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3
Jan
2009
Happy New year!
We trust you all had a blessed and wonderful holiday season celebrating the birth of our Lord. We know His blessings will continue into the new year and always.
The little picture to the left is a work of art by Bucks County artist, E. Dornin, now residing in Virginia. Donna came across this painting entitled, “Angels of the City”, on RubyLane.com while looking for Christmas gifts. She contacted the artist because of the theme and its similarity to Philadelphia. The artist wrote back that it indeed was based on Philly, as well as a building in Chicago and was done at the time of her father’s passing. The little work is for sale for $1200, which was bit steep for our shopping budget in these difficult economic times.
I share this with you not to sell art, or even its appreciation, but because we will be moving into Philadelphia this coming year and we are praying for His angels and Presence to go before us. Scripture tells us that unless the Lord builds the church, those who labor do so in vain. So we ask you to pray for God’s peace, protection and glory as we begin to move into His dominion. Our first task is to seek a place to begin worship this coming year in Northeast Philly. We are also scouting out locations in Hunting Park, Fairmont, and Belmont for the near future. We are also lightening our sound equipment and changing over to a more mobile system to take on the road. Heidi is developing more worship teams to be able to handle the multiple locations.
We would like to thank all of you for your support, prayer and love this past year. It truly means a lot. We also thank those who gave over and above to provide heaters and a tent for the homeless shelter, as well as blankets, gloves, hats, coats and clothes for the homeless people. What a joy it was to see their faces at Christmas as we gave them these presents along with a delicious meal down at Kensington. We look forward to more work down there the third Saturday of each month. We also have formed our first house group in Philly as well as praying and networking on the streets every few days. Heidi got to be at an event with Mayor Nutter during Christmas, and we have been meeting lots of her new neighbors.
Psalm 22:27-28 tells us, ” All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.” It has been clear at the shaking of our national economy down to its core, and the total collapse of the banking system as we knew it, are signs that God is not happy with a nation which has turned away from Him and followed its own greed and belief that its greatness comes from leaders, powers, or wealth. We need to turn to God, repent, and He will hear from heaven and restore us. That is the challenge of this generation. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers which have dominion over our thoughts, our culture and our lives. The church is charged with the task of shaping those values, not catering to them. The church will not be measured on her wealth, status or popularity. She will be held accountable for her faithfulness to God and His Word.
We need to spend lots of time praying this coming year. We are God’s people charged with the task of rising up and making a difference, not hiding out in fancy church buildings. There is only one face you need to be concerned about that is pleased and happy with your life, God. We all stand before Him and he will ask what we did with His gift. It is not our life, it is His. We need to surrender it back to Him along with all our resources, mind, heart and strength. Then, and only then, will our church and nation prosper again. The hour is late in human history and our calling is more clear now than ever before. Choose you this day whom you will serve, God or man.
Blessings and Peace,
Pastor Bob
2
Dec
2008
 Hi ya everyone! Did you know that God has presents for you this Christmas? What Father would not give his favorite kids a present? Would you like to have a peek at your present?
Well, before we get into unwrapping the gifts…oh, what the heck, I am not going to keep you waiting. Bow your head and ask God what He got for you this year. What did He say? If you felt uncomfortable about asking, it means you really don’t feel worthy to receive anything from the Lord. The truth of the matter is that none of us are worthy, He gives it purely out of love. If you are going to wait until you are worthy, you will be waiting your whole life. Go on, ask Him!
If you felt like He probably isn’t going to give you anything and there might be some “catch” to all this, it means you have a short supply of faith, hope, and belief. That is OK! There seems to be a huge shortage in this world of those wonderful attributes, especially during a world wide financial shortage. The Good News is that there is no shortage in heaven. God not only gives good gifts, but he gives the faith and hope to believe in them. He sent the greatest gift of all, His son Jesus, to die on a cross so that we can believe and have hope. If your hope tank is a little low, lets fill up. Its free today, and tomorrow and everyday.
If you felt a surge of excitement about the gift He is going to give you, then you are on the right track. You are beginning to sense that He is a loving God and is there with you always. But maybe you had trouble hearing exactly what He wants to give. Sometimes our hearing gets a little dulled by all the noise of negativity we listen to in this world, words of hate, hurt, and hopelessness. Our ears become tuned to what is wrong instead of listening for what is right. We grumble and complain, and the sound of our own words and thoughts is filled with a medley of “can’t do”, instead of Christmas carols of hope and peace and joy. Put on some nice Christmas music and sit for awhile and clear your ears, mind, and heart of all the clutter of this world. Listen for what the shepherds heard out in the field, the song of angels, and the Word God has for you today.
Maybe you heard something, but it seems too good, too big, too extravagant to believe. THAT would be God. If its NOT big, extravagant, or unbelievable, then it is most definitely NOT God’s gift. God is awesome and He gives really really really fantastic gifts, things that satisfy and fill you all year and for all eternity. Mansions, jewels, crowns of glory, streets paved with gold, gates made of pearl, walls made of precious stones, these are ordinary things in God’s kingdom. We as His children need to start getting used to luxury, His luxury, in which even the finest things of this world looks like poverty in His presence. And ladies, wait till you see the clothes, they are to die for.
That’s it! That is the whole of the Christmas story. God gives! God gives to you! God gives good things! That is it. The message of Christmas is NOT about giving, its about receiving! You cannot give God to others unless you are filled with His goodness. You cannot give out of your poverty, unworthiness, unbelief, and hardness of heart, because the gifts will be filled with anguish and bitterness. You cannot make Christmas, only God can, and he wants you to receive. To receive eternal life through the gift of His son born in a manger, and then to start living like you believe in eternal life. But open your gifts first, we can talk later.
Love and Blessings for a wonderful Christmas season from all of us at Lighthouses,
Bob, Donna, and Heidi
PS. Christmas Carols and Candle Light Service Sun. Dec 21 7:00 PM No morning worship that day.
7
Nov
2008
I usually love this time of year! The trees are still various shades of yellow, red and orange, the air is filled with the scent of leaves, and the house smells of freshly baked apple pie. I am also usually starting to look forward to the approaching holiday season.
This year, despite the added bonus of the Phils winning the World Series, there is however a sense of a financial foreboding, a dark cloud hanging over our nation. Many have lost jobs, retirement savings, and the belief that things will be brighter tomorrow. I thank God that we can turn to the Light of Christ at these times for our hope and our security.
The Word of God tells us that we find our security NOT in stock piling resources and riches for ourselves here on earth, but rather by giving blessings to others so that we build “riches in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-21). That Word seems to work opposite of our American economy which is fueled by greed and envy, with people always trying to outdo one another, even going into debt to accomplish that worth-less goal. We here at Lighthouses are committed to providing opportunities galore for you to invest in your eternal retirement fund (ERF). Its more than a cute saying, Jesus asks more than once, do you know how you are going to spend all eternity? It seems there are mansions vs. outer darkness, it seems there are crowns vs. judgment, and a place with no more tears, vs. “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Your decisions here do affect your quality of life forever. That might be worth a passing thought or two.
We will be going to Kensington once again for a hands on experience of feeding the poor. You can see the video of last month’s expedition here http://www.lhov.org/mission1.html . We will also be making Thanksgiving baskets up for the needy, as well as getting ready for our holiday “Adopt a Family”. On Nov. 29th we will be going to Phil Abundance once again to pack supply boxes for the poor.
We are still worshipping at the Fire House in Oxford Valley at 10 am on Sunday. The worship at Faith Church was a one time event. We also need to be praying about outreach in Philly and starting our worship down there early next year. Our goal is to have both worship centers started in one year. We don’t think this has ever been accomplished before. That will mean we have actually started three churches in two years ( counting our House Church movement which now numbers close to 25 groups which we started and worked on our first year while we were fund raising for the worship centers).
There are time we all feel so very blessed to be part of this work at Lighthouses, and there are times we feel overwhelmed trying to “Light Up” an entire region, which is the call the Lord gave us. There is so much to be done, and we look at our meager loaves and fishes, and ask him how we can get by with so little. As always, he tells us to just “get started”, God provides. Just “get started”! I wonder how many great things never got accomplished because people just didn’t “get started”. You sure can’t finish well if you don’t “get started”. And while you may worry about the race set before you, you can never do fantastic if you never “get started”. You will never “get started” looking BACK at yesterday, what you may have lost or did not accomplish says nothing about predicting tomorrow. You can only “get started” by looking ahead.
May God Bless you all as you “get started” in this new day of your new life with Him!
Pastor Bob
12
Oct
2008
 Major Events for October and November Coming Up:
Block Party and BBQ in Philly: Sunday Oct. 19, 2-whenever. Live music, free hotdogs and soda. Location Pastor Heidi’s house, 2723 Solly Ave 19152 (left side of Blvd. heading south by Nazareth Hospital. Directions Below. Kicking off the Philly site and getting to know our new neighbors. We have distributed over 500 flyers in the area. Invite your family and friends.
Feeding the street people in Kensington. Sat. Oct 18. Meet at Westaby at 2:15 PM
We continue or food collections for the Penndel Shelter every Sunday. Bring canned goods or boxed food to worship
We will be making Thanksgiving Baskets for the poor. Details to follow.
Philabundance Sat. Nov. 29th Packing boxes once again to bless the poor in Philly.
Paintball for the Youth Group. Must be over age 10. Dates and details on the Youth Page.
While you are here please check out our newly refurbished website.
We are now one church in two locations, Philly and Oxford Valley. Worship will start in Feb. down in Philly around Feb. 2009. We will be doing prayer, evangelism, mission and get acquainted events down there between now and then. We are averaging about 50 weekly in worship at Oxford Valley, about 50 in our House Churches each week, and we hope to have about 50 in Philly in Feb.-Mar. 2009. That will be about 150 we are ministering to each week since our original worship launch one year ago.
Please keep us in your prayers as well as our nation in these difficult days. We believe that God is doing a work to bring our attention and trust back to Him.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Bob
5
Sep
2008
 It was one year ago this week that we had our first experimental gathering in Westaby Hall. The Lord has blessed us this year with 15 House Groups, the launch of our weekly worship in March, and now averaging 50-60 at our worship together times. We celebrated our first Baptism, our first Lord’s Supper, and our first miracles. It was certainly a year of “firsts”.
We begin this Fall season with the start up of our second church in Philadelphia,”Lighthouses of Philadelphia”. LHP will be a satellite campus of Lighthouses of Oxford Valley. We hope to continue to plant a new church/satellite every two-three years. Heidi and Bob will be serving both campuses. Heidi purchased a home in NE Philly right in front of Nazareth Hospital. We ask for prayers as she moves into her home on Sept. 15. As you look down the street towards her house you can see the 90 foot steel cross of Nazareth Hospital hovering over her roof. We jokingly told people the first thing we did in Philly was to erect a 90 foot cross on Heidi’s roof ;-)))
We have already begun work in Philadelphia by months of praying over and in the area, and more recently going down to meet the new neighbors. We also did two missions this summer in Philadelphia. Close to 40 people gathered on a hot Saturday morning to pack supplies for the homeless at Philabundance. We joined with the Philadelphia group Philly Core, a group of atheists, with whom we had some conversations last Spring (remember the battle of the billboards?), and together we did a blessing for the City. They learned that not all Christians beat people over the head with Bibles and that some actually practice the “love” they talk about, and we learned that atheists are not far in their hearts from the Kingdom of God showing great compassion for the City.
Meryl and Fran Davey and Heidi went to a ministry in Kensington to actually meet and feed the homeless. Preparing meals, sorting and providing clothing, and praying and ministering directly was a wonderful ‘hands on” experience in compassion and love. We will be doing that a lot this year so look forward to dates and times. Up here in Penndel we collected 350 boxes, totaling over 1500 pounds of food to feed families locally. We have also been partnering with the Fairless Red Cross Shelter to assist with the overwhelming needs in our own area. We also had a group pack schoolbags with supplies for children in the Bucks County area. We are going to bless the socks off this region!
We welcomed Pastor Chris Heitkamp, a student who interned with us this summer, and his family. It was a joy this summer as we all learned how to hear and follow the voice of the Lord. John 10: 3 says, “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” We learned that God speaks to us personally through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He speaks through His Word, the Bible, other Christians, circumstances, divine encounters, revelation, prayer, and from that still small voice within our own hearts and minds. People are surprised to find that God still speaks today directly with each of them. It does say that, “He calls them by name”. How sweet a sound to hear God call your name with love. To know you are special and beloved to Him. You are his son or daughter.
So put on your Sunday best jeans and tee shirt, grab a Starbucks and a donut on the way, and head to worship this Sunday! Its still 10 AM at the Fairless Fire House, right in back of Wal-Mart. God wants to bless your socks off too! We promise you will leave with a much bigger blessing than you ever imagined.
Pastor Bob
15
Jun
2008
Father’s Day June 15: Our first baptism service! We had 15 Baptisms and Rededications to the Lord. Special thanks to the Oxford Valley Pool for opening an hour early and letting the whole church participate. Also thanks to Tim who wrote a new song for the occasion.
Battle of the Billboards Pt. II : We received a call from the atheist organization who assured us that their billboard was in no way intended to be a competition. They viewed our website and wanted to help out with the outreach to the poor and needy in Philly. So we are going to partner with them through Phil-Abundance to help the city. The Lord does work in wondrous ways. We have scheduled that for Sat. Aug 2nd.
Heidi and I are meeting with groups throughout the city, as well as attending special prayer gatherings at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. We continue to pray and plan for our Fall start to Lighthouses Philly. The word we have been getting from the Lord is that what we have experienced is but a trickle of the outpouring of his glory that he is about to release. Our groups are having wonderful prayer times in His glory, and our worship is breaking open new levels of His power and presence as we get ready to serve the King to assist His revival of Philadelphia and the region.
We welcome Chris Heitkamp a student at New Brunswick seminary, and his wife and three sons, to partner with us this summer to learn about new church development and be an intern at Lighthouses. Heidi will also be teaching a course for new church planters around the nation this summer on Spiritual Empowerment.
We had a group of Jr. and Sr. High students attend Great Adventure for a concert of Mercy Me and a very very hot day of amusements. Thank God for the water rides. Our house church prayer groups will continue all summer long, as well as some new ones forming. We are also planning a Youth Outing to feed the homelss in the Kensington section of Philly later this ummer or in the early Fall.
If you can’t get to church, please check out our webcasts. We now have the full service up each week ( usually up about Wednesday). We have lots of guest musicians sharing with us in the worship of the Lord this summer. God has blessed us abundantly.
Finally, His message to all of you is “Double Portion”. Whatever goodness, mercy, grace, love, power, blessing, peace, joy, glory, you desire, He will give a double portion if you just ask.
Blessings,
Pastor Bob
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13
May
2008
 ” The Battle of the Billboards”
Heidi just returned from the revival that has been going for over 40 days in Lakeland, Fla. She is the head of the Spiritual Empowerment Team for the Reformed Church in America, and was sent down there to “observe”. <she got very toasted> More about that in a moment.
She was on her way back from the airport on I-95 and just past where we have our billboard, there was another brand new billboard which looks very similar. Same blue sky, same plain lettering, and this one said, “Don’t belive in God? You are not alone”. Then it has this web site http://phillycor.org/ Turns out it is an atheist group. Who ever heard of atheists doing evangelism, especially three billboards up from ours? We are dubbing it the “battle of the billboards”.
We have been encountering some very powerful expressions of the living God in our worship and in our house churches for well over a year. His glory, His wonderful peace, His love, His oil of gladness, etc. Many many people are reporting wonderful experiences. Heidi was very pleased to see and experience some of these same anointings in greater measure being poured out by God in Florida. The results were lives being changed, hearts and minds and bodies being healed dramatically, and people coming to know the Lord.
We call these visitations by God throughout history “revivals” and apparently we are living in one of these historic moments in time. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. History has shown these great revivals or “awakenings” usually preceed momentous times in human history. There was one in the 1500’s history called the “Reformation”; There was one in the 1700’s just before the founding of America called the “Great Awakening”.; And there was one just before the Civil War called the “Second Great Awakening”. These moments are in the history books not just Christian witness.
What does that mean for us? Heidi witnessed people arriving at the arena in wheelchairs, and leaving without them. She witnessed young people age 7-18 coming to know the Lord. She witnessed thousands being touched by God. But you do not need to take her word, you can watch it yourself live on the internet on http://us.God.tv Or… you can come to worship and get some right here.
I have often wondered why people who are atheist and claim to base their beliefs on “reason”, end up denying powerful observable empirical evidence in order to maintain a narrow view of the universe which is more comfortable for them. It doesn’t seem a very “reasonable” thing to do. I invite those who are challenged by faith to try the living God. I am not asking you to believe, but simply open your eyes and minds and see if there is something more. If not, then you have nothing to lose. If there is, then you would not want to miss more love, joy and peace than you ever imagined, would you? That would not seem very intelligent or sane, or reasonable, would it?
Peace and Love,
Bob
1
Apr
2008
 Easter has passed, as well as our Grand Opening, and we are taking a few moments to catch our breath. With over a hundred at each service, as well as seeing new faces each and every week, we are a little overwhelmed at the outpouring of God’s abundant provision.
Okay, break over. <LOL> Just kidding, well no I’m not. The Lord already has us starting to pray and plan for our next big outreach and the start of our second worship center in Northeast Philadelphia. That will not begin until July of 2009, but just as this past year has sped by, it will only seem like a moment until we are already multiplying.
We believe that this is part of God’s plan for His church today. Just like in the begining of Christianity people simply received and then shared what they received with others. It was pretty simple and basic, but it was filled with the presence and power of the living God encountering His people whom He loved enough to die for.
We call this the “kingdom”, and its what Jesus taught his disciples (us) to pray for. Remember, “Thy kingdom come”? You can read it yourself in Matthew 6:9-13. Its not just a cute little prayer people say in church each week. Its a request for the radical intervention of God’s presence into this world which changes everything it encounters. Its revolutionary, although I dislike using a word which is too small to encapsulate the reality. It literally overwhelms and overtakes the forces of fear, greed, poverty, crime, illness, oppression and world forces which support and institutionalize these ways of darkness. The kingdom brings light, and light overwhelms the darkness and darkness flees.
What this means is that people get off drugs, stop hurting each other, start helping each other, start praying, stop fighting, start loving, stop giving in or giving up, and start believing again in hope. Can we really do that? Nope! But God sure can. And we can be there to pray for others and cheer Him on.
Jesus did not die on the cross so that we can have nice Easter eggs and flowers and candy. He died that we might have life, have it abundantly and share it with others. Wow! What a gift. A whole new life, a whole new reality in which you will live forever. A whole new kingdom where you have the right and the audacity to tell the forces of darkness to flee in His name.
Take a moment this Spring to stop and smell the flowers and marvel at God’s creation, and when the moment is over, let’s get busy bringing the Kingdom through worship, prayer and service. Amen and amen!
Love,
Pastor Bob
3
Mar
2008
 Big Easter Celebration for the whole family on Sunday March 23 at 10:00AM. A rousing worship followed by scrumptious treats for everyone and a giant Easter egg hunt for the kids. Everyone is invited!
We are now worshipping every week at Westaby Hall at 10:00 following our Grand Opening on March 2. The parking lot was packed, and people were streaming in to fill the entire hall. It was a glorious worship of our Lord and King! All of heaven celebrated this new work of God in the region. Thanks you too all of you who helped get us to this hour, and who were there to enjoy it.
The Word of the Lord this month is from 2 Timothy 2:14. “Remind them of this and charge them before the Lord to avoid disputing about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”
As Heidi and I have interviewed and met hundreds of people in this region as we prepare this new work of the Lord, the one offense we hear from people about Christians is that we “argue too much”. How can we be representatives of the God of Love, when we can’t even get along among ourselves? The witness of our behavior certainly does not match the words coming out of scripture.
Just as a battery needs to be “charged” to have the power to start our automobile, the Word is “charging” us to be a positive witness of love. Whatever you experience or believe as a Christian, whatever is your tribe or peculiarities, be proud of them and express what you love and believe openly to the whole world as the King leads.
However, there is no need to knock what some other tribe, group, or individual is doing in Christ in order to share or promote your own views. Doing so not only weakens their cause, but yours as well. It “ruins” the hearers to be able to hear the LOVE of God. As scripture tell us there are many streams flowing from the throne which make glad the City of God, and your stream may be different than someone else. There is no need or cause to try and disqualify another.
The Word says to “avoid doing this”. That means to stop doing it ourselves, as well as to not go near it when others do it. Your stream is not defined by the negatives in another, it is defined by the love of Christ in your own.
And so we wish to be a blessing to all our Christian brothers and sisters this Easter and to join with them in preparing a harvest for the King on this resurrection celebration 2008!
5
Feb
2008
 Hello! We wish to begin by thanking all of you for your prayers, well wishes, and words of encouragement over the last few months. The counter on the front of Lighthouses web site (you can also see the rough draft of our I-95 billboard on the front page) says there are 25 days until Grand Opening. March 2, 10:00 AM is the beginning of our “official” start.
The Lord has been pouring out abundance upon us. Being in His presence is such a blessing now that we get to experience His love and Spirit every Sunday. If you haven’t been able to visit with us, check out our worship online. We really hope you will be able to visit us either on March 2, or one of our services in March.
The Word the Lord has given me for this month is Isaiah 35:5-7. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.
When I read the words “burning sands” I immediately think of the hot beach on a July afternoon. You step wtih bare feet onto the blistering sand and your feet start burning as you run to the water’s edge. How wonderful it feels when your feet first hit that cool water. How refreshing and revitalizing to have the burning finally stop. This is the analogy God gives us for what it is like to finally experience His presence. The fever of this life is finally refreshed with living water. Its cool, literally!
We have begun to see some miraculous work as these living streams start to break through the dry dusty ground. New groups and ministries are beginning in the area, people’s hearts, souls, and bodies are being transformed, and God’s presence “with us” changes everything. To a thirsty person a drop of water is life saving, but God pours out waterfalls of it upon our lives. It is not something we have earned or even deserve, its just a gift, a favor and blessing He wishes to bestow.
The land in Bucks County recognizes this “outpouring” as it has been the site of such famous outpourings as the First and Second Great Awakening as well as more recent “revivals” in Cornwells during the early 1960’s, and The Crossing in the 1990’s. We are finding that people’s spirits are also thirsty for the living presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The area is waking up to a new day, the day of the Lord! Grab a cup of coffee and join us for the awakening.
9
Jan
2008
 Happy New Year!
What happens when you cross a Pepsi Cola billboard with a church advertising campaign? No, this is not a riddle. It actually happened to us. We are contracting to put up a billboard on I-95, just North of Bridge St. as you come out of Philly towards Oxford Valley. The art department of Clear Channel got the two campaigns mixed up, and we ended up with an interesting looking ad design. We momentarily considered actually using it, but felt Pepsi might not be amused. So its back to the drawing board.
This turn of events sets us back about three weeks, since we were going to coordinate the art work into our other advertisements (mid week full page ad, and door hangers and brochures). The billboard should be up by the first week in Feb., and then we still need a few weeks to get the the outreach going. Sooooooo, I hope your holidays were wonderful and your New Year is starting out a bit better than ours.
Actually, aside from these minor setbacks everything is wonderfully blessed by the Lord. We had an excellant Christmas Eve candlelight service, our very first ever at Westaby Hall. It was awesome. We continue to experience God’s presence in an outpouring of His Holy Spirit in extraordinary ways. Families are being reunited, finances restored, past hurts healed and lives revitalized in marvelous ways. When heaven breaks open around us, anything is possible.
The Word that Lord gave me to share with you this month is from Acts 18:9-10. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.” I love the encouragement and strength we receive from His Word. It is like a living presence that jumps right off the page and into our hearts. It is a personal message to each one of us as we face the coming New Year. Despite our fears, our feelings, or our feebleness, God can and will do mighty things if we just listen and obey. Praise God!
God also assures us in this passage that he hears the cries of his people in the night. People crying out against the injustices, crying out for the cities to be brought back to Him. He hears the cries of the watchmen and watchwomen who see the cruelty of this world, and the little which is being done by religion to address the hunger of the heart and soul. He hears those crying our for a real visitation of His presence which alone can satisfy with the true “bread of heaven”. Have no fear, our light is coming.
Heidi says to say “Hi”, and Donna is also praying daily for all of you. The Lord’s goal is to simply bless us all. So, despite the setbacks we are going to push on with our launch for Jan. 27. I know many of you were looking forward to it and counting on the Lord’s blessing arriving in a weekly venue. We will therefore gather at Westaby as we continue to pray and worship on a weekly basis. I am certain the Lord will be there as well!
Looking ahead, Donna had a vision for two Women’s Groups to study the Living Word and pray and be encouraged as “Daughters of the King”. Please be in prayer about this. We currently have about 15 groups praying for heaven to open and God’s blessings to pour out upon our entire region. We hope to have 25-30 groups by this time next year as the Lord blesses. We will also do an “official” Grand Opening of our worship when all the advertising and brochures and stuff are in place. We will keep you updated about that. We would like to have the Chamber of Commerce there for a ribbon cutting, as well as some local dignitaries, and of course the most important person….you!
Thank you for your prayers, your love and your support. We love to hear what the Lord is doing in your lives so keep those testimonies coming in. I hope to see you Sunday January 27, at 10:00 at Westaby Hall. God loves you and so do I.
Pastor Bob
5
Dec
2007
 It is a snowy night in December and I am looking out on a barren, yet beautiful, winter landscape. I am reflecting back to a year ago when we had a small group of people praying and not much else. God has blessed us so abundantly. All praise and thanks unto Him!
We currently have 15+ house churches, and we have just completed our final monthly “worship together” time. We are all geared up for the Dec. 24th Christmas Eve service, and then on Jan. 27 we start worship together every single week.
In the past year we went from a barren winter landscape to the first signs of green grass and the promise of a lush springtime. When God gives a promise you have to believe it and live as if there is nothing that can stop it. We call that “faith”.
Our house groups continue to have powerful experiences with the living God. We have seen hearts and lives transformed. The Holy Spirit always shows up and instructs and guides us into deeper truth and intimacy. It is amazing!
Our youth groups start tomorrow, and we have a brand new house group for young adults that watches a movie and then discusses the Christian implications and meanings. We have ironed out our sound system issues and are planning our big outreach for the worship launch in January. We are considering a billboard on I-95 as a BIG way of saying “hi” to our region. We also have our worship online somewhat operational here at http://www.lhov.org/Experience2.html
I encourage all of you with these words from 1 Peter 5:4 …”And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory”. Do not ever give up or give in, keep pressing in on the promises Christ has given over your life. Do NOT believe the voices which tell you that you cannot make it, and DO believe the Word which promises you abundant life.
Wishing all of you a healthy and happy Christmas season and a joyous New Year. We hope to see you Christmas Eve at Westaby Hall!
Pastor Bob
2
Nov
2007
 Wishing all of our Lighthouse friends a very joyous Thanksgiving season. We have so much to be Thankful for, but the most important reason is the love of God our Father who just keeps on blessing us out of all proportion to what we desire or deserve. We call it “blessing our socks off”. Yeaaaaa God!
In Jeremiah 44:1-14, the prophet delivers a word from God to His people. In this passage He is reminding them that adversity is a direct result of our wrong relationships. This is a constant message of the prophets and leaves many to feel that they are just doom and gloom messengers.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The message is always delivered with a word of hope, that if we but turn, and restore our relationship to God, in that instant the deliverance begins. Our Lord and savior Jesus adds the He can forgive us of all wrongdoing and actually heal our diseases and infirmities caused by our own sin and poor choices in life. Not only are we made new, but all old debts are paid off as well.
Praise God for that good news! And so we give thanks that if it wasn’t for His great love, all our lives would be lost in darkness as we once experienced before we knew Him. What has God done for you lately? A lot! Lets stop and say, “Thank you God”.
We also want to take a moment to remind you of our upcoming monthly worship on Nov. 11, 10 am at Westaby Hall. We also remind you that we are always adding new Lighthouse Groups in the area. Please check out the “Groups” page for dates, times, locations and maps. I also encourage you to pray for our churches, as well as consider visiting one. http://LHOV.org/groups.html
Speaking of prayer, we have a new improved Online House of Prayer to post all your prayer needs and have people praying for you around the clock. http://LHOV.org/prayer.html
We apologize we do not have last month’s worship online, but we had technical difficulties with some of our new equipment. It should be good to go for November. We have two new state of the art cameras and two new projectors thanks to the generosity of some of our friends. All of our sound equipment came in and special thanks to George’s Music for a wonderful discount and all their great service.
Everyone we meet and talk to can feel the excitment of the Lord around this movement. Come as you are….leave changed. God is here, He’s in a good mood, He loves you and wants to “bless your socks off”. All you need to do is show up and say, “Thank you”!
Pastor Bob
2
Oct
2007
 It has begun! With a great deal of thankfulness and awe, we celebrated our very first “Worship Together” at Westaby Hall on Sept. 16. Expecting only a handful of people to walk through this initial gathering in preparation for our launch in Jan., we were pleasantly suprised to welcome 50 people.
Our next Worship Together time is Oct. 14, at 10:00 AM. We will be adding child care at this service. These historic first services have left us with a profound sense that we are witnessing the beginning of something great that the Lord is doing. If you cannot make these services, we now have portions of them online for you to participate. The Podcast is located here http://www.lhov.org/Experience2.html
I am doing a teaching tonight in our House Church from the Old Testament, 1 Kings 12:1-15. We see in that passage, that even though the king made a bad choice, God already knew in advance he was going to do that, and purposed it for the eventual good of the kingdom. We are never ever outside the will of God, no matter how bad things may seem, or how much the enemy may seem to be in control. God can use it all, and turn it for our good.
And so on this golden autumn morning when the sun is shining and the sky clear and blue, it is easy to see the way in which God is working. At times like this it is easy to affirm that He is Lord. The challenge comes when the sky is not so clear, and the weather not so freindly, and life takes some difficult roads which we do not understand at the time. All we have in the valley is our faith and trust that He is God.
We have developed a little slogan for Lighthouses. “There is one King……You’re not it”! We intended it to be funny, but we now take a great deal of comfort and solace from this simple message, God is in charge. That seems to be the message and lesson for all of human history from Adam and Eve, until the last prophetic passages of Revelation are fulfilled. We are here to learn that God is King.
Bob
6
Sep
2007
 The little countdown thingy on the front page (I love that) says that there are nine days left until our very first “Worship Together” time. It is going to be Sunday, September 16, 10:00 AM at Westaby Hall, right next to the Fire House behind Wal Mart. Its about a mile from Oxford Valley Mall and Sesame Place. The hall seats 400 with a great stage, so there is plenty of room.
We have the equipment, the musicians, the signs are being printed, and about a year’s worth of prayer poured into this moment. I know the Lord will be there. I sure hope you can be there with us as well.
The section of the web site on “worship” has been completed, so please take a look around. It should give you some feel for what its going to be like. Directions to the worship can also be found there. We are listing our House Churches as well, and I hope to have directions up to them shortly.
Our goal this Fall, is to add one thing each month to our monthly worship. In October we will be adding child care. In November we will have our Sunday Children’s Program, and by Decemeber we hope to have our outreach teams ready for the BIG KICKOFF of every Sunday preview services the end of January.
We will then have preview worship every Sunday in Febuary, except the last Sunday, when we will conclude our Grand Outreach (details to follow), and on Sunday March 2 we begin our Month long LAUNCH leading up to Easter. We are also worshipping each week in our House Groups and growing in the Lord.
Now is the time, we would like to ask you to pray about your committment to Lighhouses. We will be opening new House Churches, needing volunteers for Children’s Programs and Youth, as well as tasks like setting up, ushering, mailings, outreach, and prayer teams. Please ask the Lord if He would like for you to do something.
The amount of joy, love, glory and peace the Holy Spirit has been giving us is awesome. We were joking the other day saying it has to be a sin to feel this good. If you can use a little, or a lot, of some good stuff in your life, God wants to impart His blessings to you. We never imagined He had so much to give. It has changed everything.
So mark that date on your calendar, bring your Starbucks or a snack, its OK to eat during worship. Wear your jeans or whatever you feel like wearing, and come ready to recieve God’s blessings. “Come as you are…..Leave changed”.
May God richly bless you,
Bob
5
Aug
2007
 I hope you all are having a wonderful summer. The Lord is so gracious to us. We have been studying Isaiah 6:10, where the prophet tells us that all we need to do is “turn to the Lord and be healed”. Jesus then re states that passage for us in Matthew 13:10-17, where he tells his disciples if we “turn to Him, we shall be healed. Therefore, all healing and restoration, revival and reformation begins with simply “turning”, and God does the rest!
I can’t imagine what is like any longer to live life without the ability to turn to the Lord with everything. Yet there is a whole world out there who still needs to hear this Good News. All they have to do is “turn”, right now, no other conditions, no other requirements, just “turn”, and His great love and mercy brings us home. That is just how the kingdom works.
We have been witnessing, and now bear testimony of His great provision and healing in our own lives here at Lighhouses this summer. He has led us a bit bigger in our vision, to extend our focus to the whole nation. We began a new work called America Mission, to begin the praying and seeding of His kingdom all over our country. You can read more about this work here http://www.AmericaMission.org
We are also in final preparations for our first public “worship together” next month. The musicians, the equipment, and a place has been generously provided by the Lord. The music is awesome, but the presence of God is even better. Heaven has been opened and His blessings rain down, and you can literally feel the “kingdom come”.
What else? I saw a vision of His storehouse. Endless golden fields of whatever our hearts desire, waiting…waiting for us. He showed me that an entire generation has left these storehouses untouched, while trying to meet their needs with worldy posessions. Jesus rejected the kingdom of wealth when Satan offered it to him, as well as all the kingdoms of this world ( Matthew 4:8 ). I can see why he did, its not worth comparing to the riches He has, as the Apostle Paul tells us. Immediately after the temptations Jesus proclaimed, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”.
That is now our proclaimation!
Pastor Bob
5
Jul
2007
Our July 4th event was a huge success! Thank you, Thank you, Thank You. To all who helped, prepared, and showed up, we are so grateful. The sound of praise and worship to our God and King rang all over Heidi’s apartment complex of 500 units, and out into the surrounding region. It was awesome to worship in His presence outdoors.
We shared hot dogs, watermelon and drinks, along with good conversation to all visitors and guests. It was the very first time our new worship team came together and the sound was phenomenal. The kids swam, even though it was a little cool, and the rest of us just enjoyed meeting some of the other Lighthouse regulars and guests. Outdoor worship promises to be a long tradition with this new movement.
We started our eighth Lighthouse this month, with nine, ten and eleven already in the works. I promise to get the page up with times and locations soon. Our K.O. Lighthouse (Kids Only) had a BBQ and get together, and this may be an idea for all our groups this summer. Although our focus in all our groups is more on worship, prayer and Bible Study, a little fellowship is great sometimes too. We had our first Communion at Tuesday group this month, and that was very special as the Lord blessed us in a significant way.
The Lord showing up at all of our meetings and events and communicating with us personally has become, well, expected. For those not familiar with the Lord talking with His people, we encourage them to read John 10: 27, where Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me”. We have discovered that God speaking with His children is not unusual or kookie, but is a loving part of a fatherly relationship. Could you imagine having a relationship to someone without talking to them?
God’s Word, our Bible, tells us about God’s love, but it is the Love itself that we desire and need to experience. When that happens, phenomenal things occur in people’s lives, as you may well imagine when God gets involved. The text in the Word inspires us to have our own ongoing relationship to Him. He speaks to each of His children differently, and we are learning to listen and comprehend. The one message we keep hearing over and over is that we need to expand our thinking and living to receive the vastness of what He wishes to give. Our understanding is way too small to define and limit what He wished to accomplish through and with us.
We have learned to desire and ask for one thing, More of God!
9
Jun
2007
Our Word this month comes from Acts 18:9-10 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city”.
Please pray on this Word, and pray for the people the Lord loves in the cities around us, for they are many.
We have a schedule for some upcoming “Worship Together” events we are excited about:
Lighthouses Worship Together Events
Heidi and Bob will be leading worship together at some Reformed Churches this summer to bring them the good word about the work the Lord is doing among us. You are all invited, but the worship may be different (traditional).
June 24 10 AM Readington Reformed Church Readington, NJ
July 8 9:00 (traditional) and 10:45 (contemporary) AM Addisville Reformed Church Richboro,Pa.
Aug. 19 Times to be announced North Branch Reformed Church North Branch, NJ
This Fall we will start our “Worship Together” once each month leading up to our BIG weekly “kick off” in Feb.
The dates are:
Sept. 16 10 AM Oct. 14 10 AM Nov. 11 10 AM Dec. 2 10 AM
We will be gathering in a relaxing atmosphere to welcome our heavenly Father. Each month we will be praying into and trying a variety of music and word as the Spirit leads.
Our final “Every Sunday Kickoff” for launch will be Jan. 27, 2008 at 10 AM with every Sunday worship complete with Sunday School for the kids:
We will also have two retreat dates planned, a time apart for prayer and training for those committed to the core team for planting: The first of those dates is Sat. Oct. 13, 9-3 by the fireplace in the Clubhouse at Windsor. Our guest leader will be Pastor Doug McClintic The second retreat will be in March after launch.
Love,
Pastor Bob
11
May
2007
 We believe that there is currently an open door in heaven (Revelation 4:1-2) allowing the Father’s blessing to literally pour down upon us in ways unimagined in previous generations. We are expecting to welcome a billion souls into the Kingdom from all over the globe, to see hearts healed, lives restored, and destinies aligned with the will of God.
If that sounds exciting to you, and we can’t imagine who wouldn’t, then we want to keep you informed of the work that is going on in our little corner of the Kingdom, here on the East Coast of the United States. We are experiencing revival and seeing the miraculous power of the intervention of the Holy Spirit into bodies, minds, and relationships. We also invite you to pray with us for the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lighthouses of Oxford Valley.
There are many exciting developments we wish to share with you as they happen. We are birthing one new Lighthouse Church each month, as well as planning the beginning of our “worship together” time. I can’t even begin to imagine the power of those events after experiencing what the Lord is doing in each of the House Groups. Wow!
More updates in the days ahead as we hope to get an automatic subscription link here, so you can recieve these little news items right to your e-mail or home page. But in the meantime check back here to stay “In the River”.
Pastor Bob
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