The Thursday Update

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

People all over the world are sick, hurting, and hungry.  Often, it is outside of their control to change their plight and they need someone to help them and care for them if they are to make it. 

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ was someone who cared for the sick, the hurting, and the hungry with perfect compassion and authentic concern.  Today, people are looking for this kind of care at really high levels.  Along with that, they're looking for hope, a hope that won’t fade over time.  Wouldn’t it be great if they could find it from Jesus?

They can.

God has called the church to be His tangible hands and feet to care for others the way His Son Jesus did.  If we do, we can help people see God’s love in Jesus and trust Him through the means of our care for their physical, temporal needs.  Over the next three Sundays, we'll look at three accounts of Jesus showing His care for others and learn how we can do the same when others need it.  Most importantly, we can help them find faith and eternal life through it all.

If you want to learn how to care for people even more like Jesus does, these weeks will help.  And if you know people who want to care for people even more than they do, invite them to join you.

Warmly,
Vince

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

The election is behind us.  With all the tension and crazy things being said this election season by so many people on all sides, I for one am glad it’s over.  I bet you are too.

We will have a new president, a new balance of power in the senate, and some changes in the house of representatives.  About 52 percent of the country is happy about the outcome and about 48% is not.  It’s virtually the same every four years, though the people in each group can change with each cycle.  There will be changes in our nation in the years ahead, and we hope it will be the kind of good change that helps our nation operate with moral clarity, innocent life protections, religious freedom maintained, and leaders who depend deeply on God.  We don’t know if that will be the case, only time will tell.

I was reminded in my quiet time this morning in 1 Timothy 2:1-7 that we are called to pray for those in authority over us.  It doesn’t matter what you think of those who won and will be over us, we must pray for them anyway.  After all, Paul said this while the government of his day, the Roman Empire, was persecuting Christians and blaming believers for things that they actually didn’t do, all to punish them and distract the people from their problems (they even started destructive fires on purpose so that they could blame Christians and justify persecuting them).  So I’m pretty sure that means we must pray for our leaders whether they have a “D”, “R” or any other letter after their name that we like or don’t like.   

But one thing never changes from election to election, from administration to administration, from righteous to unrighteous government: God is still on the throne!

No matter the election results, or the perceived political implications of those who won (be they good or bad), God is in charge!  All political leaders are His servants (Romans 13:1-7) and they do what He leads them to do (if it’s good) or allows them to do (if it’s bad).  God is always in control of what happens in our country and in the world.  Proverbs 21:1 says that the heart of the king is in the Lord’s hands and He guides it how He pleases.  John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, famously said, “The duty is ours, the results are God’s.”  That is so true and so comforting to me.  I hope it comforts you.  We can’t ever lose sight of this amazing truth.

And remember that if you’re a Christian, Jesus informed us that God’s kingdom is not from this world.  That always holds true.  It’s only when He returns to earth one day very soon that every wrong will be made right and we will live in a righteous world.  That’s our ultimate hope… at least it should be.  The kingdom of God will not arrive on Air Force One.

I hope to see you on Thursday for Midweek Bible Study and for Sunday services.  Both topics are going to be great ones to help you grow and be reminded that God is still on the throne!

Warmly,
Vince

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

Each year, the month of October is designated as Pastor Appreciation Month.  While it’s not a popular or well known month, it is a chance for people in the church to express their love for their pastors.  With October coming to a close, on behalf of all five of us Pastors, I want to say thank you for your cards, gifts and kind words for us this past month.  It’s been a blessing to receive such encouragement from you.  The truth is that you do this year round so consistently and practically.  Every Sunday, I leave church encouraged by the things you do for God and for others.  I’m also encouraged by the way you long to grow in your faith by attending and growing with a hungry heart for God and the Bible.  To my way of thinking, that’s your greatest gift of appreciation to me.

For all of this, I say thank you, Lakeshore!

My hope is that you feel encouraged by being at church each week.  That’s one of the goals of the church (Hebrews 10:23-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11) and one of our many objectives each Sunday, even when the topics are also challenging on any given Sunday.

Isn’t encouragement so good to experience in our own lives and to extend to others as well?  This is why I’m excited about what we’ll learn together in our current series, “Defeating Discouragement.”  By looking at the Psalms, we’ll find the encouragement we need for this hard and sometimes discouraging life.  And you seem to be excited as well based on our attendance last Sunday and the things being said.

Let’s keep encouraging each other!  And let’s invite more people to join us so they can find the encouragement that God offers through His church.

Warmly,
Vince