The Thursday Update

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

MARCH 6, 2025

Hey Lakeshore!

For the past few weeks, we have been talking about how to Press On. Step by step on the things to do to get through the difficult times in our lives.
But it got me wondering…what’s the point? What I mean is, what’s behind it all? Why should we bother pressing on?

I know there have been so many times in my own life when I needed to push through, or going for a goal, only to give up along the way because I lost sight of the purpose in the first place. I start to wonder “Is this worth it?” or “What am I doing?”

This Sunday, I want to take a little different spin on the topic of Pressing On and want to talk about what I’ve learned about the True Reason We Press On. I think it will be helpful for all of us. Can’t wait to see you Sunday!

Pastor Brian P.

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Lakeshore Friends—

As I sit in my office writing this note, all the snow that covered the ground for the last two months is rapidly melting away. The green grass that has been hidden for so long is finally being revealed again. I can’t help but see this as a picture of the difficulty and struggles that each of us goes through. The harshness of winter—the cold, the ice, the barrenness — they can feel unrelenting, much like the trials and burdens we carry in our lives.

But as the warmer temperatures soften the frozen ground and the snow begins to give way, a new season emerges. In the same way, the long seasons of struggles, trials, and difficulties we face are not permanent. If we lean into God and press on, He will give us the perspective, strength and hope we need to melt away the snow and ice that so easily discourages our souls.

I want to invite you to come to church this Sunday as we continue in our series, Press On. This week we will be looking at select verses from Galatians chapters 5 and 6 to learn how to keep the good things that God prepared for us to do, without becoming tired, discouraged, weary, or burned out. I hope through this message you will find encouragement and a renewed sense of purpose for which God created you.

Make a great day!
Pastor Frank