Kingdom life in our church
4 key values: Family, Love, Holiness, Honour
1. Church - Kingdom Family: The culture of Lighthouse is family.
*Family: the Trinity is the family of God- the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, the Holy Spirit loves the Father and the Son (Luke 3.22)
Jesus calls those who follow him his brothers and sisters (Mark 4.35), each person in our church is a valuable and significant son or daughter of the Living God (Romans 8.14)
*Love: his family DNA is one of love.
There is no fear in love fear (1 John 4.18)
We love one another as Jesus loves us
We value the freedom Jesus won for us, so we do not partner with any spirit of control or co-ercion in any relating in our church - from the leadership, ministry leads, volunteers, or fellowship with one another
Each one of us is a precious part of the church family body - ‘We are all one body because we all share the one bread’ (1 Cor 10.17) - we share life, we celebrate each other’s victories, and we support each other through trials
We say no to a consumer approach to church life!
Gathered worship brings glory to the Father, and sustains us - a time and point where God reveals himself in our worship together and in His Word
We each have a part to play - (1 Cor 12.27) - so we work to avoid being individualistic or consumerist
We are not a political body- our dna is from the Living God not from man.
Our church values every person as Jesus does.
His intention is to draw all people to himself (John 12.32) - so we are active in welcoming anyone who comes into our church
2. Our Personal lifestyle- pursuing holiness
*Holiness is a lifestyle that looks like Jesus
Jesus is our teacher for life, ’just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written “be holy as I am holy” (1 Peter 1.15)
Thanksgiving and prayer is a pattern: our days start and end with praise and prayer - however short or long.
Word: The Bible Word is food to inspire and guide - we do not put human ideologies, philosophies therapies above our relationship with Jesus and the Word of God
Hearts - we guard our hearts which are the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4.23) - we seek Jesus and his love to keep our hearts full of compassion- rejecting pride, breaking off hardness
Minds- we protect our minds - actively rejecting ideologies that judge dismiss or diminish others, or promote division;
Grow - we never stop growing in our faith journey, so we value learning and working towards wholeness
Serve- we see humility as a characteristic of Jesus, something to emulate, not a weakness - so we can serve well as Jesus served and gave his life for us (Mark 10.45)
3. Relationships- *honoring each other
In our relating together:
Value: we value each person equally as one made in the image of God (Galatians 3.28) - whatever ethnic or social background, gender, politics
Grace: we live under the grace of God
as children of God we have a secure identity so:
we are not defensive but open;
we operate from grace so we do not take offence
we share without expecting something in return
Building up (1 Cor 14.3) - we aim to build up, speaking blessing, strengthening encouraging and comforting - we do not denigrate, dismiss or judge
Our dna is love - so there is no room for any spirit of control or co-ercion in any relating in our church - from the leadership, ministry leads, volunteers, or fellowship
We aim to listen to one another
to be open - but wise in our sharing
considerate in our behaviour - not being overfamiliar in our language gestures or touch especially members of the opposite sex
seek support where needed - knowing our limits