There is no fellowship dinner this Sabbath downstairs in the commons.
Mission Possible
Urban Decay - Angels in the Inner City
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 14, 2015
Program:
As We Begin
More About Jesus I Would Know • John Sweney
Praise
Prayer
Adrianne Magsipoc
"By the Word of Their Testimony" Baptism
Korollos Abdelmalak with Rodlie Ortiz
Children's Story
José Bourget / Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven • Timothy Waugh
Worship in Music
Capriccio • Kevin McChesney
Sermon
“Mission Possible: Urban Decay—Angels in the Inner City” • Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Cards, Tithes & Offerings
Hymn
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go • 573
As We Depart
O God, Faithful God • Johannes Brahms
More In This Series
“Mission Possible:
Urban Decay—Angels in the Inner City”
□ This World of Pagans
· The daughter of Bertrand Russell: “His whole life was a search for God. . . . Somewhere at the back of my father’s mind, at the bottom of his heart, in the depths of his soul, there was an empty space that had once been filled by God, and he never found anything else to put in it.”
· Bertrand Russell: “There is darkness without and when I die there will be darkness within.” (Mysticism and Logic)
· His daughter: “I would have liked to convince my father that I had found what he had been looking for, the ineffable something he had longed for all his life. I would have liked to persuade him that the search for God does not have to be vain. But it was hopeless. He had known too many blind Christians, bleak moralists who sucked the joy from life and persecuted their opponents; he would never have been able to see the truth they were hiding.” (In Philip Yancey’s Vanishing Grace, 32-33)
□ His Love for Pagans
· Exhibit A—God and the pagan king
§ Genesis 20
· Exhibit B—God and the pagan city
§ Jonah 4:11
§ Clark Pinnock: “. . . the book of Jonah stands in the canon to testify to the universal salvific will of God.” (A Wideness in God’s Mercy 28)
· Exhibit C—God and the pagan city
§ Jeremiah 51:44-45
§ Revelation 18:4
· Exhibit D—God and the lost city
§ Luke 19:35-42
§ Desire of Ages: “While the westering sun was tinting and gilding the heavens, its resplendent glory lighted up the pure white marble of the temple walls, and sparkled on its gold-capped pillars. . . . [which] caught the splendor of the setting sun, shining as if with a glory borrowed from heaven. Jesus gazes upon the scene . . . His eyes fill with tears, and His body rock[s] to and fro like a tree before the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from His quivering lips, as if from the depths of a broken heart.” (575)
· Exhibit E—God, Giuseppe, Sonya and the pagan city Bergamo, Italy
· Exhibit F—God and the pagan city
§ Acts 18:9-10
§ NASB: “Do not be afraid any longer.”
§ Prophets and Kings: “In every city, filled though it may be with violence and crime, there are many who with proper teaching may learn to become followers of Jesus. Thousands may thus be reached with saving truth and be led to receive Christ as a personal Saviour.” (278)
The question is:
Are you willing to go?
Fellowship Dinner
Pioneer Commons
Sing Praise! Wind Symphony Vespers Concert
“Sing Praise!” Wind Symphony Vespers is quickly becoming an annual tradition, inviting audiences to experience the joy of music-making through both listening and singing together. This year’s event brings the Wind Symphony together with the University Singers and the Spanish SDA Church Praise Team, creating a powerful shared musical experience. This year’s program features beloved hymn favorites such as “Rejoice the Lord Is King” and “Lead On, O King Eternal,” alongside contemporary works inspired by texts from the Psalms and other scriptures. Bring a friend or family member and join the Wind Symphony for this meaningful and uplifting evening on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:30 PM, in the Howard Performing Arts Center. Admission is free.
Chasing Away the Blues - Nature Sings
This Saturday evening, February 21 at 8 PM, the Andrews University Chorale and Singers will present a special collaborative choral program with the University of Notre Dame Chorale under the direction of Stephen Zork. The concert is family-oriented and features thoughtful, edifying, and playful repertoire with allusions to nature’s narratives on love, longing, gratitude, and hope. This concert is a wonderful way to help melt away the winter blues. For more information visit howard.andrews.edu
Church Directory
We are starting the process of introducing a church directory app. Please stay tuned for further announcements. This app will be a wonderful way to get to know others and build connections.
Care for Cuba—Urgent Need
Partner with Care for Cuba to bring much-needed resources to Cuba such as food, medicines and places of worship. Donate online at careforcuba.org
Offering for February 21, 2026
Pioneer Operating Budget
Children are a heritage from God and should be included in the call to respond to Him through stewardship. They, like all of us, are beneficiaries of God’s grace. So, how are children to be involved in the call to be faithful stewards? The instruction to Israel gives an example. “These commandments that I give you today, are to be impressed upon your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7, NIV), in the home, outside of the home, and even when you are resting.
Like Israel, as a church, we are to model and teach the concepts of stewardship to our children. Help them to understand what it means to use God’s gift of time to worship and build a relationship with him, to take care of their mind and body, to use their talents and abilities to witness to others, to be caretakers of our environment, and also to return their tithe and freewill offering to the Lord.
We are encouraged as parents to teach our children by example what it means to show their love for Christ, and to bring their offerings to the Lord. Ellen White writes that, “their gifts would be as little rivulets (streams), which when united and set flowing, would swell into a river” (Counsels on Stewardship, p. 293). Today, let us all be model stewards by returning our tithes and offerings, modelling for our children what God desires of us all.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
Young Adult Mission Trip in Peru!
Maranatha Volunteers International invites young adults, ages 18-28, to join Catalyst, a service experience for their age group. Build a church for the Calapuja Adventist Church, operate medical clinics, and lead VBS programs. Learn more at Maranatha.org/volunteer or call 916-774-7700.
Andrews Symphony Fundraising Concert
Thursday February 19 at 7:30 PM, the AUSO will be giving a free performance of movie soundtracks and broadway tunes to raise funds for their music tour to California this coming March. This short performance is kid's friendly and promises to be an exceptional evening of great music. Bring your cellphone!
Academy Day March 3
All eighth-grade students are invited to attend Academy Day on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Come and see the exciting programs Andrews Academy offers and experience one day with us. While there, you will worship together, go to several classes, and participate in some games and activities. Lunch will be served, and T-shirts and prizes will be given. Registration begins in the gym at 7:30 AM, the full day of activities will begin at 8:00 am and will conclude by 3:15 PM. Call 269-471-3138 to RSVP or with any questions you may have. (Eighth graders in NAS, RMES, VAES, and Eau Claire SDA schools are already preregistered). Drop off/pick up is either in the circle drive or in the parking lot (8833 Garland Ave, Berrien Springs).
Ruth Murdoch Elementary School Visitor's Day
Students who will be in the first through eighth grades next school year are invited to visit Ruth Murdoch Elementary School on March 3. Make friends, meet teachers and have fun! Grades 1–6: 8:15–11:30 AM; Grades 7–8: 8:15 AM–3:30 PM. Parents, please call 269-471-3225 to register. (A special Kindergarten Visitors' Day is being planned for April 8).