The Thursday Update

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

Jesus made a simple and yet profound statement in John 12:24 where He said:

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

A kernel of wheat planted in the ground dies. But it dies with an intentional purpose: so that it can produce much more of itself. It dies so that much more of itself can live. The result is both incredible and miraculous, but it only happens when it first dies.

Jesus is teaching an important lesson to us on how we should see our lives. The goal of life is to increasingly find ways to lose our life in surrender to God and, in turn, find so much more of the true meaning of life available in Jesus. When we die to ourselves like the kernel of wheat, we die to what we want and what we think we should have for our own benefit. And as a result, God takes that and deepens and multiplies our life in ways that He wants.

That’s why in the next verse Jesus says, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” No one likes to die, but when dying to our own will leads us to living for God’s will, it offers us a compelling reward.

But it’s so hard to die to ourselves, isn’t it? We love to defend ourselves and all we do. We love to be right. We love convenience. We enjoy easy. We seek comfort. We love what we want too much and too often. We don’t like to think about, or actually engage in, dying.

Last Sunday afternoon, Charlie Kirk’s memorial service was held in Phoenix, Arizona. The stadium was packed as some 90,000 people were in attendance with even more than that just outside the stadium. At least 100,000 million people have watched it and estimates are that as many as a billion people around the world have seen it. While I have yet to see it in its entirety—because we held Discover Membership after services—I plan on watching it. Worship music by Chris Tomlin, many people (even many politicians) speaking about the gospel of Jesus Christ in clear terms, and Erika Kirk speaking such powerful words, including forgiving the murderer, made this a service about how God used Charlie’s death to advance the gospel.

Make no mistake about it. While Charlie’s life was involved in conservative, traditional family value politics, that was not his end game. He was ultimately about helping more people hear and respond to the gospel. The memorial service proved it beyond any shadow of doubt, even if some brought up politics during it. That was truly ancillary to the main thrust, which was about how Charlie’s life and death should be a catapult to help more find faith in Jesus Christ. And that we should be the ones God uses to do this.

Charlie Kirk was the kernel of wheat that feel to the ground and his death is being used by God to produce many more seeds.

I think the takeaway for me and anyone else that is a Christian is that this is a time to be bold. Bold about Jesus, bold about the gospel, bold about showing the gospel to others by how we live. And bold about dying to self!

As we continue our Sunday series, From Believing to Becoming, I hope you’ll ask yourself how you can grow in your faith and be more bold in how you live it out every day. You will have to die to yourself, just like Jesus called us to. But in return, you will live with greater meaning and fulfillment in life.

Even if it costs you your life.

Warmly,

Vince
Senior Pastor

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

A number of years ago, I heard someone say something that has stuck with me ever since he said it. He said, “You’re either growing or dying.”

In effect, what he was saying is that we’re either growing and getting better or we’re dying and in some type of decline. That’s a very black and white statement. There’s no room in the middle for staying the same. And I know that we can only tread water for so long before we drown. So is that true? I think the answer is yes, we’re either growing or dying in most areas of life. I think it’s especially true of your spiritual growth and development in the faith.

I see lots of people growing in their faith these days. I see them at church virtually every week. They worship God when the music gets them to think about how great He is. They drink in the messages being offered as they reflect on the biblical truth being taught. They are hungry to know God and the Bible more each day. They give generously, serve passionately, and so much more. Unfortunately, I also see lots of people “dying” in their faith. They do the exact opposite and pretty soon, you don’t see them very much at all. It’s sad to behold.

One thing I rarely see is someone staying somewhere in between growing and dying. Mediocrity and Christianity don’t play nice together.

In light of the Charlie Kirk assassination last week (I’m glad we had great attendance last Sunday so that many of you could hear what I had to say about it), I’m reminded that life is too short to spend it with half-hearted commitment to the things of God. Like Charlie, I want to be found growing and faithful to God when my time on earth is over (or the Rapture of the church occurs!).

How about you?

Our church is growing in attendance more than it has in any of the past 21 years. Just as importantly, many of you are growing along with it too. This Sunday, we’re kicking off a new series to help you grow even stronger called, “From Believing To Becoming”. We want to keep growing! It’s only by the grace of God that we aren’t dying, we’re growing.

Let’s grow together. It beats the alternative.

Warmly,

Vince
Senior Pastor

SEPTEMBER 11, 2025

Lakeshore Friends,

It was a beautiful late summer morning—clear skies, a gentle breeze, calm and serene. Then, at 8:14am everything changed. In the space of 90 minutes planes struck the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In the days that followed, churches across the country were filled with people seeking comfort, praying, and asking where God was in the midst of such sorrow. But only one week later, what had felt like a spiritual wake-up call had faded into the background. The United States had changed, but spiritual life slipped quickly back to “normal.”

Life has a way of doing that. It lulls us into a spiritual stupor. The things we enjoy—our routines, our hobbies, our favorite places—can so easily take on an importance which puts spiritual growth on the “back burner” of life. And that’s one reason committing to a Small Group can feel difficult. It asks us to step out of our routine, to trade a little bit of “me time” for something deeper.

But here’s the good part: Small Groups at Lakeshore aren’t just another thing on the calendar. They’re a place to belong. A place to build friendships that truly matter. A place to grow in your relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, who loves you, gave His life for you, and longs for you to know Him deeply. It’s a space where people learn to care for one another—and where you’ll discover you’re not on this journey alone.

This week is your opportunity to take that step. Our Small Groups display will be in the Atrium for one more week, and we’d love for you to stop by, ask questions, and find a group that fits you. If you’ve been thinking about it, maybe this is the moment to break out of life’s lull and step into something that could change your life.

Brian Rathbun
Discipleship Pastor