Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church

As we turn the page to another month in our calendar, June marks the start of summer and a time for changing our routines. Whether it is going for walks in the evening or heading down to the beach to cool off, doing things differently in the summer is natural. So let me encourage you to change your routine to include prayer.

Once again, I want to invite you to join our church in praying throughout the summer months 3 times a day.

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and we celebrate the birth of the church and the sending of the Holy Spirit, indwelling and empowering the people of God.

So let me ask, “How have you experienced the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in your life?” It may have been something dramatic or it may have been a subtle prompting but the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our lives and in our world.

My hope is that God’s indwelling Spirit might empower each of us to be participants in His Kingdom work and not just spectators throughout the week. The Spirit’s indwelling is empowering all of us to participate in God’s work right here in Lakeside and East County. Pray that you might be empowered by the Spirit in both dramatic or subtle ways so that you might make a difference in your neighborhood today.

Have a great rest of the week and I will see you on Sunday as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church.

 ³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,

and you were not willing! 

 ³⁵See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say,

 ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’” 

(Matthew 23:34 & 35)

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I know that many of us will be celebrating the moms in our lives. Giving them the love and thanks for the care and sacrifices they have provided in our lives. It is especially meaningful when families are able to gather and celebrate multiple generations of mothers. The goodness of God is evident.

I also know that for many of you, this is a difficult day. The difficulty may arise from the loss of a mother and the hole that is left because of that loss. It may arise from a difficult relationship that you had (or have) with your mother. Or this day may be difficult because you desire to be a mother but there are hurtful and painful emotions because of the loss of a child, or infertility isn’t allowing you to have a child, or you have experienced a miscarriage in the past. So, Mother’s Day can bring a variety of emotions into our lives.

I will say that in the midst of these emotions, we believe in a God who cares for us, who provides for us, who looks after us, and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He is like a good mother to us and for that we are grateful. As Jesus said in Matthew 23, like a mother hen, He longs “to gather her chicks under her wings.” Our God is good, and Jesus is reminding us that our God’s goodness is like that of mother hen.