“Whatever you do whether you eat or drink, do unto the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31

LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP PURPOSE STATEMENT

{I owe a tremendous debt to John Piper for his tremendous influence on my thinking, my understanding, my theology, and my enjoyment and satisfaction of God.}

"Whatever you do whether you eat or drink, do unto the glory of God" 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Delight yourself in the Lord" Psalm 37:4

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8

"In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

"The glory of God satisfies our hearts"

One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do. Whether I eat or drink or preach or counsel or whatever I do, my aim is to glorify God by the way I do it (1 Cor.10: 31). The burden of our ministry is to make plain to others that "The steadfast love [of the Lord] is better than life"(Psalm 63:3). And if it is better than life, it is better than all that life in this world offers. This means that what satisfies is not the gifts of God, but the glory of God--the glory of his love, the glory of his power, the glory of his wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

I have tasted that the Lord is good. By God's grace I now know the fountain of everlasting joy. And so I love to spend my days luring people into joy until they say with me, "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4).

"God is supreme."

It is this wonderful truth that is the foundation of all we do at the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship. This means that

-When we worship, we are doing the most important thing we do as a Church. It is the ultimate goal of God for His people because God is ultimate. It is the one thing we do in this life that we will be doing in eternity. We worship Him because we delight in His presence, we like to be around Him, we treasure His presence, and we enjoy Him. It is the fuel for everything we do as a church and the goal for everything we do as a church.

Rev 15:3-4 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

- When we preach and teach we proclaim God and his glory. Which means our aim is to do it in way that shows how the glory of God has satisfied the longings of our heart. People are starving for God’s glory and don’t even know it. Ps 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

If our preaching betrays that God has not even met our own needs, it would be a fraud. If Christ is not the satisfaction of our heart, would people really believe us when we herald his words, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35)?

- When we minister to others we are full of God’s love, joy, grace and are empowered to serve others by giving them the overflow of life, joy, grace, and love that God has given to us as we have delighted in Him.

Eph. 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ps 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. John 7:37-38 "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

1 Pet 5:2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;

Matt 9:36-38 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Eph 5:16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Gal 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Rom. 15:8-9 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." We want to lure people into joy until they say, "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple" (Psalm 27:4).

-When we fellowship we share with one another the joy, delight, satisfaction, and life that God gives us as we together delight in Him. Together we live on God and share His life and grace with one another.

I Jn. 1:2-7 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 Cor. 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

- When we leave the gathering of the church for worship, preaching, ministry, and fellowship we go out into our community, neighborhoods, and to the nations to bring them into a love, satisfaction, and joy in the greatness of God. A passion for God fuels the offer of God to the lost. It fuels our mission and becomes the goal of our mission.

Ps 96:3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Ps 97:1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

Ps 67:3-4 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth

When we do these things together as a church God is most glorified and happy with us.

"God is most glorified when we are satisfied with Him. "