Friendship with God
Friendship with People
Next meeting
Wednesday 6th September 2023
87 Queens Rd New Lambton
Speaker: Pastor Peter Pili
Topic: Christian Mission work in Visag, India
Indian cuisine will be served
Who are we?
We are a Christian Not-For-Profit Organisation committed to bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to people all around the globe. At Lighthouse, we strive to work on the ground, providing support to individuals who need it most. We run events and provide funding & support to people with the aim of bringing the Light of Jesus Christ into the world.
We study the answers to the ultimate questions of life. Who? When? What? Why? Where? How?
When and Who? In the beginning, God...
We believe in the existence of God, the creator of all things. We realise that science has not disproven God, or explained Creation without God. Rather, we interpret the scientific evidence as showing us ever more reasons and proof for the existence of God. "Scientists" often step out of science, and make unscientific statements. Science is good at answering some of the what, where and how questions, but science cannot answer the who, when, and why questions.
What do we need to know? God teaches us.
We believe in the Holy Bible as the written word of God. You can learn more about the Bible here. It is a library of 66 separate books which are self-affirming and self-referencing spanning thousands of years.
Why?
The Bible describes God as a loving God, who created us for fellowship, or relationship with him.
In order for love to exist, free will must exist. The Bible describes how the first man Adam, and the first woman Eve, used their freewill to rebel against God. This was the origin of sin. They desired to know truth and knowledge for themselves, rather than trust that God's word to them was true. By sinning in this way, they separated themselves from God, from creation, and from each other.
All humans, human cultures, and governments still do this today. We decide what is right and wrong, and what is true and untrue, rather than God who created us. In doing so, we reject God, his salvation and his blessings.
Few people would try to argue that there is no sin - that there is nothing wrong with the world. However, most people think that there is nothing wrong with them. That philosophy, called humanism, is the prevailing view in our culture, as we increasingly reject God's word, God's way, his truth, and his life.
The Bible teaches that our natural state is sinful, and that we need a saviour, to be restored into a right relationship with God and with each other. And the created world also needs saving as well.
The Bible teaches that God himself provided the saviour in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You can learn about Jesus here.
How can we live?
We understand the process of Salvation as established by God. First, there is a moment in a person's life, when we recognise that we are by nature sinful, and have committed sinful behaviour. By being imperfect, we cannot relate to a perfect God by our own effort. We cannot dwell in God's presence because he is perfect and we are not. The punishment of sin is to be separated from God, from his presence, his power, his provision, and his purpose. Our punishment is separation from God. We see the effects of this described in the lives of individuals and nations in the Bible.
In order to start being saved from the punishment of sin, we turn to God and repent of the sin, which is the behaviours that hurt him. We then come into God's family, take on a new identity as a Child of God, we receive the Holy Spirit of God, and we receive his power to live the way God intended for us.
Second, we continue to be saved, as we abide with God and with his people, as we invite the Holy Spirit into every part of our lives. This is the time in our lives when we grow and learn to live free from the power of sin in ourselves and in the world.
Third, at the end of time, when Jesus Christ returns to reign as the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, as the Bible describes, we will be free from the presence of sin.
Where can you belong to others following Jesus?
At Lighthouse, we study all three parts of Salvation, so we can live freely as Jesus promised we could.
We belong to Jesus. We recognise Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the World, of all people. He is our King. He is our Lord. He suffered and died, and rose again from the dead, once for all sin. No other action is necessary or possible by anyone else to defeat sin and death.
We belong to God. Through Jesus, we can know and worship God as Creator and Lord. We approach God as our Heavenly Father, our Daddy God in heaven.
We belong to each other. God has given each of us gifts, a calling and purpose, to contribute to the community of his people. At Lighthouse, we desire each person to discover the gifts and call of God for them, and to give them opportunities to use those gifts.
We meet together to encourage one another, to stir one another to love and to good works for our community.
Will you come and visit us?