MARCH 7, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

The most well-known person in the history of the world has to be Jesus Christ.  I doubt there is anyone else that has been known by as many people as He has. Wouldn’t you agree?  Yet, for as well known as He is, so few people really understand Him very accurately.  Sadly, many professing Christians really don’t understand Him very accurately either.  Worse yet, there are many pastors leading churches who don’t understand Jesus accurately.

It’s a really sad fact that has bothered me during my over 30 years in ministry.  I tire of people thinking of Jesus as just a good teacher, a moral philosopher, a cosmic genie in a bottle, a “live and let live” crusader, as simply a good human being, or even as being exclusively God.  So many people have some warped view of Jesus and I have heard it so much that I have decided to do something to change it for anyone who will listen.

On Sunday, I’m returning to teach a new series called, “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up.”  For those of you who are older, you may get the reference as belonging to the old popular show, “To Tell The Truth.”  For those of you who are younger, you may be triggered to think about the song by Eminem, “The Real Slim Shady.”  For all of us, I hope it is a title that inspires you to want to understand Jesus better so that we follow in the spirit of the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 3:10 where he said, “I want to know Christ.”  We can never know Him enough, can we?

"So many people have some warped view of Jesus."

We will look at His character (this Sunday), His conduct and why people are drawn to Him, His chemistry with people, His crucifixion (Good Friday), and His comeback (Saturday night and Sunday of Easter Weekend).  After these five weeks, you will see the REAL Jesus and fall more deeply in love with Him if you do.

My heart in doing this series is three-fold:

First, I want to have us all understand and know Jesus better so that we live a more God-pleasing life.  You can only do that if you understand the REAL Jesus.

Second, I want us all to build toward Easter and the crowning moment of Jesus Christ’s life, His resurrection.  We will help you appreciate Him more fully each week.

Third, I want to teach this series to help you invite friends, family, coworkers, neighbors and the like to this series.  If people are truly seeking God, they will be intrigued by this series when you invite them.

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.  And don’t forget to set your clocks ahead on Saturday night!

Warmly,
Vince

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

HI FRIENDS—

Pastor’s Frank and Brian P. have started off our current series with two strong Bible messages on taking charge of our physical and emotional health. This week we'll wrap things up by looking at how we can take control of our relational health. As we'll see, it all starts with the most important relationship we can have in our lives: our relationship with God.

It’s kind of ironic that I get to do this message, being that I’m the one who feels it was a great Valentine’s Day this year because I have succeeded over the years in lowering Jeannie’s expectations for the day to a place where even I can meet them.  I’m thinking of writing a book so I can share my success with others.  Maybe I’ll share a few of my secrets this Sunday.

We're going to have another great Sunday praising God, baptizing five people, enjoying the fellowship in the atrium, introducing our invited friends to each other, and being the disciple-making church at Lakeshore.   

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Pastor Brian

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

HEY LAKESHORE—

Pastor Frank did an amazing job at kicking off our new series, Taking Charge of Your Life, talking about how to take charge of your physical health and why it’s so important.  This week, we are going to spend some time talking about something that probably doesn’t get talked about enough.

Let’s be honest.  We all feel something at any given moment.  Emotions, both positive and negative, can greatly affect our mood, outlook, and interactions with people.  Some people are really good at managing their emotions, while others aren’t even aware they have emotions.  The truth is that emotional health is a real thing and is critical for us to master.  How emotionally healthy are you?

Being emotionally healthy is a lot more than just finding emotional balance and stability.  If you’re ready for part 2, or maybe just curious about emotional health, I want to encourage you to join us this Sunday as we continue learning the biblical principles to take charge of your life and close the gap between who you are today and who God created you to be.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Brian