Lighthouse School of Theology

Dear ALUMNI,

We are thrilled to invite you to the 5th Foundation Day celebration of LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY. As proud graduates, we hope you'll join us for this momentous occasion to reconnect with old friends, reminisce about the good old days, and celebrate our beloved institution's achievements.

Date: MAY 4-5, 2023 Venue: RD FISHING NET YARD (Games) and RD FOUNDATION Compound (BANQUET NIGHT @6-9pm)

The event will be filled with exciting activities, including fellowship with your previous classmates, a keynote address from Ptr. Luna Campana, and fun ball and literary games. We hope you can join us to make this celebration a memorable one. Please feel free to bring your family and friends to share in this experience.

Kindly RSVP by May 4, 2023 to confirm your attendance. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Best regards
LST Family

Attention everyone!

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming event on LST Missions Emphasis 2023, which will take place on April 3-5, 2023 at two (2) locations in Brgy. Calumpang, General Santos City.

This is a great opportunity for all of us, Pastors, Teachers, Alumni, Certificate students and Bachelor students to come together and learn about PCS (Pray, Care and Share) strategy, as well as hear from speakers who have firsthand experience in the field.

We encourage everyone to join to this event as it promises to be a time of inspiration, education, and fellowship most especially on Wednesday night (April 5), which will be a night where we will experience the love of God through fellowship with our new friends. As the word of God says in John 15:12-14 (Theme Verse), "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command."

Please mark your calendars and join us for an evening of engaging conversations, insightful talks, and a chance to connect with like-minded individuals. We can't wait to see you there!

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

GOD BLESS EVERYONE!

The Coffee-Bean Bowl
Bible in a Year:

Isaiah 7–8 Ephesians 2
We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:15
Today's Scripture & Insight:

John 12:1–7
I’m not a coffee drinker, but one sniff of coffee beans brings me a moment of both solace and wistfulness. When our teenage daughter Melissa was making her bedroom uniquely hers, she filled a bowl with coffee beans to permeate her room with a warm, pleasant scent.

It’s been nearly two decades since Melissa’s earthly life ended in a car accident at age seventeen, but we still have that coffee-bean bowl. It gives us a continual, aromatic remembrance of Mell’s life with us.

Scripture also uses fragrances as a reminder. Song of Songs refers to fragrances as a symbol of love between a man and a woman (see 1:3; 4:11, 16). In Hosea, God’s forgiveness of Israel is said to be “fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon” (Hosea 14:6). And Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet, which caused the house of Mary and her siblings to be “filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3), pointed ahead to Jesus’ death (see v. 7).

The idea of fragrance can also help us be mindful of our testimony of faith to those around us. Paul explained it this way: “We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Just as the scent of coffee beans reminds me of Melissa, may our lives produce a scent of Jesus and His love that reminds others of their need of Him.

By: Dave Branon

Reflect & Pray
How can you be “the fragrance of Christ” to someone today? How has your life caused others to sense the presence of the Savior?

Dear heavenly Father, help me to pass along an aroma of life that makes others know I represent You.

ODB

Hallelujah!
Bible in a Year:

Proverbs 25–26 2 Corinthians 9
He will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 11:15
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Revelation 11:15–18
Astonishingly, it took Handel only twenty-four days to write the orchestral music for the Messiah oratorio—today perhaps the world’s most famous musical composition, one performed thousands of times every year around the world. The magnificent work reaches its climax nearly two hours after it begins with the most famous part of the oratorio, the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

As the trumpets and timpani announce the beginning of the chorus, voices layer on top of each other as the choir sings the words of Revelation 11:15: “And he shall reign for ever and ever.” It's a triumphant declaration of the hope of eternity in heaven with Jesus.

Many of the words in Messiah come from the book of Revelation, the apostle John’s account of a vision he had near the end of his life describing events culminating with the return of Christ. In Revelation, John returned again and again to the theme of the return of the resurrected Jesus to earth—when there would be great rejoicing with the sound of choirs (19:1–8). The world will rejoice because Jesus will have defeated the powers of darkness and death and established a kingdom of peace.

One day, all the people of heaven will sing together in a magnificent choir proclaiming the majesty of Jesus and the blessing of His forever reign (7:9). Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.

By: Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray
How does the return of Jesus to reign over the earth provide you with hope now? What songs encourage you with reminders of the majesty of Jesus?

Come quickly, Jesus, to establish Your reign over the earth.

ODB

Where I Belong
Bible in a Year:

Proverbs 22–24 2 Corinthians 8
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 133
At the end of a meal to mark Passover, a traditional Jewish holiday that celebrates and remembers the greatness of God’s saving work, church members expressed their joy by dancing together in a circle. Barry stood back, watching with a huge smile. He remarked how much he loved these occasions, saying, “This is my family now. This is my community. I’ve found somewhere where I know I can love and be loved . . . where I belong.”

In his childhood, Barry suffered cruel emotional and physical abuse, robbing him of his joy. But his local church welcomed him and introduced him to Jesus. Finding their unity and joy infectious, he began following Christ and felt loved and accepted.

In Psalm 133, King David used powerful images to illustrate the far-reaching effects of the “good and pleasant” unity of God’s people. He said it’s like someone who is anointed with precious oil, the liquid running down over their collar (v. 2). This anointing was common in the ancient world, sometimes as a greeting when one entered a home. David also compared this unity to the dew that falls on the mountain bringing life and blessing (v. 3).

Oil releases a fragrance that fills a room and dew brings moisture to dry places. Unity too has good and pleasant effects such as welcoming those who are alone. Let’s seek to be united in Christ so that God can bring about good through us.

By: Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray
When have you seen unity at work in your community? How could you reach out to someone you don’t know at your church?

Jesus, help me to show Your love, not only to those I find easy to accept but also to those I find challenging.

ODB

Trust in His Name
Bible in a Year:

Proverbs 13–15 2 Corinthians 5
Those who know your name trust in you.

Psalm 9:10
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 9:7–12
As a child, there was a time I dreaded going to school. Some girls were bullying me by subjecting me to cruel pranks. So during recess, I’d take refuge in the library, where I read a series of Christian storybooks. I remember the first time I read the name “Jesus.” Somehow, I knew that this was the name of someone who loved me. In the months that followed, whenever I’d enter school fearful of the torment that lay ahead, I’d pray, “Jesus, protect me.” I’d feel stronger and calmer, knowing He was watching over me. In time, the girls simply grew tired of bullying me and stopped.

Many years have passed, and trusting His name continues to sustain me through difficult times. Trusting His name is believing that what He says about His character is true, allowing me to rest in Him.

David too knew the security of trusting in God’s name. When he wrote Psalm 9, he’d already experienced God as the all-powerful ruler who is just and faithful (vv. 7–8, 10, 16). David thus showed his trust in God’s name by going into battle against his enemies, trusting not in his weapons or military skill, but in God ultimately coming through for him as “a refuge for the oppressed” (v. 9).

As a little girl, I called on His name and experienced how He lived up to it. May we always trust His name—Jesus—the name of the One that loves us.

By: Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray
What challenges have been troubling you? How does meditating on Jesus’ name build your trust in Him?

Heavenly Father, teach me who You are, so that I never have reason to doubt You in any circumstance I face.

ODB

Finding Refuge
Bible in a Year:

Proverbs 1–2 1 Corinthians 16
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm.

Isaiah 25:4
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 25:1–9
My wife and I once stayed in a lovely old seaside hotel with large sash windows and thick stone walls. One afternoon, a storm ripped through the region, churning up the sea and pounding our windows like angry fists on a door. Yet we were at peace. Those walls were so strong, and the hotel’s foundations so solid! While storms raged outside, our room was a refuge.

Refuge is an important theme in Scripture, starting with God Himself. “You have been a refuge for the poor,” Isaiah says of God, “a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm” (Isaiah 25:4). In addition, refuge is something God’s people were and are to provide, whether through Israel’s ancient cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6) or by offering hospitality to “foreigners” in need (Deuteronomy 10:19). These same principles can guide us today when humanitarian crises hit our world. In such times, we pray that the God of refuge would use us, His people, to help the vulnerable find safety.

The storm that hit our hotel was gone the following morning, leaving us with a calm sea and a warm sun that made the seagulls glow. It’s an image I hold on to as I think of those facing natural disasters or fleeing “ruthless” regimes (Isaiah 25:4): that the God of refuge would empower us to help them find safety now and a brighter tomorrow.

By: Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray
When have you taken “refuge” in God or found it through His people? How can you play a part in helping those facing a crisis today?

God of refuge, please empower me, Your child, to help the needy find refuge and hope.

ODB