Lighthouse Church Durban

At the end of the age, King Jesus will be accompanied by "his called, chosen and faithful followers." What a wonderful description of his disciples! We are a faithful people who do not shrink back, but keep moving forward as we follow Jesus into his eternal purposes! But while great crowds gathered around Jesus, many would later walk away - some because of his teaching and commands, some because o...

Faithfulness pleases Jesus - particularly, faithfulness in adversity. Faithfulness in adversity proves our faith to be genuine - so trials are actually opportunities to demonstrate a genuine faith in Jesus. This brings glory to Jesus! Jesus tells us to expect trouble - and to be faithful in our times of trouble. We can do this when we know that: - Jesus understands what it is like to endure our tr...

Jesus wants us to LOVE - and he has taught us HOW to love: - Jesus wants us to LOVE GOD with everything we are - to be completely devoted to him in every way. - Jesus want us to LOVE THOSE AROUND US - by treating them as we would like to be treated. - And Jesus wants us to LOVE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST - like he loves us. This means making personal sacrifices for their good. This is love...

Jesus said that he came to call sinners - not those who think they are righteous! You and I may THINK that we are righteous, but God says NO-ONE is! We all need to recognise our sinfulness - and come to Jesus for forgiveness and rescue. Having done this, we are then able to help others to receive the same grace and freedom from Jesus. The battle against sin may have been won, but sin still pursues...

Life on earth can be extremely difficult and extremely painful at times. Our immortal souls can struggle with the mortality of our bodies. We need to look beyond the mortal to the immortal, past the temporary to the eternal. We need to live by faith not by sight. Living by faith faces our earthly problems in the perspective of our eternal life. These trials are temporary and our heavenly glories f...

Life is seasonal. We go though different experiences at different times, some easy and some hard. Understanding the season helps us to respond appropriately. For example, in our dark days it is appropriate to lament and to seek God's mercy. Thankfully, God is not seasonal! He is always the same! His love is steadfast! His mercies are renewed daily! Let's not put our hope in our changing seasons, b...

"Jesus is Lord" is the fundamental statement of faith for the Church. It means that we have a new king: Jesus, the Supreme Master, the King of Kings. This radically changes our lives: It changes our CONFIDENCE: Jesus holds our future! It changes our LIFESTYLE: Jesus is our master! And it changes our MESSAGE: Jesus is Lord - and he calls everyone to come under his rule! Matthew 3:1-3, 4:17 & 28...

Obedience is very important to God because it demonstrates our love for him. It does not come naturally, but supernaturally, as God works in us to both motivate us and empower us. Obedience is also an act of worship, regarded by God as better than the ancient sacrifices. Let the examples of Jesus and Abraham inspire and motivate you to live in obedience! John 14:23, Philippians 2:12-13, Genesis 22...

The strongest of us can face situations that leave us feeling overwhelmed, afraid, alone and exhausted. But the Lord is our shepherd - and he restores our souls! Let's co-operate with him as he does what is necessary to restore, refresh and renew us: - Let's be wise with our physical health, especially if we are physically run down. - Let's make time and space to spend significant time in God's pr...

In dark and dangerous days, we would do well to follow the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5: - Trust in the Lord - there is no-one more trustworthy than him! - Trust him with all of your heart - don’t allow your (very real) circumstances to take your focus off Jesus and undermine your trust in him! - Don’t depend on your own understanding - it is way too incomplete! Rather depend on God whose understanding...

Prophetic people are not victims, living in reaction to events & trying to survive! We serve a God who knows everything & speaks to his people. (But if we're not looking where he's looking, he may not answer our questions!) Now is a time to listen for what Jesus is saying to us - with hearts & minds open to the new opportunities he brings. Let's hear, believe & live according to wh...

As followers of Jesus, we are a people of HOPE.  Our hope is both a PRESENT hope (because God rescues) and an ETERNAL hope (because God resurrects!)  So we can face our present and our future without fear, even if we face the most terrifying situations! The Lord is able to keep us standing - and he will lead us into the most glorious eternity with him! 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Philippians 1...

Fear and timidity can keep us from embracing our God-given destiny. But the Holy Spirit does not make us fearful or timid; he gives us power, love and soundness (discipline) of mind. - Power: He empowers us to cope with the challenges we will face. - Love: He gives us love that shifts our focus to God and others and drives out fear. - Sound mind: He gives us self-control, discipline and sound judg...

Jesus has called us all to make disciples - but many of us find it so hard! We need to break through barriers that stand between us and our glorious destiny: - We need a personal vision: to recognise the enormous impact that WE can have - even by making one disciple each year. - We need confidence in Jesus: that he is perfectly capable of using the least of us - in spite of our past failures and o...

We can suffer from sickness (or lack of wholeness) of the spirit and soul as well as the body. Some causes of "soul sickness" are sin (ours or others), suffering and abuse. We can find healing when we: - ask God to reveal the true state of our soul - submit our soul to the Holy Spirit - submit our life the rule of Jesus - believe God's words - seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit - seek the counsel...

God is concerned about our whole being - spirit, soul and body - and our wholeness as humans involves all three. Sometimes our true need (or root problem) is hard to see - so we would be wise to submit spirit, soul and body to God. The condition of our spirit affects our soul and body as well. When we trust in the work of Jesus, our spirits are made "alive to God" - and this new life and relations...

The Bible teaches us that we may go through trials that are beyond our own ability to "cope" - but these trials produce the most amazing fruit: - we go from being self-reliant and self-confident to God-reliant and God-confident - we learn to partner with others in prayer, sharing both trials and victories together - we become a greater blessing to others, able to help them through their trials. Fu...

The Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church that enable us to do what Jesus wants us to do. He does this in each one of us - but he works in different ways in different people. These gifts are primarily for the common good: for the glory of Jesus, the advancement of his kingdom and the health of the Church. Our particular gifts do not make us more or less significant than others; we are all vital pa...

In order to be spiritually fruitful, we need two things: - a close relationship with Jesus (we looked at this last Sunday) and - the Holy Spirit at work in us. Jesus assured his disciples that God will give the Holy Spirit to his children when they ask him. The apostle Paul taught that we then need to "keep in step" with the Holy Spirit in order to enjoy the life of God working in us and through u...

It is God's will for us that we live fruitful lives - and he has taught us how to do so. Firstly, we need to live in a consistently close relationship with Jesus. Just as a branch draws life from its vine and a tree draws life from its soil, we cannot be fruitful without the life of Jesus flowing into us. Secondly, we need to cooperate with God when he "prunes" us, taking good things away so that...

Who do we think we are that we can make disciples of Jesus? - We are not the master that others must follow - Jesus is. So we don't have to feel inadequate. - We are not the people we used to be - we are now new creations. So we don't have to feel disqualified by our past. - We are ambassadors of Jesus - we have been appointed by him to represent him. - And we are demonstrations of God's amazing g...

Starting a race can be easy; finishing well is more challenging! When we decide to follow Jesus, it is like starting a long race, a marathon. Our goal is to finish our race well, strong in our faith. The church has always been challenged by its opponents. As we are challenged and questioned, we need to seek God's answers - so we look to the Bible for his instructions. These instructions will help...

Jesus called himself “The Lord of the harvest”. His harvest field is the whole world - every place and every person matters to Jesus! So he needs workers everywhere. This includes the places where we go normally and places we would not have thought of. Let’s ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers - and let’s go to the places he sends us! Let’s plough our fields: starting where we are righ...

Jesus likened following him to operating an ox-drawn plough. Just as you can't look back once the plough is moving (that would be disastrous!), you can't look back once you have started to follow him. The decision to follow Jesus is a glorious one, but not one to be taken lightly. We need to "count the cost" first, understanding that the life of a disciple is not all glory! We must be ready to emb...

Easter remembers a series of events that were so amazing that the calendar was re-defined around them. The Son of God left heaven and came to earth as a man - Jesus. Jesus made God wonderfully known to all who would listen, but he was rejected and crucified. But death could not hold him and he rose from the dead! And this made a way for all who would believe in him to live a glorious, new, eternal...