Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2)

The best way to win an argument is to avoid it in the first play. We should avoid argument as much as possible specially with family members. 

Please read 2 Timothy 1 - 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters, 

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6)

Please read 1 Timothy 5 - 6. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Have you ever wonder what are the responsibilities of deacons?  Please read below.

Please read 1 Timothy 3 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2)

Please read 1 Timothy 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹³ And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. (2 Thessalonians 3)

The world would cease to exist if God considers the ingratitude that people show to him on a daily basis. A lot of people live as if they are the creator. We feel disappointed when people do not appreciate our goodness toward them. But we need to remember God who continues to sustain all creation. Never tire of doing what is good.

Please read 2 Thessalonians 3. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians 2)

Please read 2 Thessalonians 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

 ⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2 Thessalonians 1)

When we see people doing wicked things, killing and destroying lives, we wish that their judgment by the Lord would be swift. But this is not what we read in the passage above. Indeed, God will judge the wicked, but not on the timetable that we would love. They will be punished at the end.

Please read 2 Thessalonians 1. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5)

People like to think if only they knew God's will for their lives. They would do it, and everything would be alright. These verses tell us clearly God's will for us: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. 

Please read 1 Thessalonians 5. And Listen!

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹² May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³ May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3 - 4)

Please read 1 Thessalonians 3 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1)

I like to rephrase the verse as followed: Because you have faith you produce work, because you have love you labor in the church, because you have hope in the Lord Jesus Christ you can endure any difficult situation. Begging, cajoling from a pastor cannot motivate someone to produce these kinds of results, faith in God, love for Christ and hope in him will. 

Please read 1 Thessalonians 1 - 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3)

Please read Colossians 3 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant ( Colossians 1)

Please read Colossians 1 - 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4)

We have no choice but to rejoice in the Lord. This command is repeated twice to show how important it is to rejoice in the Lord. How do we do that when so many issues of life tend to make us sad, unhappy and anxious? The key of our rejoicing is found in the knowledge that "The Lord is near." Jesus is always with us. 

Please read Philippians 3 - 4. And Listen!

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. (Philippians 1)

Paul prays with joy. Why does it mean to pray with joy? I think it is praying with a heart filled with gratitude. Do you pray with joy? Our joy moves God more than our tears, joy comes from a grateful heart.

Please read Philippians 1 - 3. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them. (Ephesians 5)

Please read Ephesians 5 - 6. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!