The Thursday Update

APRIL 24, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

This past Holy Weekend is the greatest one of the year, along with being the busiest. I hope you enjoyed it and that our services helped make it really meaningful.

At Lakeshore, we had four services that brought in a high attendance of 1,720 people, which is close to an all-time high, and three of the four services were somewhere between comfortably full and packed. I want to thank you for inviting people to church, even if they didn’t attend. I met many of your friends and saw some of the many friends I invited. I also thank those of you who are taking yard signs. Let’s keep them up all summer and hope that people visit Lakeshore because of it.

As we leave this great weekend, I think this coming weekend will be a really good one as well. We'll kick off a brand new series in Philippians called, “How to Find Joy in Life.” Can you think of a more timely series than this?

There are so many people are struggling to find joy in our joy-sapping world and I’m convinced the main reason is because people are looking for joy in all the wrong places. As we’ll see, joy is a choice, and it’s only when you know how to choose joy will you be able to find it. We'll talk about how to find joy in relationships, in tough circumstances, in conflict, in stressful times, and in so many more circumstances and moments.

So thanks again for being a part of last weekend and I hope to see you this weekend for the kick off of this new series.

Warmly,
Vince

APRIL 16, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Today, Lakeshore officially turns 30 years old. I love to tell the story of our very first service. Looking back, April 16, 1995 was such an amazing day in our history:

The weather was nice but chilly. After three practice services the previous Sundays, and after 14,464 direct mailers were sent out to all homeowners 54 years old and younger (I was only 33 years old back then), Lakeshore held its first public service.... In a bar.... At the Marriott hotel.... That held 75 adults comfortably.... The rest had to sit in a booth and watch the service.... Seated sideways (you paid a price for being late back then). On that day, 112 people showed up and three people became Christians in the somewhat beer-scented bar. It was an exciting day for our family and many others. Lakeshore Church was born.

Thank you to everyone who has made this work of God we know as Lakeshore possible. Your attendance, involvement, generosity, serving, and support have all been used by God to do amazing things.

For as great a day as that day was, there is a much greater day coming on Sunday: the resurrection of Jesus Christ! No day in human history was more meaningful in the entire history of the world. Think of it— no day is as great and earth-shattering as the day that Jesus became the first person ever to rise from the dead in a new body (Lazarus and others were technically resuscitated back to their same body). And because of it, this day means more for people than any other day.

We’ll explain it all at our Easter services this weekend as I talk about, “Why Easter Means Everything.” We’ll do our best to celebrate and explain the greatness of Easter, and our hope is that you’ll be here along with friends you invite to join you. Easter is the one holiday where more people come to church than any other day of the year, so it stands to reason that we should make as many invitations to others as we possibly can. I hope you have or will invite every friend, family member, coworker, and neighbor that you can.

Holy Weekend kicks off with a Good Friday service at 7:00 pm. We’ll remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and take communion together.

We are still just as passionate about reaching people in Rochester as we were 30 years ago! That’s not the norm for churches, because most gradually turn inward and focus on their own needs. This weekend is another opportunity for all of us to point people to the cross, the empty tomb and the Good News.

Warmly,
Vince

APRIL 10, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

When we get a full, clear, and biblically accurate view of the cross, we see that it is a place where Jesus suffered on every possible level.

Physically, it was the most torturous death ever invented by humans. Emotionally, it meant that Jesus would be treated as unfairly as anyone has ever been treated. Relationally, Jesus was rejected by the majority of His own people, the nation of Israel, and mocked as a common criminal even though He was the innocent Son of God. And spiritually is where Jesus suffered the most, when He was forsaken by God the Father (Matthew 27:45-47 from Psalm 22:1-2) and took upon Himself every sin of every person who has ever lived (2 Corinthians 5:21) so that we might be reconciled with God and forgiven through faith in this infinitely valuable sacrifice.

It’s easy to see why that’s the case. But have you ever considered what the cross means to us and how we should view it? So few people and so few Christians really do.

I say that because of what Jesus said to those who wanted to follow Him in Luke 9:23 and again in Luke 14:25-27: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

There are lots of people who want to wear a cross, but precious few who want to carry a cross. And yet, that’s what Jesus calls us to do. And it really makes sense in light of the fact that Christians should want to be like Jesus… yes, even in our sufferings!

What crosses are you willing to bear if you are a true follower of Jesus? It may be a physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual cross that God has called you to bear. While always hard, it is the path we are called to if we take our faith seriously.

The good news? There’s always an Easter Sunday following Good Friday. God will do the same for us when we take up our crosses daily and follow him.

Warmly,
Vince