Genesis 4:3-7 – “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.  Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it…’”

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Exodus 27:1-3  - “Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits wide.  Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.  Make all its utensils of bronze-its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. “

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Hebrews 10:19-22 - ”Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”  

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2 Chronicles 35:15  - ”The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them…”

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John 1:1-5, 14 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth....”

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John 1:1-5, 14 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...”

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“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.” Ecclesiastes 5:1

We must have reverence when we come into the Lord’s presence. The “house of God” usually is the place a church has set aside for its worship services – a sanctuary. The important thing is not the building, itself, of course, but coming into the Lord’s presence. It is not a time to focus on our feelings, or ourselves. He is a Holy God. We do not come to the Lord’s house to seek fun or entertainment. Unfortunately, most of Christianity today is heading in the opposite direction – making their churches more like a party, a nightclub, or a place for social gatherings. The reason for this trend is that it pleases the people, and most churches are desperate to grow. Growth is good, but we must not lose sight of the purpose of the church – to please God, not man. continue

Maranatha Church Services Description

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”  - 1 Corinthians 14:33, 40

PLEADING THE BLOOD OF JESUS TO BEGIN: The brother who is designated beforehand to lead the worship in that service (usually a deacon or worker) goes to the pulpit at the exact moment the service is supposed to begin.  The worship leader greets the church briefly (one sentence) and asks everyone to kneel together to plead the Blood of Jesus.  Of course, people can stand if they find kneeling difficult.   continue

1 Samuel 17:4-7 - “A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.  He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;  on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him…”

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1 Samuel 17:40 – “Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”

When David was preparing to fight Goliath, he refused the fancy royal armor and weapons of Saul (1 Samuel 17:38-39).  Instead, he ensured his victory by first kneeling alone at the brook and picking five smooth stones to use in his slingshot.  This is a prophetic picture of how we need to use spiritual weapons to fight our battles with our own fleshly tendencies and attitudes.  Just as the stones in the stream were smooth from the constant flow of water over them (and their smoothness made them effective in the sling), there are certain spiritual disciplines through which the Holy Spirit flows abundantly, and which are very effective in overcoming the internal obstacles to our faith.  We call these the Means of Grace because they open a conduit for God’s grace to flow more abundantly into our lives.

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