Pastor's Weekly Update

JULY 18, 2024

Hey Lakeshore—

Now that we have a better understanding of what it's like to live in “tornado alley,” we can go back again to summering hard.  I don’t know about you, but the winds near our home on Monday and Tuesday were ferocious.  I was amazed as I watched wind drive the rain in sheets across the front lawn.  At one point I remember looking for the funnel cloud because there was a rotation to the wind that I had never seen before.  It was lashing the trees and knocking down branches.  It was mesmerizing to watch.

Obviously, I was not paying any attention to the warnings going off on my phone, or on the news.  I kept watching to make sure everything was OK.  Although if all of a sudden something wasn’t OK, I’m not sure what I would have done.  Going to the basement didn’t occur to me.  I’ve never had to do that.  I’ve never seen a storm like this before.

The Bible gives us warnings about things to come, things we haven’t seen before.  What do we do with those warnings?  Do we ignore them like the high wind warnings we had this past week?  Do we just hope for the best?  Maybe we can put confidence in our own abilities to deal with the situation?  All have been tried before. 

But what do we do when God warns us?  This Sunday, we'll look at how one of the heroes in “Faith’s Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11) responded to the warning of God and changed human history.

See you Sunday!

Love and blessings,
Pastor Brian

JULY 11, 2024

Hey Lakeshore—

We are in full swing of the summer season here at Lakeshore!  With the start of our By Faith series, celebrating 5 student baptisms this week, and LOVE WEEK on the horizon, there is no better time to be part of what God is doing here!

We've also officially begun our final phase of technology and production updates in the auditorium and throughout the campus.  You’ve been hearing for a few weeks now that things are going to look a bit different.  This is the first week of that reality and we just ask for a little extra grace and patience as we do our best to navigate some temporary set-ups.  Of course, this is all to minister better to everyone and for the future generations.

I hope to see you this Sunday as we continue diving into Hebrews 11, looking at the next 'Hall of Faith-er,' Enoch.  It’s a fascinating story and super practical for our everyday!

See you then.

Pastor Brian

JULY 3, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

As we get ready to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow on July 4th, this special holiday means many things to different people.  For some, it’s a day to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States of America.  For others, it’s a day filled with parades, family cookouts, and fireworks.  And still for some, it’s simply a day off from work. 

Independence Day is really a day to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  This was the day that the thirteen colonies declared to the world why they regarded themselves as independent sovereign states who were no longer subject to British colonial rule.

One of the most famous statements from the Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I love this statement because while the document declares our independence from Great Britain, the authors recognize our dependence on God – the creator of all of mankind, who are all equal in His sight, and all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  They knew that without God, none of this would be possible, and as history has shown us, the natural inclination of the human heart is to strip people of these unalienable rights.

This Independence Day, I want to encourage you to give thanks to God for the men and women throughout American history who have fought for our independence as a nation.  In addition, I hope you will pause and tell God how dependent you are on Him for everything including the freedom from the bondage of sin through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. 

Happy Independence Day,
Frank D.