The Thursday Update

MARCH 27, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

With Good Friday and Easter just over 3 weeks away, our attentions turn to all that Jesus did on that weekend with an increased intensity and focus. That’s the hope.

Jesus' sacrifice began on Thursday night, by our timekeeping standards. His arrest, trials, and scourging occurred throughout the evening, and when the morning came, he was forced to carry His own cross beam (the horizontal beam where he would have His wrists nailed) to Golgotha, or Calvary. And at 9:00am, He was crucified and suffered six hours of incredible agony.

The cross had a whole different meaning to people then in comparison to today.

I really believe that most people have a very shallow comprehension of the cross. The reason is simple: While we see the cross displayed everywhere, we see it lived out so rarely anywhere. It has become a very common display as a fashionable piece of jewelry, a decorative item in our homes, or a religious symbol in cemeteries.

I wish our comprehension of the true meaning of the cross matched our frequent exposure to these many symbols. Maybe if we did understand it more fully, we’d have a world that is much more in touch with God’s love and Christ’s redemption.

On Sunday, we’re beginning a new series on The Cross of Christ. I want all of us to appreciate the significance, the power, and the calling of the cross on our lives. I think it will help us spiritually prepare for the greatest weekend in human history.

Hope you’ll be here on Sunday as we kick off this important new series.

Warmly,
Vince

MARCH 20, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

It’s one of the most heart-breaking things I see happen. In fact, I can’t think of anything that is more tragic. It has potentially devastating consequences for the afterlife. It does the same for this life.

It can happen suddenly with just one really bad experience. Other times, however, it happens as a gradual drift away from the truth. In either case, it can lead to a permanent departure from what is good and true and right.

What is it? It’s losing our faith.

This is a situation that God warns us about again and again in Scripture. Jesus talked about this in the parable of the sower and the seed where some seed started to take root and grow only to have shallow soil or nearby weeds take the emerging plant out for good. He also talked about people saying they had faith but not really living it out when times got tough. James said it was a faith that didn’t want to do the work. Peter even calls it a dog returning to it’s own vomit.

Losing our faith is serious!

The good news is that God tells us where we most commonly start to lose our faith and where we can keep our faith through the power of His Spirit. That’s what I’ll talk about as I wrap up our Press On series on Sunday, using 2 Timothy 4:1-8.

One of the great reasons God created the church is that it is a source of encouragement to keep the faith! I hope you’ll join me here on Sunday so we can encourage each other in “the faith.”

Warmly,
Vince

MARCH 13 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Good grief, Charlie Brown!

Those words instantly take me back to my childhood, flipping through the Sunday comic pages in my parent’s living room to find my favorite comic strip, Peanuts — Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and the whole gang. I always knew “good grief” was just an expression, but it always seemed odd to me because we usually don’t think of grief as being good.

When we face deep sorrow—losing a loved one, a job, our health, or enduring a traumatic event—grief can feel overwhelming, like a shadow we can’t escape. Some people get stuck there, unable to move forward.

This Sunday, we’ll turn to 1 Peter 1:3-9 and discover how God shines His light into the darkest places, offering us hope and joy even in our grief. I hope you’ll join us as we continue our Press On series and explore how God can give us great joy in the midst of our grief.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Frank