The Thursday Update

JULY 7, 2022

Hey Lakeshore—

I want to ask a haunting question.  Do we really know who God is?  It’s a simple question, yet can be complex in its answer.

We talk about God, but do we really understand who he is?  And if we really know what He’s like, then how does that apply to our everyday lives?  Too often, we have the wrong idea of who God is which leads to the wrong idea of who we are.

With these questions in mind, we are excited to start our summer series called “God Is…”  In this series, we’ll be talking about many of the attributes of God to get a better understanding of who He is and why that matters in our lives.

Every day feels like something is changing.  Gas prices alone have probably changed since I wrote this.  And often times it leads us to be frustrated with ourselves or the situation ahead of us.  Where can we turn when we are frustrated by all the change happening?  We can turn to the One who never changes.

Quite honestly, with the amount of turmoil in our world right now, we need to lean into the only one we can truly rely on.

So, I want to invite you to church this Sunday at 9AM or 11AM to really answer that question…do you really know who God is?

In Him,
Brian

JUNE 30, 2022

Lakeshore Friends—

Conflict is everywhere and we can’t escape it.  I don’t expect that to change for the better anytime soon.  In fact, I think the trend is clearly pointing toward “worse”.  At times, our conflict is with people that we hardly know and if we can’t work it out, we move on.

But what about when the conflict is with someone we know… well… really well? And love… a lot… a real lot?  And the relationship is stuck… a lot… a real lot?

Those are the ones that hurt the most, don’t they?  And because they hurt the most, we want to resolve them the most.  That’s because they mean the most.

If you want to resolve a relationship that is stuck neck-deep in conflict, you are going to have to examine three things

1. Yourself and your part in it.
2. Your approach and what works best for them.
3. Your attitude as you work through the conflict.

We’ll unpack these principles in a fascinating little passage that ends Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (5:12-28).  I think you’ll see how Paul’s inspired approach can give you the best odds of getting a stuck relationship unstuck.

After all, the people we really know and really love are really worth it, aren’t they?

Warmly,
Vince

JUNE 23, 2022

Lakeshore Friends—

I hope that last Sunday was the highlight of your weekend.  Along with the service honoring all the men for Father’s Day, our desire is to really get us all to start understanding how to work through conflict in the most God-honoring way possible with the new series, “Conquering Conflict With Others”.

If you missed last week, we covered James 4:1-12 and saw that the cause of all conflict is “competing desires” inside of us.  James also gave us the cure for all conflict which is to have our desires be godly— that is shaped by what God wants us to do.

While last week was the “what” of conflict resolution, this Sunday is all about the “how” of conflict resolution.  I’m convinced that as easy as it will be to understand, it is equally as hard to do, at times.  But when we do it, we are always better off in the long run.

Do you have people you are in conflict with and you just don’t know what to do?  We’re here to help you.

I am so thankful that our church is made up of so many great people who strive to resolve conflict well.  It’s a gift from God and a tribute to all of you that our church strives to resolve things so biblically.

Thanks for being such a great church!  You inspire me and make me proud to be your pastor.

Warmly,
Vince