The Thursday Update

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

What do you think about when I mention an event in the Bible called the Rapture of the church?  Based on my many years of experience, many people either don’t know about it or know so little about it that they lack any sense of appreciation for what it is.  And that includes so many Christians.

I think many people know more about Taylor Swift’s current concert schedule than God’s end-time prophetic schedule, which begins with the Rapture of the church.

How could it be that this incredible event—this absolutely world transforming event—is treated with such indifference?  I think there are many reasons:

1. Many churches don’t believe in it.  They have some vague concept that Jesus may come back and leave it at that.  The Rapture is too detailed and controversial to them.

2. Many churches are more focused on social justice issues and trying to change the planet.  In their efforts to focus on these temporal issues, they fail to realize that the only change that will make a difference is when individual lives are changed by Jesus.

3. Many Christians don’t know much about it.  In fact, they know so little about God’s plan for the future and that is sad because one-fourth of the Bible is spent on detailing the future.

4. Many people are living for this life and don’t concern themselves with the afterlife.  What makes this so sad is that compared to this life, the afterlife is infinitely longer.

Despite these facts, we’re out to change this by teaching you all about the Rapture of the church on Sunday.  It’s so important that it's called the "blessed hope" in Titus 2:14.  It is the event that is so consequential that it will rescue every true Christian from the seven-year tribulation period that ends the world as we know it, and will leave behind everyone who is not a Christian to try and endure this time of great trouble.  Those left behind after the Rapture of the church will endure a time of trouble that is so severe that an entire book of the Bible (Revelation) is dedicated to explaining it in painstaking detail.

How could this incredible event be seen with such indifference?

I hope you’ll be here on Sunday.  I hope you’ll invite as many people as are open to it to join you.  I’ll break it down in an easy-to-understand way and answer all of the big questions that you have about it.

Warmly,
Vince

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Hey Lakeshore—

Times have been tough for so many people in so many ways, to say the least.  As I am writing this, Hurricane Milton is making landfall in Florida.  My heart goes out to all the families who are facing this storm and myself and everyone here at Lakeshore are praying for God’s hand of protection upon them.   The same holds true for the people who are trying to put things back together in the wake of Hurricane Helene.  It’s hard to make sense of all this at times, but there is solace in knowing that God is not absent in times like these.  He is very present. 

It’s times like these we must remember what the Psalmist wrote in chapter 46:

“God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.

 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

But events like these always tend to leave us asking “why?  why God?” 

This Sunday, I'm going to do my best to share that why from Scripture.  We've been in a series called “What in the World is Happening?” and this week, we are raising that very question… What is Happening in the World?  I hope to see you then.

In Him,
Pastor Brian

OCTOBER 4, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

Hurricane Helene ripped through our country quickly last week and left a path of devastation.  Everyday people like us who were just living each day normally two weeks ago are now at a very different place.  As of Wednesday, 170 people have died and the number is likely to rise since hundreds are still missing.  Towns and homes are devastated and the relief efforts will take time.  Rebuilding will take years.  But for many, lives have been lost with little notice.

I can’t imagine what this must be like for people affected by it.  Let’s pray for the people impacted.  Pray right now so you don’t let it slip your mind.

It all reminds me that every day is precious and life is fragile.  We never know when or how we’ll spend our last day on earth.  It’s especially true when we consider the future.  What will God do in the days ahead in America?  It will involve more than just wondering who will win the presidential election in less than 5 weeks.  Do you ever wonder what God says about our future?  Things can turn bad really quickly in our nation and I am really concerned that we are on the fast track there right now.

So what should we do?  Here are a few things:

1. Seek and find faith in Jesus if you are not yet a Christian.  If you miss this, one day you will seriously regret it forever.

2. Make sure you are walking with God.  Are you reading the Bible on your own?  Living a holy life?  Caring for others like Jesus did?

3. Get ready for the future that God outlines in the Bible for the end of all things as we now know them.  In the words of Jesus be ready because you do not know when He will return.

I hope this new Sunday teaching series will help with the last one, because life is fragile and short.

Warmly,
Vince