Backpacks for Berrien will be collecting single-serve, non-parishable food items for Berrien Springs school children in need throughout the month of December. Please see the collection bins and needs lists in The Commons and inside the entrance to the office. Thank you for your help!
Don't Cry
Don't Cry Alone
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
More In This Series
“Don’t Cry Alone”
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□ John 11:35
- “ .”
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Brennan Manning: “When Jesus wept . . . , the ground of all being shook, the source of all life
trembled, the heart of all love burst open, and the unfathomable depth of God’s immense,
inexhaustible revealed itself.” (Lion and Lamb 128)
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William Blake, “On Another’s Sorrow”:
Think not thou canst sigh a sigh, And thy Maker is not by:
Think not thou canst weep a tear, And thy Maker is not near.O He gives to us His joy,
That our grief He may destroy:
Till our is fled and gone He doth sit by us and . - Adam Clarke: “It is abolishing one of the finest traits in our Lord’s human character to say that he wept and mourned here because of sin and its consequences. . . . The soul of Christ was troubled, and he mingled his sacred tears with those of the afflicted relatives.”
- Clark Pinnock: “Scripture speaks of the of God. God’s heart can be close to breaking (Hos. 11). God knows his people’s condition and feels their pain (Exod. 3:7f). God and mourns over them. Even for Moab God says, ‘My heart ’ (Is. 15:5). The issue for Christians is not whether God could suffer but how God could . . . . He would be less than God if he lacked sympathy or refused to share in the suffering of creatures.” (Most Moved Mover 89)
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N. P. Wolterstorff: “. That is why he suffers. To love our suffering, sinful world is to suffer. God so suffered for the world that he gave up his only Son to suffer. The one who does not see God’s suffering does not see his love. God is . Suffering is down at the center of things, deep down where the meaning is. Suffering is the meaning of our world.
The of God are the meaning of history.” (In Pinnock Most Moved Mover 90)
- Isaiah 63:9—“In all their affliction, He was .”
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Desire of Ages: “His tender, pitying heart is ever awakened to sympathy by suffering. He
with those that weep.” (533)
- □ An anonymous letter
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□ Galatians 6:2
- “Carry each other’s , and in this way you will fulfill the law of .”
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It is not enough to know that God suffers with us—though He feels our pain, too often we cannot
sense His .
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1 Corinthians 12:26—“And if one member suffers, the members suffer with it; or if one
member is honored, the members rejoice with it.”
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“Jesus did not shun the weak, unfortunate, and helpless, but He helped such as needed help. He
did not confine His visits and labors to a class more intelligent and less faulty, to the neglect of the unfortunate. He did not inquire whether it was agreeable for Him to be a companion of the poorest, the most needy. These are the ones whose company He , the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(2T 75)
- GROW Groups
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Frederick Buechner: “Sometimes, by the grace of God, I have it in me to be to
other people. And so, of course, have we all—the life-giving, life-saving, and healing power to be saints, to be , maybe at rare moments even to ourselves.” (The Longing for Home 28)
To carry and to care just like Jesus
Come experience a celebration of Christ's birth from 3–6 PM, on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Student Activity Center in downtown Eau Claire located at 6295 West Main Street, Eau Claire, MI. The event features a FREE Live Nativity from 3:30–5:30 PM with live animals the kids can pet, FREE hot cider/hot chocolate, popcorn and cookies, a FREE Christmas ornament craft for the kids, FREE LIVE Christmas music, FREE photo backdrops for Christmas family photos, and silent auctions (items from local businesses to bid on). 269-405-5026 or eauclairecritters@gmail.com
Contribution Statements for 2024 will be emailed to you toward the end of January 2025. Please ensure that your email address is current. Should you have any questions regarding your email, please contact the church office. If you require a paper copy of your statement, please notify claudia.sowler@pmchurch.org.
On December 21 before our main worship service, let's come together from 9:00-10:45 AM to celebrate the season with a delicious breakfast potluck. Bring your favorite breakfast dish to share and let’s enjoy good food, fellowship, and the joy of the Christmas season!
A-H Breads, muffins, pastries
J-P Fruit tray or fruit salad
Q-Z Breakfast casserole or hot/cold cereal
Pioneer will provide hot and cold drinks and nuts. We’re looking for extra hands to help make our Christmas Breakfast Potluck a success! If you’re available to volunteer, please text BREAKFAST to 269-281-2345. Thank you very much!
On Sabbath December 28, we will celebrate the Communion service together during the 11:45 AM service. Associate Pastor, John Glass, will present his message, "God Will Provide."
Thank you for your charitable giving in 2024! December 28 will be the last worship service to return your tithes and offerings. If you wish to mail your donation, please ensure it is post-marked by December 31 to be included in your 2024 tax-deductible receipts. For an online contribution, go to www.pmchurch.org/giving. You will have until 11:59 PM EST, December 31, 2024.
Note: The Pioneer Memorial Church offices will be closed from Tuesday, December 31, through Thursday, January 2, and will resume normal operating hours on Friday, January 3, 2025.
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."
The James White Library presents a display of Nativity sets from 45 countries. The sets are from the collections of Ruth & Ray Roberts. Visit the library for an appreciation of the world’s cultural expressions of the birth of Jesus from Nov. 25, 2024, to Dec. 23, 2024
Following the second worship service, there will be a fellowship dinner in the commons on the lower level. Visitors are welcome!
Are you interested in attending GYC, December 27-31 in Columbus Ohio? Pioneer is checking to see if there is enough interest to do group transportation to GYC Conference. To express interest and learn more please text "GYC" to 269-281-2345 to be sent further information.