The Thursday Update

DECEMBER 18, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

One of the great anxiety-producing aspects of Christmas is finding the right gifts for the people we love.

Unless we really plan ahead and start early, we have about a month to purchase all the gifts we hope will make so many others happy. We want their gift to be something they really like. We hope it will be something that reflects how much we care about them. And we want it to reflect thoughtfulness on our part so that when they open their gift, they will experience all of this and more.

We have all received gifts that have met and not met this criteria.

One year, when my wife and I were dating I gave her a gift that was wrapped inside a ring box. She thought it was going to be an engagement ring. Instead, it was a small cookie! Needless to say, that did not meet the criteria I just outlined! (No worries, however. I eventually gave her an engagement ring inside a gigantic 16” round cookie with the words, “Will You Marry Me?” written on the cookie. She said yes and finally forgave me for the aforementioned gift!).

A few years ago, at our staff gift-exchange Christmas party, a staff member gave me pretty cool gift, something called a “Battery Daddy”. It holds lots of batteries and organizes them by size. And it has a battery tester so you can measure your batteries life. I love that thing!

But regardless of the physical gifts we give, there is one gift that we can give people that will last forever: an invitation to come to faith in Jesus. It’s the gift they will really like. They will know how much we (and God) cares about them. And they will see our thoughtfulness in giving it to them. If you are a Christian, you know that all of this is absolutely true!

With Christmas just a few days away, why not give people the gift of Jesus? You can do so in so many ways, but one great way is to invite them to church on Sunday and again to one of our three Christmas Eve services the following Tuesday and Wednesday. People are as open as ever to attending church at Christmas and your invitation may be the thing that gets them to attend! It really could be!

Last week, when I invited a former town police chief in the area, he texted me this response: “You are the first pastor of all those pastors from our meetings… that reached out like this! I’m honored!” He then told me he will be there with his wife and his kids if they don’t have to work.

An invitation could be the greatest gift you ever give someone!

I hope to see you, and a family member or friend with you on Sunday!

Warmly,

Vince
Senior Pastor

DECEMBER 11, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

The busy season has arrived.

People are busier than ever with more activities than usual. You know all the culprits— parties, school events, shopping, cards, end-of-year work deadlines and the like. And the consequences of this busier season aren’t always good. Sometimes, they can even mess with your soul in a negative way. You have less time for the things that truly matter— God, people, and your own spiritual growth.

Is there an answer to all the busyness? I believe that there is.

We have to find ways to get back to a more simple Christmas. Getting back to what it really is all about.

That’s our goal in a series we’re beginning on Sunday. Rather than describing it, I’ll wait until Sunday to tell you all about it.

I don’t want to add to your busyness 😊

Warmly,

Vince
Senior Pastor

DECEMBER 4, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

One of the most common questions people have about the gospel— the Good News message of eternal life found through faith in Jesus Christ alone— is what about those who have never heard it? What about the person in a far away place who doesn’t come across any Christians? What about the person in our neighborhood who has never heard a clear and compelling presentation of the gospel message? Will everyone have a chance?

This is a crucial question and one that impacts me personally. I became a Christian 42 years ago when a friend of mine who had just became a Christian shared the gospel with me. I remember it vividly and knew what he was telling me was true because the Holy Spirit was making the truth of this gospel presentation clear to me. It took two more months before I accepted the gospel and received Jesus into my life by faith, but when I did my life was radically changed.

But here is the sad news. Except for one person who gave me a little pamphlet on what it means to be a Christian (and that person was not living a godly life at the time), I do not recall hearing the gospel message for the first 22 years of my life. In America, of all places, the land that has sent so many missionaries to so many countries and where there are so many churches and so many Christians. How can that be?

While it is clear that people in other parts of the world haven’t heard the gospel yet, I wonder how many Americans have never heard a clear and simple presentation of it today? I think it’s a lot more than any of us realize.

Back to my original question, I think the answer is that there are so many people here and around the world that have not heard the gospel yet. And we have to do all we can to give everyone a chance to hear it and choose how they will respond. So what are we supposed to do? Two things are clear:

We’re called to tell everyone we can about the gospel, whether they are across the street or around the world (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:18-20). This is not a suggestion but a command of God to every Christian.

We’re promised by God that one day everyone will hear the gospel and have a choice to make during the great 7-year tribulation that will be coming to the world very soon, after the Rapture of the Church (Matthew 24:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). This is God’s curtain call to everyone, a chance before He returns to the earth.

So what do we do in between the two— between today (when not everyone has heard here and in every nation), and the end times (when God will ensure that during the tribulation that everyone has heard)?

We tell everybody we can! We tell our friends, family, and others we see personally by sharing it with them and answering their questions. And we tell others who are far away through our support of missionaries and Christian organizations who are near them and who can tell them personally. And finally, we get the message out through every means available like print, social media, and the like so that we give every single person every single chance to accept the gospel.

If we believe that the gospel is really Good News (and it is!), we tell others so that everyone has a chance to receive Jesus into their lives. Then, we leave the rest to God to fulfill His promise that one day all will hear.

On Sunday, I’ll unpack what God says is true about sharing the Good News with others and how this can shape our lives in six critical ways.

If people matter to God (and they do!), and if people matter to you (and I believe they do!), then let’s do all we can to help as many people as possible hear the gospel that brings the only cure to our sin problem as well as the only hope for our eternal destiny.

Warmly,

Vince
Senior Pastor