Speaker

Dwight K. Nelson

Since 1983, Dwight Nelson has served as lead pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University. He preaches on the “New Perceptions” telecast, teaches at the theological seminary and has written some books, including The Chosen. He and his wife, Karen, are blessed with two married children and 2 granddaughters.

Offering

Saturday, January 06, 2018
Program: 
Praise
Days of Elijah • Open the Eyes of My Heart • Power of Your Love
Prayer
José Bourget
Adopt a Student / GROW Groups
José Bourget
Children's Story
Prelude • Edvard Grieg / B. McBrien
Dwight K. Nelson
Worship in Music
What Wondrous Love Is This?
Kenneth Logan, piano
Sermon
"Bring Your Heart to Life"
Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card, Tithes & Offerings
Holy Spirit, Gracious Guest • 589

"Bring Your Heart to Life"
www.newperceptions.tv

  • The Dream
  • The Promise
    • Romans 5:5—God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
    • Christian Wiman: "In any true love—a mother's for her child, a husband's for his wife, a friend's for a friend—there is an excess energy that always wants to be in motion. Moreover, it seems to move not simply from one person to another but through them, toward something else. . . . This is why we can be so baffled and overwhelmed by such love (and I don't mean merely when we fall in love; in fact, I'm talking more of other, more durable relationships): it wants to be more than it is; it cries out inside of us to make it more than it is. And what it is crying out for, finally, is its essence and origin: God. Love, which awakens our souls and to which we cling like the splendid mortal creatures that we are, asks us to let it go, to let it be more than it is if it is only us. To manage this highest form of loving does not mean that we will be showered with earthly delights or somehow be spared awful human suffering. But for as long as we can live in this sacred space of receiving and releasing, and can learn to speak and be love's fluency, then the greater love that is God brings a continuous and enlarging air into our existence." (My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer 23-24)
    • Spence Reece: "All I know now / is the more he loved me the more I loved the world." (23)
    • Philip Yancey:  "When she enters a room Susan assumes that, bidden or not, God is already present. 'We love because he first loved us,' she says, quoting John, 'and I picture God pouring his pitcher into me so that I can pour out to others, and then be replenished with God's love. I enter with a smile, feeling privileged to share the sacred ground on which someone clings to life. If I forget that God goes ahead of me, and think instead that I am bringing God into the room, I can have an air of smugness. I feel pressure to say the right thing, try to impress the patient and staff—in short, I take myself too seriously. I need the constant reminder that God precedes me in that room, and that the person in the bed has a story I can learn from." (Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? 66-67)
    • "What is a saint? I like Reynolds Price's definition: someone who, however flawed, 'leads us by example, almost never by words, to imagine the hardest thing of all: the seamless love of God for all creation, including ourselves.'" (Yancey 71)
    • Duncan Hamilton: "Amid the myriad moral dilemmas in Weihsien, [Eric] Liddell's forbearance was remarkable. No one could ever recall a single act of envy, pettiness, hubris, or self-aggrandizement from him. He bad-mouthed nobody. He didn't bicker. He lived daily by the most unselfish credo, which was to help others practically and emotionally. Liddell became the camp's conscience without ever being pious, sanctimonious, or judgmental. He forced his religion on no one. He didn't expect others to share his beliefs, let alone live up to them. . . . 'You came away from his meetings as if you'd been given a dose of goodness,' said a member of the camp congregation. 'Everyone regarded him as a friend,' said another, giving voice to that unanimous verdict." (For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire 8-9)
  • The Strategy
    • #1—Ask to be filled (in the morning).
      • Ellen White: "Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love." (Steps to Christ 94)
      • Romans 5:8—"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."
      • Picture the cross in your mind, kneel there, ask to be filled with God's love.
      • www.steps-to-personal-revival.info
    • #2—Ask to be unfilled (through the day).
      • Next Steps on your Connect Card

"Ask to be filled—and then unfilled"

 

(Flyer, TV, Google search, name of person who invited you, etc.)
This New Year I would like to pour out the love God pours in by:
Free Bibles

The lost and found ministry at PMC has placed a table in the Main Lobby (Narthex) containing Bibles which have been in lost and found for more than a year and not been claimed. Some have names on them and some do not. You are welcome to take a Bible for yourself or a friend.  Please read and enjoy, For other lost and found item, there is a cupboard in the lower lobby welcome center where these items are kept. You can ask during the week for a secretary to help you check if your lost item is there.  After items have been in lost and found for more than three months they are sent to Neighbor to Neighbor so be sure and check on your items soon after you lose them.

Fellowship Dinner

There will not be a fellowship dinner this Sabbath.

Offering for March 30, 2024

Pioneer Operating Budget

I remember it like it was yesterday. I got a call from a close friend saying that they had gotten an incredible job in an incredible city that would be their dream come true. I celebrated with my friend, while also feeling the sting of pain from my own disappointment from recently being rejected from yet another job for which I was qualified, but not hired.

Disappointment and rejection can be hard things to deal with. One thing that God taught me and my family during that season of our lives was that though it may not be “my turn” for the blessing of my dream job, it is always “my turn” to serve God and those around me by doing my best, no matter what position I’m in.

One thing that has blessed me and many others during tough times is the support local churches offer to those who are struggling just to make it. I’ve been in small group Bible study where other members prayed for me and supported me in many ways, both with physical and spiritual needs. Today’s offering will go to support our local church budget, which supports ministries that are the heartbeat of our church all week long, not just on Sabbath. “The Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35, NIV).

By Heather Thompson Day

North American Division Stewardship Ministries

Strength to Keep Going: A Multilingual Worship Celebration

The Andrews University Haitian Association and the Groupe Francophone D'Andrews invite all to participate in a special, multicultural worship experience on April 13 in the Seminary Chapel. Sabbath School at 10:30 AM, divine service at 11:45 AM. Join us in praising God in English, French, and Creole! Children and families welcome, as well as language learners.

BSHS Non-Perishable Food Drive

Our Pioneer students from Berrien Springs High school are holding a non-perishable food drive, the proceeds of which will go directly to the Feeding America Charity to help people with food insecurity. Please visit PM church’s welcome desk on the second floor by the front entrance to the sanctuary from March 25-30 to donate your non-perishable goods to people in need.

RMES Kindergarten Parent Night and Kindergarten Visitor Day

Parents with students who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2024, are invited to come meet our Kindergarten teacher on April 2, tour the classroom and school, enjoy refreshments, meet other Kindergarten parents, etc. Kindergarten age children are invited to visit our Kindergarten classroom on April 3. They will enjoy singing and worship, physical education, Spanish and music class, along with outdoor play time. Please call us at 269-471-3225 to let us know you are coming!

The Center for Adventist Research Book Sale

The Center for Adventist Research Book Sale is back! The 2024 Spring book sale begins April 2 with hundreds of used Seventh-day Adventist books, pamphlets, periodicals, audio-visuals, and Ellen White books for sale. There are also many phonograph records for sale.

The books are competitively priced and will be less costly than at the various online sources for Adventist used books. We accept cash, checks, and credit/debit cards. The sale begins April 2 and will conclude on April 16. The sale hours will match the Center’s public hours: Monday to Thursday 9 AM to 7 PM, and Friday 9 AM to 1 PM.  For more information, you may call the Center at (269) 471-3209 or email car@andrews.edu.

Lebanon Mission

This week the PMC Youth Missions team has been conducting the week of prayer on two campuses in Beirut, Lebanon. They are sharing the theme "Faces Around the Cross" with students at Middle East University and Adventist secondary school in nearby
Bouchrieh. The team has presented 4 chapel services a day, starting at 7:30 AM. The 11-member team of Andrews students and PMC members has been learning a lot as they serve in this challenging mission field. Your prayers and support of PMC Youth Missions are indispensable.

Quiet Activity Bags for Kids in Church

Pioneer warmly welcomes young families! Quiet activity bags for children are available to borrow, enjoy, and return each Sabbath morning. Select a larger bag for 1 to 3 year-olds or a smaller one for 3 to 9 year-olds. Pick up a bag in the Narthex or the organ side front entrance lobby. Return as soon as finished so others can enjoy.

2nd Annual Community Messiah Sing

Community Messiah Sing - The Eau Claire SDA Church is celebrating the sacred glory of the Easter season by hosting a inter-faith Community Messiah Sing-Along. You are invited to this Christian sing-along in celebration of the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. We will sing the Easter portion of Handel's Messiah to the recorded “accompaniment” of a Baroque Chamber Orchestra featuring the type of instrumentation the original performance of Handel’s Messiah oratorio had. We will of course conclude the rejoicing with the "Hallelujah" Chorus. Come join us on Saturday, March 30 from 4-6 pm at 6562 Naomi Road in Eau Claire. Bring a Messiah score if you have one or one will be provided. Light refreshments will be served afterwards in the Fellowship Hall.

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