Maranatha Baptist Church

Ministry Improvements

We thank the Lord helping us move into our new facilities. There are still lots of things to do and many things to set in order, but each week, we’re able to see improvements and changes.
What I want to cover today are some of the changes that may not be so apparent, but are in the works and will be coming your way.
Lord-willing, this will be a channel of communications that will allow the Leadership Team to communicate our vision for MBC and its Practical implementation. It is my hope that this series of discussions through the Ministry Update pages will help all of us catch a glimpse of the MBC Vision and to pray and then come together to work towards the same goal.

The Purpose of Wisdom

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.”
Proverbs 1:1-4.

The Purpose of the Proverbs
God gave to us an exciting instruction manual, the Bible for us to live by, containing the Wisdom and Instructions of God to show us how to live.Nowhere is this more apparent than in the book of Proverbs which has many thought-provoking and soul-stirring sayings.

Changes, Changes, Changes!

“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
Malachi 3:6.

A New Chapter of His-Story

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.”
Psalms 77:11-14.

Seeking Our Nation's Welfare

“Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.”
Nehemiah 2:9-10

Ministering to the Unwanted

“When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
John 4:1-9

Seeing the Harvest

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.”
John 4:35-37

Jesus spoke these words right after He had preached the gospel to the Samaritan woman at the well. While they saw a “waste of time”, He saw a bountiful harvest among an unreached people group.

Reaching the World in One Place

“And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”
Acts 2:5-13

That day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 records for us one of the greatest dates in the History of the Church, only rivalled by the Resurrection and imminent Return of Christ.

We Are Commanded to Go

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20

Final instructions are often given by loved ones who are sick & dying to those who are alive. We heed these instructions as very important. Our Lord before He ascended into Heaven gave us Final Instructions - not as one dying but as one who has conquered Death and the grave to us who have inherited the promise of Eternal Life.

What Will Worship Cost?

2 Samuel 24:20-25

“And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.”