The Thursday Update

MAY 29, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Do you ever complain about things in your life? Do you do it rarely or a little more than that? Do you complain about things that you really shouldn’t complain about? If your answers to the previous three questions are, 1. almost never, 2. rarely and 3. not really then I have a fourth question for you: Would someone really close to you say that about you as well? Sometimes, we don’t always realize how much we complain and that’s where others can help.

I think that as bad as things are in the world, Americans probably have less to complain about than anyone else. In reality, sometimes complaining isn’t a situational issue but ultimately a spiritual issue. I say that because our next passage in our Sunday series in Philippians tells us that it is an issue we all face, even if we’ve been a Christian for a long time.

So how can you conquer complaining? It’s not easy, especially when we have well-trained and ingrained habits that naturally lead us in that direction, but it can be done. But it takes the power God and an open spirit to make the changes that we need to crush it in our lives. We’ll look at what God says about this on Sunday.

If you want more joy in your life, this is a critical step to getting there.

I hope to see you on Sunday as we celebrate four baptisms!

Warmly,
Vince

MAY 22, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Perhaps the most misunderstood person who has ever lived is Jesus Christ.

Some think of Him as someone who never really existed, as just a myth or made-up legend. There are others who believe that He did exist but wasn’t who He, the Bible, and Christians say He is. They say He was just another man, a good moral teacher, a magician, an enlightened leader of a religious sect, a wise sage, and so much more that just isn’t accurate or (at best) isn’t complete.

It’s not His fault. People have lots of reasons for why they believe who Jesus is. Many times, they are derived from convenience and lazy thinking more than from a genuine search for the real Jesus. After all, it’s always more convenient to dismiss or minimize the true Jesus when He calls people to such challenging things as to “take up their cross and follow Him”, to “love your enemies and pray for them”, to “store up your treasures in heaven and not on earth” and the like. Just make Jesus out to be anyone that fits your lifestyle conveniences and any problems are resolved. Right?

Wrong.

Jesus is who He is and our responsibility is to seek Him and find out who He is and live our lives accordingly, not vice versa. The good news is that the Bible helps us see Him accurately again and again. And one of the most incredible, compact, and thorough passages that does this is found in Philippians 2:5-13. In it, I see five of the most incredible and important aspects of who Jesus really is. I’ll explain it more at services on Sunday. I can’t think of a more important message than this one. That’s because your view of Jesus impacts the way you live your life.

Like last week, we’ll be joined by another Lakeshore-supported missionary, Nabeeh Abassi, from Jordan. We went to Seminary together and he will talk about his incredible ministry in this Middle Eastern nation. It’s going to be a great Sunday.

Who do you say that Jesus is? No matter your answer, we’ll help you deepen it on Sunday.

Warmly,
Vince

MAY 15, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

All of us know what conflict feels like.  It’s really no fun dealing with people whom we disagree with, and who make things difficult to resolve when we do.  Sometimes it’s someone we only know a little bit. Other times, it’s someone we know really well.  Still, other times it’s someone really close to us, maybe even in our own family.  Yes, and sometimes we're the one making things more difficult than they need to be in our conflict.

We all dislike conflict.  The sad truth, however, is that we will never be able to avoid conflict in our lives.  About the time we work through one conflict, another one is lurking around the corner.  That’s because of that ever-present, thorny issue we call sin.  Yet, while we can never avoid conflict, we can learn skills to minimize it to the lowest possible level in our lives, whatever level that may be.  The Apostle Paul talks about that in Philippians 1:27-2:5, the passage I'll teach through on Sunday.  I think you’ll find this to be a really helpful passage.  In fact, this series has been just what God has for our church in this season, if what I am hearing from people is accurate.  I think it is.

Almost as if God ordained it, we will also host one of our supported missionaries from India, Naveen Paul, during both services.  He will share what his ministry in India has been like, including the conflict and even persecution he has faced from those who oppose the gospel. We supported his father, Rufus, as one of our first missionaries just after Lakeshore began in 1995. Naveen's visit will add an element of reality to the message and help you get to know one of the longstanding missionaries we support as a church.

I encourage you to invite friends and family who need some help with conflict minimization in their life to join you on Sunday.  I love how so many of you are doing that, and introducing me to those who join you at church.

Keep using your card holder to hand out invites, and remind yourself of the lessons on finding joy in life with the intention cards you get each week.

Warmly,
Vince