different international festivals. The first film festival I attended was Festival of Three Continents in Nantes France in 2008 and it was a very great experience. That push aroused my interest in organising a film festival.


Do you think it has achieved its full potential?

Yes, because this film festival is an area of the film business that the Nigerian industry (Nollywood) needs to key into, to  attract major stakeholders coming to Nigeria. It has also encouraged new entrants into the Nollywood industry for better exposure of other filmmakers’ projects from other countries.


Six years on the line, how has it positively grown the film industry in Nigeria?

Every film you watch during the film festival has a story line which always reflects what is going on in other parts of the world. For instance in the last edition, we screened a film from Uganda titled, ‘The Clan’s wife’ the story about a tradition of marriage where a father must sleep with the son’s bride a night before marriage and the film is being used as a soft power to change the harsh traditions.


What were the challenges you faced growing the festival?

The major challenge we are having here in Nigeria is the issue of sponsorship among organisers except for one of the festivals that have really secured a state government's support. There is always the Nigerian factor of, ‘who is this guy, where is he coming from’ and such unhealthy assumptions which hinder the growth of the Nigerian film industry. But we must continue to move on because Eko International Film Festival is not a dream, but a vision.


As an allied tourism event, how have you been able to develop innovative content to attract participants and patronage?

The platform is already established as an international film festival. Honestly, the government is yet to recognise the importance of film festival is in Nigeria. In one of the interviews I granted last year, I stated that tourism is not complete without film festivals in Nigeria. I have been to Italy, Berlin, International Film Festival in Germany,  Rotterdam International Film Festival in Holland, and Cannes Film Festival in France, including the 2014 Oscar awards in Hollywood, California, USA. For those of us who have been privileged to attend such big events outside, you will know why the western world gives massive support to their film festivals. Cannes attracts 45,000 visitors or more every year and Hollywood in California attract 10 million visitors every year and California as a state in America export only IT and entertainment and the annual budget of the state is more than the whole African countries put together. You can imagine what those in the hospitality business are making within that period, taxi drivers, telecommunication companies and the financial institutions in terms of exchange including other economic indexes that trickle down to even the woman selling groundnut on the street.


Compared with other international film festivals, what are you doing differently to give you an edge over others?

We are still a very young film festival. We are working hard to replicate those major film festivals we have been attending across the globe and see how filmmakers from other countries will also start coming to us. There are no basis for comparison because Cannes Film Festival is 68 years old, Venice in Italy is 72 years, Durban film festival in South Africa is 36 years, FESPACO takes place every two years, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso since its inception in 1969, now 46 years and Eko International Film Festival is just six years. I think film festival should have started many years ago to add value to the Nigeria film industry. In any case, we are succeeding.


Who are your contenders when you speak of the trend in the film events globally?

Speaking of contenders, I will say comity of nations in film business who also doubled as models to scale up with the trend in the film industry.


What are we expecting from this year’s outing of Eko Film Festival?

Films are going to be screened within the six days period of the event including a workshop on film distribution, which is going to be in collaboration with Nollywood Study Centre of Pan Atlantic University and Eko International Film Festival. We are sill expecting more collaborations and support, but the festival will close with an award night.


How many entries have you received so far and from how many countries?

The submissions for this year’s event is massive. Eko International Film Festival has attracted 3114 films from 118 countries around the globe. We will select the ones we can screen within the six-days-event.


What is your assessment of the tourism industry vis-à-vis film and entertainment, in terms of development?

Film festivals will boost the tourism industry; unlike the carnival most state governments spend so much money on organising. The difference is that some of the filmmakers who attend film festivals are multi-millionaires who are looking for collaborations, co-productions and possible investment opportunities like building big studios and even more cinemas. I will advise that any minister that is going to have film industry in his portfolio must wake up to exploit opportunities readily available in film festivals not only will it boost tourism but also attract investment opportunities to Nigeria.

Has the Nigerian government been fair to the stakeholders in areas of practical promotion and development of tourism?


I will respond to this question from the Nigerian film industry perspective. Only the last administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan assisted the film industry via Project act Nollywood though film festival never benefitted from that as at today. The  former of Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola also established Nollywood upgrade which he used to support the Nollywood industry considering the fact that Lagos is the hub of Nollywood industry, Eko International Film Festival was endorsed by Lagos State Government in 2013.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Focus On The Big Picture! Nevertheless ... with Pastor Kola


Picture! Nevertheless
Reflections 2015 (174)
Purpose, Pursuit and Power (84)
Matthew 26:38-46
“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me...... O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.....”
Today, we will conclude with the third dimension of 'Nevertheless'. The third strategy to deal with self-doubt and discouragement is Focus On The Big Picture! Nevertheless here means what I see in my future is bigger and better than whatever I am dealing with now or I may be compelled to deal with in my immediate future.
It means I hear and dance to a different kind of music. I see a different kind of picture and what I see is a million times better than what I may have to contend with before I attain or reach my goal. It means I am so fanatically connected to my big picture that nothing else matters.
This means you have to be paranoid about success at fulfilling destiny. You must be totally committed to arriving at your destination. You must hate to be tagged a Quitter. You must be consumed by your big picture. It must be strong enough to keep you awake at night or raise you early out of bed!
These were the secrets of Jesus' triumph! He surrendered to the will of His father, embraced His big picture, was consumed by it and today is seated at the right hand of glory. Remember, if we are ever going to make it to the end, we need to follow our role model.....look onto Jesus who kept the joy before Him in view and was triumphant over the cross and the shame.
We shall all overcome and attain as He did by grace in Jesus name. Amen.
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays
07030000054; 07030000087


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Look Beyond Your Immediate Future... with Pastor Kola


Reflections 2015 (173)
Purpose, Pursuit and Power (83)
Matthew 26:38-46
“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me...... O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.....”
We will look at the second dimensional meaning of 'Nevertheless' today. It is:
Look Beyond Your Immediate Future: Nevertheless here means regardless of whatever news I have heard about the immediate future; the economy, government policies, organizational politics, plans and purposes of men contrary to the will of God that seem to portend trouble for the immediate future, I will not give up!
One of the most potent weapons in the hands of the devil is news of an evil planned by men and the kingdom of darkness in man's immediate future. Such news target our Faith and inject fear with its torment. That is why the devil is described to be like a roaring lion. The roar is meant to portend evil for the immediate future
This was the devil's strategy against King Hezekiah by Sennacherib who began to attack the confidence of the people with words of his impending destruction of the nation and how no nation had ever escaped his powers and why the people should not trust in Hezekiah's capacity to save them from destruction. The more he spoke, the scarier the people got until God intervened.
You must learn to look beyond the immediate future just like Jesus did. He saw His immediate future as a troubled and painful one but looked beyond it at the joy that was set before Him. If you will ever be a winner in life, you must guard your heart against words designed to shatter your confidence and make you give up.
Look beyond your immediate future. Remember, quitters Never win; Winners never quit!
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays

07030000054; 07030000087

Brad Pitt Builds 109 Homes For The Homeless In New Orleans



By Elle B (celebrityxo) 



Brad Pitt is truly a blessing to New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina hit he’s been dedicated to rebuilding the broken city, can you believe that it will be ten years since the horrific storm hit the big easy..?
 Pitt, who recently listed his and Angelina Jolie’s five-bedroom French Quarter home for $6.5 million, has been working to rebuild houses in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward since the hurricane left its path of destruction.

We went into it incredibly naïve,’ the megastar told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, ‘just thinking we can build homes – how hard is that?’



A lot harder than he thought, it turns out. But that didn’t stop him, nor the area’s residents, from plugging along, and now Pitt is thrilled that 109 colorful, sturdy, eco-friendly homes dot the land that following Katrina was nothing but mud and debris and torn-apart lives.



‘I get this well of pride when I see this little oasis of color and the solar panels,’ the dad of six told the paper.



As a part-time NOLA resident and amateur architecture enthusiast, Pitt wanted his foundation, Make It Right, to build homes that not only suited the residents’ needs, but were well-designed, environmentally-friendly, and not only cheap to make, but to live in.




‘I drive into the neighborhood and I see people on their porch, and I ask them how is their house treating them? And they say, ‘Good.’ And I say what your utility bill is? And they’ll throw something out like, ’24 bucks’ or something, and I feel fantastic.’

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

What do you do when self doubt and discouragement knocks on the door? … with Pastor Kolawole



Reflections 2015 (172)
Purpose, Pursuit and Power (82)
Matthew 26:38-46
“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me...... O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.....”
We begin today to answer the question; what do you do when self doubt and discouragement knocks on the door?. The summary answer is; we look onto Jesus as Hebrews Twelve enjoins us. One categorical word in Jesus' statement after He had painted the unpleasantness of His immediate future was; 'Nevertheless'.
His expression means 'In spite of the circumstances, in spite of the logical or natural explanations and reactions of men, I will act contrary. We will explore the meaning of this word in three dimensions viz:
Look beyond the present- Nevertheless here means, regardless of what I am feeling right now; regardless of the issue I am facing right now; regardless of how low my heart may have sunk because of what may have just happened, I am not going to give it up.
This resolution fires you up to disdain the dangers and poisonous arrows of the words of men and the intimidating posture of present circumstances. It enables you to contain any emotional boil-over
This was the first thing Jesus did and the first thing you must do too. Don't give in to the heat of the moment. Great destinies have been messed up because of the heat of the moment.
When the pressure hots up and the temptation for a knee jerk reaction raises its head, calm yourself down and look beyond the present at the consequences of rash actions to present pressure. It can be devastating to the future! Resist the temptation to bow. Know this truth; the heat does not last forever but the consequences of rash action may be eternal.
Jesus did not bow and He triumphed ultimately. You shall triumph too. We will explore the other two tomorrow
I celebrate you
Kolawole Oyeyemi
Chapel of Uncommon Grace
For deeper exposition of the WORD, join me in service on Sunday at 8am; Plot 14, Olugbesan close, off Allen Avenue behind Alade market, Ikeja or on air on Sundays at 7am on WAP TV on StarTimes, 3pm on TV Continental, 4pm on STV and 2.30 - 3.00pm On R2TV on MultiTV with Repeat broadcast at12.30 - 1.00PM on Thursdays

07030000054; 07030000087