There will be a fellowship dinner following the second worship service in the commons.
"You Turned My Mourning into Dancing"
The Habitude of Gratitude
Speaker
Dwight K. NelsonDwight Nelson served as lead pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University from 1983 to 2023. During his time at Pioneer he spoke on the “New Perceptions” telecast, taught at the theological seminary and has written books, including The Chosen. He and his wife, Karen, are blessed with two married children and 2 granddaughters.
Offering
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Program:
Preparation for Joy
Put on Gladness, O My Soul • Johannes Brahms
Invitation to Joy
O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord • Anonymous
Call to Joy
Psalm 100 NKJV • Sinegugu Katenga
Response of Rejoicing
Praise to the Lord • setting: Michael Burkhardt /Johann Gottfried Walther
Words of Joy
Psalm 98 NKJV • David Ortiz
Response of Rejoicing
Sing Praise to God • 29 setting:. Kenneth Logan
Prayer of Rejoicing
José Bourget
Choral Response of Rejoicing
From Hymns of Luther
Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord O Lord, We Praise Thee
Homily
"'You Turned My Mourning into Dancing': The Habitude of Gratitude" • Dwight K. Nelson
Choral Response in Thanksgiving
Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Lay in Death's Bonds) • Johann Sebastian Bach
Letters of Thanksgiving
From Chorales of Luther's Movement
What God Does Is Done Well O God, Thou Faithful God Rejoice Thyself, O My Soul Now Thank We All Our God
Procession of Thanksgiving
Gifts of Food, Song, Tithes & Offerings
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart • st. 1-2 of 27 | We Have Heard a Joyful Sound • st. 1,4 of 340 | This Is My Father’s World • st. 1, 3 of 92 | My Faith Looks Up to Thee • st. 1, 3 of 517 | To God Be the Glory • st. 1, 3 of 341 | Now Thank We All Our God • 559
Benediction in Thanksgiving
Dwight K. Nelson
Choral Response
Now Thank We All Our God • Kenneth Logan
Final Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God • Wilhelm Teschner
More In This Series
"'You Turned My Mourning into Dancing': Habitude of Gratitude"
- "Habitude"
- "An act or an attitude that becomes a custom or habit"
- "Habitude of Gratitude”
- Jeremiah 31:3-4, 13-14
- NRSV: "You shall take your tambourines and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers."
- Twenty One Pilots "Stressed Out":
Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out
We're stressed out . . . - Jean Twenge: "[The song] 'Stressed Out' captures this possible link between growing up slowly and mental health issues.... As Asbury University student Alyssa Driscoll wrote, the song ‘has exactly what we’re thinking written in it... [It] really GETS US.'" (iGen 111)
- "iGen is on the verge of the most severe mental health crisis for young people in decades. On the surface, though, everything is fine." (93)
- "In Laura's profile picture... she's a girl with wavy brown hair who looks no more than 16. Her site is titled 'a depressed person life.' Her pain is starkly evident in her posts, which include 'That's how depression hits. You wake up one morning, afraid that you’re gonna live,' 'I don't why I am so stupid. I don’t know why I am so sad,' and 'They all looked so [expletive] happy to me. Why couldn't I look like that?' The web page's title appeared as one apt word: ‘Broken.'" (99-100)
- Gregory Boyd: "My life is Christ—nothing else really matters." (Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now 57)
- Ministry of Healing
- Emotional Health Nugget #1: "When you open your eyes in the morning, God that He has kept you through the night. Thank Him for His peace in your heart. Morning, noon, and night, let as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven." (253)
- Emotional Health Nugget #2: "One of the surest hindrances to the recovery of the sick [physically/emotionally] is the centering of attention upon themselves. Many invalids feel that everyone should give them sympathy and help, when what they need is to have their attention turned away from themselves, to think of and care for ." (256)
- "Good deeds are a blessing, benefiting both the giver and the receiver of the kindness. The consciousness of right-doing is one of the best medicines for diseased bodies and minds. When the mind is free and happy from a sense of duty well done and the satisfaction of giving happiness to others, the cheering, uplifting influence brings new life to the whole being." (257)
- Emotional Health Nugget #3: "Let praise and thanksgiving be expressed in . When tempted, instead of giving utterance to our feelings, let us by faith lift up a song of to God." (254)
"My life is Christ—nothing else really matters."
Fellowship Dinner
Pioneer Commons
Offering for January 10, 2026
Pioneer Operating Budget
You may have heard it said, and it is true that patience is a virtue. What is also true and closely linked to patience is found in the opening verse of the parable of Luke 18:1-8 (NIV). Jesus told his disciples that they should “always pray and not give up” (verse 1). In today’s fast paced, instant, and have-to-get-it-now world, learning to be patient and not lose heart or become discouraged is surely a quality that is desirable. The widow in this parable showed the importance of being patient in one’s petitions and pursuits.
In her attempt to get the judge to defend her against her enemy, who seemed to have been making her life difficult, she kept on asking for his defense. Finally, the judge yielded to her persistence and vindicated her.
The same is true of God. When we are diligent in our prayer life, longsuffering when we are seeking to invoke Christ’s intervention, and faithful in honoring Him in our stewardship, He will move to positive action. Let us remember that unlike the judge we cannot wear out God.
Today, as we worship Him through the return of our tithes and giving of our offerings, let us practice being persistent in honoring Him with our substance and the first fruit of our increase.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries