The Wednesday Update

Lakeshore Friends—

At various times in our lives, we all have watched and waited for someone great to appear or something great to happen.

As kids, we watched and waited for what Santa might bring for us under the tree.  We watched and waited for our first day of school or college and what it might bring.  We watched and waited for a special delivery that would arrive in the mailbox or on the front porch.  If you are married, you watched and waited for what your husband or wife would look like in their fancy wedding attire.  We watched and waited for a promotion or a big raise at work.  The list could go on and on.

Maybe today, you’re watching and waiting for something or someone.

One thing that I know is true for the discerning follower of Jesus is that they are watching and waiting for His soon return. 

We know a few things about His return:

1. No one knows exactly when it will occur but it can occur at any time (aka. Imminency, Matthew 24:36).
2. God gives us clear signs that tell us we are getting close to the day of His return and the signs will increase in strength and frequency as we get closer (Matthew 24:4-14).
3. The Lord will return in two phases: the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming to earth. 
4. Phase one will be His return to the clouds to take every Christian from the earth back with Him to heaven (the Rapture of the church, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 
5. Phase two will be His return to the earth to establish His kingdom on earth (the Second Coming, Matthew 24:30).
6. Only a small minority of people will actually be ready for His return.

On Sunday, I will be talking about one of the most important passages on how to watch and wait wisely for His return, the parable of the ten virgins.  It’s not a story about how to properly raise your daughters or how to find a godly woman to marry if you’re a single man (though the title may lead you to think that way 😊).  Instead, it is a parable showing us the right and wrong way to watch and wait for Christ’s return.

The Lord is coming soon (Philippians 4:5, James 5:8, Revelation 3:11, 22:12, 22:20) and I want everyone who attends Lakeshore to be ready!

I hope you’ll make the time to be here on Sunday, our final Sunday with two services before the move to three services on September 20… but you already knew that, right?

Watching and ready,

Vince

Dear Lakeshore Friends,

Prepared. It’s a simple word, but an important one. Being prepared means doing something today so that we are ready for something that will happen in the future. Sometimes it means something as simple as packing for a trip. Other times, it means preparing for something that could change everything.

Jesus had a lot to say about being prepared. Sometimes He taught us how to prepare for things we will face in this life. But at other times, He spoke about preparing for what awaits us in eternity.

This Sunday, we’ll look at one of Jesus’ parables that challenges us to prepare now for what will take place later. What Jesus teaches in this parable could not be more important—not only for how we live our lives today, but for the next life.

I hope you’ll make plans to join us this Sunday at Lakeshore. I believe this is a message you will not want to miss. And if you can’t be here in person, I encourage you to tune in to our live stream and be part of the service with us.

I want us all to be prepared.

Until Sunday!

Pastor Brian

Hey Lakeshore!

All of us want to know that our lives matter. We want to feel successful, secure, and valuable. And whether we realize it or not, we often use what we own, what we earn, or what we have accomplished to prove our worth—to ourselves and to others.

But Jesus warns us, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” If our worth is not determined by what we have, where does it come from? And what happens when the things we have worked so hard to accumulate can no longer provide the security or significance we expected from them?

That’s what we’ll look at this Sunday as we unpack Jesus’ parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12. Through this story, Jesus exposes the danger of building our identity around temporary things and shows us a much better way to understand what makes our lives truly valuable.

Together, we’ll learn how our worth isn’t measured by what we own.

I hope you’ll be here Sunday as we learn from the wisdom of Jesus and discover where our true worth is found.

In Him,

Brian