Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

Please read Revelation 10 - 11. You can also listen to them by clicking this link Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

While we are reading the Book of Revelation it is  important to remember the question that God asked in Ezekiel 18:23, " Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"  God is a God of love and of justice. Today we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Lamb of God who satisfied the justice of God by dying on the cross for our sins. 

People need to repent; that was Jesus' message in Galilee,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Please read Revelation 8 - 9. Or Listen. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Jesus is the little baby who was worshipped in the stable by the shepherds out in the field (Luke 2)  and by the wise men from the east (Matthew 2). And  now he is worshipped in heaven and in earth. 

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5)

Please read Revelation 6 - 7. Or Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

We participate in the worship which is going on uninterrupted in heaven. Revelation 4 tells us that our prayers are the incenses used in that worship.  ^"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people." (Revelation 4). We must pray without ceasing, not looking down on the value of our own prayers and the prayers of others. 

Please read Revelation 4 -5. Or Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you! 

Brothers and Sisters,

Many Christians are afraid to read the Book of Revelation. On the contrary, they should be very happy to read that book. Apostle John tells us in the introduction of Revelation that  the reading that book aloud confers great blessings on the person who reads it. "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." ( Rev. 1:3)

It's going to be a great adventure for us to read that book during the end of the year. Happy readings. 

Please read Revelation 1 - 3. Or Listen. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude)

One sure way to build yourself up is to pray in the Holy Spirit.

Please read 2 John 1, 3 John 1, Jude 1. Or Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Bothers and Sisters,

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3)

God is love.

Please read 1 John 1 - 5. Or Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

One of the best gifts that we can give to ourselves is the discipline to read the Bible on a dally basis  The Word of God is food for our spirit, soul and body. 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter) 

Please read 2 Peter 1 - 3. Or listen. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4)

This is the time to pray.

Please read 1 Peter 3 -5. Or Listen. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.(James 5)

According to James, physical healing of a church member is a very straightforward process. Church members who are sick would ask the leaders of the church to pray for them. The elders would anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord, and pray the prayer of faith on their behalf. And they would be healed. I pray that this process would become a reality in the life of our church. 

Please read James 5 - 1 Peter 2.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” ⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4) 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Please read James 2 - 4.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

God must love small church pastors in a special way to have given them Hebrews 12:22-24. Even when we are few in number, we encourage ourselves by remembering that we are not alone. Every time time we come together in the name of the Lord we enter into a deep mystery.  We are on earth, but we are connected to heaven.

²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.(Hebrews 12)

Please read Hebrews 12 - James 1.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Most Christians believe without reservation that God exists. But believing that God exists is not enough for a faith to please God. James 2:19 tells us that "Even the demons believe that there is one God--and shudder." The second component of faith is as important as the first, the believer must believe that God rewards those who earnestly seek him. There is no faith without perseverance, without pursuing God.

Please read Hebrews 9 - 11.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.(Hebrews 4)

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1)

Please read Hebrews 4 - 8.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

We should pray that our churches do not turn into social clubs. There are a few things that must happen in every church when the message of salvation is being preached: signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Ghost.  Have you seen these things in your church? Do you sincerely desire God's testimony on your preachers and teachers of the Word? Do you pray about it?.

God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? (Hebrews 2:4)

Please read Hebrews 1 - 3.

May the Lord richly bless you!