God Moving At Maranatha

TELL THE GOOD NEWS

Christians have a special name for this time of year. We call it “Advent.” The word means “coming” or “arrival.” It is a time when we look back to Christ’s coming at Christmas, and forward to when He will come again.

This Advent season I want to challenge us as a church with the words of Luke 2:17. This verse says that after the shepherds in Bethlehem had heard the message of the angels and seen the baby Jesus, “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child”.

They spread the word! They could not keep to themselves what they had seen and heard.

As believers, we too have seen the glory of Christmas. How could we possibly keep the news to ourselves? It is our great privilege to tell the world about our wonderful Saviour whose birth we are celebrating. In the next months at Maranatha, we are offering various opportunities for you to invite your unchurched family, friends, and neighbours to hear the Good News. Let me tell you about two of them:

The first opportunity I’d like to highlight is our Chrstmas-season worship. Besides Sunday services that will lead up to and include Christmas Day, we are also planning a special Christmas Eve service. On December 24^th at 6:00 pm we will hear the Christmas message in a festive service that will include a children’s choir and candle lighting with refreshments to follow.

The second opportunity I’d like to highlight is our upcoming Alpha program. It is a chance for you to invite your unchurched friends to evenings featuring a meal in a warm setting, an engaging video, and an opportunity to discuss the topic of the evening. The first ALPHA evening is planned for February 8, at 6:00 pm here at the church.

Soon, we will be providing you with tools to get the word out to your friends. In the meantime, pray about who you might invite to a church service or to the Alpha program. Then, be prepared to step out boldly to spread the word as the shepherds did on the very first Christmas.

- Pastor Tom