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

Part 2 of a 5 Part series
Saturday, September 07, 2013

More In This Series

08/31/2013
Part 1 of a 5 Part series
09/28/2013
Part 3 of a 5 Part series
10/05/2013
Part 4 of a 5 Part series
10/12/2013
Part 5 of a 5 Part series

“The Galilean”—2

www.pmchurch.tv

□ His Vulnerability

  •   John 6:66, 67
  •   William Shakespeare, Julius Caeser: “Et tu, Brute?”
  •   Oswald Chambers: “Jesus Christ’s life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God’s.” (My Utmost for His Highest 218)
  •   Ellen White: “As the world’s Redeemer, Christ was constantly confronted with failure.” (Desire of Ages 678)
  •   Isaiah: “He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.’ But I said,

    ‘I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the

    LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God." (Isaiah 49:3-4)

  •   Anne Lamott: “My fear of failure has been lifelong and deep. If you are what you do—and I think

    my parents may have accidentally given me this idea—and you do poorly, what then? It’s over; you’re wiped out. All those prophecies you heard in the dark have come true, and people can see the real you, see what a schmendrick you are, what a fraud.” (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith 142)

 “The review in the newspaper the next day was not very good. But by then I’d figured out the gift of failure, which is that it breaks through all that held breath and isometric tension about needing to look good: it’s the gift of feeling floppier. One of the things I’ve been most afraid of had finally happened, with a whole lot of people watching, and it had indeed been a nightmare. But sitting with all that vulnerability, I discovered I could ride it.” (Ibid 143)

□  My Vulnerability

  •   What if the Galilean’s kind of vulnerability became ours?
  •   #1—You and I would be a lot more vulnerable with God.
    •   Ellen White: “Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured
      senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss.” (Desire of Ages 131)
    •   Philip Yancey: “Unless I level with God—about bitterness over an unanswered prayer, grief over loss, guilt over an unforgiving spirit, a baffling sense of God’s absence—that relationship, too, will go nowhere. I may continue going to church, singing hymns and praise choruses, even addressing God politely in formal prayers, but I will never break through the intimacy barrier. ‘We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us,’ wrote C. S. Lewis. To put it another way, we must trust God with what God already knows.” (Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? 42)
  •   #2—You and I would be a lot more vulnerable with faith.
  •   #3—You and I would be a lot more vulnerable with each other.
    •   Brene Brown: “We love seeing raw truth and openness in other people, but we’re afraid to let them see it in us.” (Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead 41)
    •   “Vulnerability is based on mutuality and requires boundaries and trust. It’s not oversharing, it’s not purging, it’s not indiscriminate disclosure, and it’s not celebrity-style social media information dumps. Vulnerability is about sharing our feelings and our experiences with people who have earned the right to hear them. Being vulnerable and open is mutual and an integral part of the trust-building process.” (Ibid 44, 45)
    •   GROW Groups

□  His Vulnerability

  •   Naked
  •   “Be ye therefore vulnerable as your Savior in heaven is vulnerable.”

“Lord, to whom else shall we go?” 

RMES Enrollment

Looking for a Seventh-day Adventist School for your student(s) entering kindergarten through 8th grade? We invite you to consider Ruth Murdoch Elementary School. Program highlights include ministry opportunities, STEAMS, music, cultural diversity, and much more! Contact the RMES office at 269-471-3225 to schedule a tour and learn more about our programs and scholarships.

Family Life Encounter: Summer Challenge

Join us for the Family Life Encounter: Summer Challenge, a Choose Your Own Adventure style activity and reading challenge designed to help strengthen our relationships with each other and God. Text "Challenge" to 269-281-2345 to download the challenge handout.

Download Handout for Challenge

Turn in your challenge handout at the Pioneer reception desk when it is completed to be entered into prize drawings! For more information, contact simplestirrings@yahoo.com.

VBS at Niles Westside

Scuba: Diving into Friendship with God. July 15-19 from 9 - 11:45 AM at Niles Westside Adventist Church (1105 Grant St, Niles) for kids in Pre-K (age 4) - 6th grade.

Please register early online at www.nileswestside.org or call/text 269-845-8870 with questions or to volunteer to help. 

Annual Backpacks for Berrien "Stuff-the-Bus"

It is time again for our annual Backpacks for Berrien "Stuff-the-bus." Help ensure students come to school this fall with the tools needed to learn. Get the supplies needed for success and deliver them to the bus, July 26 at Apple Valley parking lot from 4:00 - 7:00 pm. For a list of items needed check out our website: backpacks4berrien.org.

Hymnsing at The Old Rugged Cross Church

A Hymn-sing at The Old Rugged Cross Church is scheduled for July 20, Sabbath, at 4:00pm. The Old Rugged Cross Church is located at 61041 Vermont Street, Pokagon, MI 49047. Please bring your Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. A free will offering will help to maintain this historic church where the hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross,” was introduced to the public by the composer. For further information, please contact Melchizedek Ponniah, melponniah@gmail.com, or (269) 876-7476.

Pioneer Memorial Church Announces New Pastor for Administration

Pioneer Memorial Church is delighted to announce the selection of K. Hans Miranda Chavez as the new Pastor for Administration starting July 1, 2024.

Pastor Hans Miranda Chávez was born in Chiclayo, Peru, and moved to the U.S. at the age of six, where he grew up in Massachusetts. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011 to 2015, he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2019. In 2023, Hans married Cassidy, who played an influential role in guiding him towards pastoral ministries. Now, Hans is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree, and his wife, Cassidy Miranda Chávez, is the Marketing and Communications Director at the Center for Youth Evangelism and volunteers with the Pioneer Media Ministry.

Hans and Cassidy are eager to serve the Pioneer Memorial Church community and be part of the church family in this new role. Let's extend our warmest welcome and support them in this new step!

Changes to ADRA Giving Options

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventist have decided to simplify the number of donation options. Historically, a significant number of options have been available when giving to ADRA allowing donors to specify a specific project or program. Going forward all currently existing ADRA donations will be consolidated into 5 major categories.

ADRA Health Programs
Poor health is often at the heart of poverty and suffering. Giving to the ADRA Health fund helps build healthier lives for those we serve by improving access to safe water sources, providing hygiene and sanitation solutions, helping families access nourishing food, supporting pregnant women and mothers, and delivering reliable health support.

ADRA Education Programs
Education for all helps safeguard against chronic poverty, violence, abuse, exploitation, and even reduces vulnerability to natural disasters. The ADRA Education fund will help remove obstacles to learning by providing access to primary, secondary, and tertiary education, delivering school supplies, uniforms, and other resources, teaching adult literacy classes, and providing technical and vocational education.

ADRA Livelihood Programs
Livelihood training is a key contributor to breaking the cycle of poverty. The ADRA Livelihoods fund will help end generational poverty by empowering savings and loan groups in vulnerable communities, preparing communities for climate resiliency, training farmers to improve their methods, and empowering women to become business leaders in their communities.
ADRA Emergency Response and Preparedness
When disaster strikes, those whose lives are the most at risk are often furthest from help. Every year, ADRA responds to more than 100 emergencies around the world: earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, civil strife, and more. Contributions to the ADRA Emergency Response and Preparedness fund will help support a global network of offices and partners to quickly mobilize resources and bring relief to the hardest-hit areas.

ADRA General Fund
ADRA, the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church delivers relief and development assistance to individuals in more than 120 countries. Gifts to ADRA will provide families with emergency aid in times of crisis or natural disaster and longer-term, sustainable assistance to people battling chronic hunger, homelessness, and other life-threatening challenges, so they can live as God intended.

 

Pioneer Spiritual Life Survey

This quick survey will give our church leadership team a better understanding of how to lead our church. All responses are anonymous and every precaution will be taken with the data.

 

Something in Common Sabbath School

Healing The Mind by Timothy R. Jennings, MD Have you ever been hurt, lonely, depressed, frightened and hopeless? Or maybe you have found yourself feeling helpless, that gut wrenching helplessness when someone you care about is hurting, distressed and on the verge of giving up and you don’t know how to help them. Did you wish you had something to give them, something that would help? Healing the Mind is six of Dr. Jennings' most important lectures, recorded live during a 2-day seminar. The material is based on his book, "Could It Be This Simple”. The Six lecture topics are: 

  • June 22- The Mind: God's Design. What Went Wrong? 
  • June 29- God's Principle: The Law of Love and Liberty 
  • July 6- The Fix for Failing Families 
  • July 13- Demolishing Satan's Strongholds 
  • July 20- Depression: The Brain-Body Connection 
  • July 27- Forgiveness: Seven Common Myths (+ Q&A) 

Everyone is Welcome Sabbath mornings from 10:30-11:30 in PMC room 141.

Adventist Heritage & American History Tour

Explore Scenic New England and it's Rich History from September 1-8, 2024