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#RxF4Now

Jolly Old St Nicholas Goes to Bethlehem

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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, December 03, 2016
Program: 
As We Begin
On This Day Earth Shall Sing • Gustav Holst / Smith
Praise
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing • st. 1 & 3 of 122 / O Come, All Ye Faithful • st. 1 & 2 of 132 / Silent Night • st. 1 & 4 of 143 / Joy to the World • all st. of 125 / I Will Exalt You
Prayer
José Bourget
"Go!"
Rodlie Ortiz
Tithes & Offerings
Joy to the World • Daniel Kallman
Children's Story
Michael Bryson
Bible Reading
2 Corinthians 1:18-20 NIV
Worship in Music
What Child Is This? • Alfred Reed
Sermon
#RxF4Now: “Jolly Old St Nicholas Goes to Bethlehem” • Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card
What Child Is This? • 141
As We Depart
Symphonic Prelude on Adeste Fideles • Claude Smith

More In This Series

12/24/2016
The Christmas Robe: A Meditation on the Swaddling Cloths
12/17/2016
The Ogre by the Manger
11/05/2016
2nd Hand Faith
10/29/2016
If 'Righteousness Exalts a Nation,' What's Going 2 Happen 2 the USA
10/01/2016
The Regrets of Oscar Wilde
09/24/2016
The Surrogate
09/10/2016
Precious
09/03/2016
Dead Man Walking
08/27/2016
Believe!
All Sermons
Print Download

“Jolly Old St Nicholas Goes to Bethlehem”

www.newperceptions.tv

 

  • Proverbs’ One Prayer
    • Proverbs 30:8—“O Lord, give me neither nor ,  but give me only my .”
    • A Christmas prayer asking God to keep me in because (v 9):
      • The great danger in wealth is that it tends to make us feel of God. (Psalm 73:12; Job 21:13-15)
      • The great danger in poverty is that it tends to make us feel   by God. (Isaiah 8:21)
      • “O God—give me neither poverty nor riches—but give me only my daily bread.”
  • Joshua Becker, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own” (Loc 199-213):
    • www.becomingminimalist.com
    • In the US we now consume as many material goods as we did 50 years ago.
    • Over the same period the size of the average American home has nearly tripled and today contains about items.
    • On average our homes contain more than people.
    • The US Department of Energy reports that due to clutter, % of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park cars inside, and another % have room for only one vehicle.
    • One out of 10 American households rents off-site —the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades.
    • The average household’s credit card debt stands at over $, while the average mortgage debt is over $.  
    • Will Rogers: “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.”
       
  • “My daily bread”:
    • Born in a village whose name meant “House of ”(Beth-lehem).
    • A fitting birthplace for Him who one day would teach us to pray: “Our Father who is in Heaven, give us this day our daily .” (Matthew 6:11)
    • A fitting prayer from Him who one day would declare: “I am the of Life—whoever comes to Me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35)
       
  • God’s One Promise
    • 2 Corinthians 1:20—YES! and AMEN!
      • Psalm 33:6, 9
      • Isaiah 55:11
      • John 6:63
    • Jesus: “Give and it will be given to you—pressed down, shaken together and running over!” (Luke 6:38)
      • AMEN!
      • Joshua Becker, The More of Less: “It’s true that the less we , the more we can . But what if the inverse is also true? What if the more we give away, the less we need? In other words, what if   leads to contentment?”
    • God: “Bring the whole tithe into My storehouse and test Me and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)
      • AMEN!
      • Tweet: “The antidote 2 Black Friday is 4 words long. Memorize them—you’ll have no problem driving past a shopping mall 2day: “I don’t need it.” (@DwightKNelson)

 

“Give me Jesus”

 

 

Mission and Strategy Statements Town Hall Meetings
Pioneer Youth Chapel

The Elders have finished! After many months of prayerful and concerted work, the draft of Pioneer's potential new mission and strategy statements are ready for your review.  

Please join us at any of the identical Town Hall/Q & A sessions listed below to hear Pastor Shane and our elders present the drafts for your feedback.  Our goal is to take your input, modify the drafts as needed, sent them back to the church board for final review, and begin implementation in the Fall.  

Please join us for any of these important and impactful meetings that will help guide Pioneer's witness for years to come!

May 13, Tuesday, 7:00-9:00 PM

May 18, Sunday, 9:00-11:00 AM

May 22, Thursday, 7:00-9:00 PM (Zoom only)

The Tent

Join us for a special Evangelistic Series presented by the Jr. High Students of Ruth Murdoch Elementary School. We hope you can join us in big white tent near Griggs Hall at 7pm starting Friday May 9 through May 18. There will be no meeting on Tuesday. Come and be inspired as our students share messages of hope, love, and the good news of Jesus. Your presence will encourage them, and more importantly, you can help bring someone closer to Christ. Bring a friend or family member and experience God's message together!

Holding Onto Jesus

Sunday, May 25, 3-5 PM Pioneer Youth Chapel What do we do when our life is shaken by illness, a great loss, or some other devastation? How do we find God when it feels like He isn’t there? Women of all ages are invited to hear Emily Gibbs share her testimony, and explore ways that we can have resilience in the midst of difficult experiences. Register by texting TRIALS to 269-281-2345. Questions? Email women@pmchurch.org.

AdventistGiving Online (AGO) Contributors

 Your faithfulness is very much appreciated.  To ensure that your donations are properly credited to your account, when contributing through Adventist Giving, please log in under your name, instead of contributing as a "Guest."

Adventist Seniors of Michiana Meeting May 18.

Seniors 55 and up are invited to the Adventist Seniors of Michiana program to be held in the PMC Commons May 18. Bring a dish and enjoy the potluck starting at 1 PM followed by a program featuring Ken Denslow, recently retired Lake Union Conference President. His topic will be Project Amigo and Other Missions. For any questions call Cheryl Doss at 269-277-0767

Offering for May 10, 2025

Disaster & Famine Relief

This Sabbath, our church joins many others in collecting a special offering to support ongoing disaster relief efforts. Funds collected today support both Adventist humanitarian organizations, Adventist Community Services and Adventist Development and Relief Agency. Each serves in different geographical areas. Adventist Community Services responds to disasters of all kinds across the North American Division which includes the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Guam, and Micronesia. As we approach Christ’s return, the Bible tells us that crisis events will increase. Emergency Management records have tracked disasters for over 50 years and confirm tornadoes are touching down with greater impact, hurricanes are moving at greater speeds, and violent killings in the form of mass shootings increase with alarming frequency. Adventist Community Services stands ready to serve those affected by these and other tragedies. Some services provided are:

  • open collection centers to receive and sort donations, sending them to areas of greatest need,
  • provide emotional and spiritual care to the distraught,
  • and deliver essential supplies to areas hardest hit by a disaster.

1 John 3:18 tells us to love with action and in truth. Today, we ask that you give liberally, and we thank you for joining the team who extends the hand of mercy to people in crisis. Together we are serving communities in Christ’s name. 

—North American Division Stewardship Ministries

Love on the Move

 Would you like to make a difference in our community? God's Hands 4 Kids has ways you can do that. GH4K loves the "True religion way to love the least of these" James 1:27. The Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner is being held on May 16 in a church in our community. We are working with the Berrien County Department of Health and Human Services to put this on.  We are looking for childcare help. Also seeking gift baskets, gifts or gift cards. For more information contact Carol Jordan at Godshands4kids@gmail.com There is a presentation this Friday evening from Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. Ask for more info if interested.

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!

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/.