Speaker

Dwight K. Nelson

Dwight 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, February 09, 2019
Program: 
Praise
Praise Him! Praise Him! • To You We Sing • It Is Well (Oh My Soul) • Came to My Rescue
Prayer
Nancy Kardos-Moldavan
Children's Offertory
Poem of Divine Love • Kenneth Logan
Kenneth Logan
Worship in Music
None Other Lamb • Kenneth Logan
Charles Reid, tenor
Sermon
"The Last Letter: Reading Between the Lines"
Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card, Tithes & Offerings
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go • 76

"The Last Letter: Reading Between the Lines"
www.newperceptions.tv

  • Laodicea
    • Oswald Chambers: "We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves—it is the last conceit to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in spiritual life is ." (My Utmost for His Highest 12)
    • Ellen White: "God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude. . . . The is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are  offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but  feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give." (Steps to Christ 30)
    • Sigve Tonstad: "The Laodicean community revels in a sense of wholeness, ensconced within an all-around edifice of accomplishment. The community has no sense of need. We should assume that the community is too sophisticated to say openly the things attributed to it, but it is capable of behaving in ways that convey the attitude described. The message to the community is the keenest statement of how difficult it is to see the discrepancy between self-representation and ."
    • Isaiah 55:1—"'Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no , come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without  and without cost.'"
  • Jesus and Laodicea
    • Three priceless gifts:
      • Gift #1—"I counsel you to buy from Me ."
        • 1 Peter 1:7—". . . that the genuineness of your , being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
        • Hebrews 2:13—"I will put my  in Him."
        • Revelation 14:12—"Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of ."
      • Gift #2—"I counsel you to buy from Me ."
        • Isaiah 61:10—"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a  of righteousness."
        • Isaiah 64:6—"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."
        • Desire of Ages: "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.'" (25)
      • Gift #3—"I counsel you to buy from Me .
        • Ephesians 1:18—"I pray that the eyes of your  may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you."
        • 2 Corinthians 4:6—"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. . . . [But] God made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of ."
    • One persistent truth:
      • Jesus became all we Laodiceans are, so He could give us all we Laodiceans need.
      • And what do we need most of all?

We need Jesus

In Memory With Hope

 If you would like to honor the memory of someone who has passed away since last Easter, you are invited to bring a spring flower to place at the foot of the cross during the Processional of Hope at either service this coming Sabbath, April 19, 2025.

Offering for April 19, 2025

Pioneer Operating Budget

Charles Schwab, Bank of America, and Fidelity are among many financial institutions that provide financial advisers to help people invest their money to prepare for retirement. Christ gave solid investment advice, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV).

In other words, invest your treasures in the kingdom of heaven. God has a simple plan in place to finance His kingdom work here on earth. It’s so simple. First, He blesses His children, and then they return faithfully the tithe and freewill offerings. That’s it. As there are greater needs in growing God’s kingdom, He increases the blessings He gives to His children. So, the more faithfully we return, the more He gives. This is the divine partnership God wants His people to understand. There is no other plan, no substitute, no alternate. An all-wise God knew the right plan from the beginning. His investment system is fail-proof. Do you want to see God do a miracle? Let’s invest in Kingdom work and watch Him work His wonders.

North American Division Stewardship Ministries

K-ANTHONY and Friends

 Join us for a free vespers concert at the Howard Performing Arts Center lobby on April 25, 2025. K-Anthony and Friends will engage us in an awesome evening of worship and vibing.

Howard Series Presents: Carla Trynchuk & Elena Braslavsky in Concert

Violinist Carla Trynchuk and pianist Elena Braslavsky will be performing a recital including works by Bach, Brahms, and the Ukrainian composer Silvestrov. Trynchuk, faculty at Andrews University, has performed internationally as soloist and recitalist in more than 15 countries. Braslavsky, formerly a faculty member at The Juilliard School and the Mannes School of Music, currently serves on the piano faculty of the Mozarteum University of Salzburg.  Trynchuk and Braslavsky were classmates together at The Juilliard School. Please visit us at our website howard.andrews.edu to purchase your concert tickets.

Best Buddies Friendship Walk

Best buddies is a worldwide organization that fosters relationships between individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with others in the community. This April there will be a friendship walk on the Andrews campus. This will help us raise money for the organization, which then helps other chapters to be opened in new schools as well as programs in schools, workplaces, and communities. If you are interested in joining us for the walk you can sign up, and if you can not join us on April 27 you can still donate. All donations are welcome and appreciated.

Memorial Service for Bruce Wrenn

 The Memorial Service for Bruce Wrenn will be on Sabbath, April 26 at 5 PM at Pioneer Memorial Church. Visitation with the family will be in the Narthex from 4-5 PM.

Music Camp at Pioneer!

The Institute of Young Musicians for Christ is excited to be having a music camp at Pioneer Memorial Church! At our music camps young people ages 6-17 are offered an immersive, week-long musical experience. Our quality musical training—combined with fun, friends, and faith-building encounters— provides a truly incredible opportunity. The camp offers tracks for children 6-12 with or without musical experience and a track for teenagers with significant musical experience. To learn more and register, visit iymcsda.org/michigan. We hope to see you there!

Request to Sabbath School Class Teacher/Coordinator

 If you are a teacher/coordinator of a Sabbath School class that meets outside the PMC sanctuary, you are requested to inform your name, location and meeting time. This information will help to create a master list to assist visitors and members. Please mail your response to Melchizedek Ponniah, melponniah@gmail.com.

Easter Devotionals

Pioneer Women's Ministries invites you to join us for 10 days of devotionals leading up to Easter (April 11-20). Together, we will consider what various individuals present at Christ's arrest, trial, and crucifixion might have thought and experienced. If you would like to receive daily text teasers and emails with the full devotional insights, please text the word "CROSS" to 269.281.2345.

Lamson Hall Upgrades with Maranatha

From May 11–June 8, 2025, Maranatha Volunteers International will be working at Andrews University to update the Lamson Hall residential rooms and suite bathrooms. Please consider volunteering and letting your family and friends know of this opportunity. All individuals (including local) should sign up at the Maranatha website: https://maranatha.org/volunteer-opportunities/.

Pages