There will be a fellowship dinner, following the second worship service in the commons on the lower level.
Mission Possible
What We Can Learn from Ben Carson, Evangelicals and America
Speaker
Dwight K. NelsonSince 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
More In This Series
“Mission Possible:
What We Can Learn from Ben Carson, Evangelicals and America”
- Ben Carson
- North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (May, 2015): “As the 2016 United States election cycle begins, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is aware of the increased interest in the presidential candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson’s story is well known to most Adventists, and he is a well-respected physician. The Adventist Church has a longstanding position of not supporting or opposing any candidate for elected office. This position is based both on our historical position of separation of church and state and the applicable federal law relating to the church’s tax-exempt status. While individual church members are free to support or oppose any candidate for office as they see fit, it is crucial that the church as an institution remain neutral on all candidates for office. Care should be taken that the pulpit and all church property remain a neutral space when it comes to elections.” (http://spectrummagazine.org/article/2015/05/04/adventist-church-issues-statement-ben-carsons-candidacy)
- Evangelicals
- George Barna: Evangelicals (1) have made a personal commitment to Christ (“born again”), (2) believe that by faith in Him they will be in heaven one day, (3) say their faith is very important in their life today, (4) believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians, (5) believe that Satan exists, (6) believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works, (7) believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth, (8) assert that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches, and (9) describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. (https://www.barna.org/barna-update/faith-spirituality/648-is-evangelism-going-out-of-style#.Vjt4i7erTDc)
- Proverbs 14:34 NLT—“Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
- Proverbs 16:12; 20:28
- Daniel 2:21; 4:25, 27; 5:27; 6:25; 7:26,27; 10:13; 11:36,45
- And Us
- Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: “People attacked [Roger] Williams as a radical, a ‘church-ruinating’ anarchist, for laying the ideological foundation for a society that takes religion seriously but constructs a state without reference to any religious claims. Such a society is not secular, if by that we mean that religion plays no role in public life. Its politics, however, is godless, and so, in their official functions, are its politicians. Williams reached his conclusions about the urgent need to separate church and state, not because he did not care about the future of Christianity, but because he sometimes appeared to care about nothing else. Williams’s main concern was always the purity of the church.” (The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness 52)
- “No one who cares about civil peace would deny that morality is important. . . . The dispute is rather between those who argue that the content of morality is itself a question for public debate and those who argue that morality is an issue already settled by the religious views of the purported majority. To the latter, if public officials don’t profess religion, if they don’t make a link between proper citizenship and churchgoing, if they don’t see to it that schoolchildren pray, then the country is on its way to hell.” (Ibid 64)
- Great Controversy: “[The Pilgrims] patiently endured the privations of the wilderness, watering the tree of liberty with their tears, and with the sweat of their brow, till it took deep root in the land. The Bible was held as the foundation of faith, the source of wisdom, and the charter of liberty. The Bible was held as the foundation of faith, the source of wisdom, and the charter of liberty.” (296)
- “[The Bible’s] principles were diligently taught in the home, in the school, and in the church, and its fruits were manifest in thrift, intelligence, purity, and temperance. . . . It was demonstrated that the principles of the Bible are the surest safeguards of national greatness. The feeble and isolated colonies grew to a confederation of powerful states, and the world marked with wonder the peace and prosperity of ‘a church without a pope, and a state without a king.’” (Ibid emphasis supplied)
- Ellen White to A. T. Jones April 9, 1893: “Dear Brother, There is a subject which greatly troubles my mind. While I do not see the justice nor right in enforcing by law the bringing the Bible to be read in the public schools: yet there are some things which burden my mind in regard to our people making prominent their ideas on this point. These things I am sure will place us in a wrong light before the world.” “If such a law were to go into effect the Lord would overrule it for good, that an argument should be placed in the hands of those who keep the Sabbath, in their favor, to stand on the Bible foundation in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. . . . My brother, this objecting to the passing of a law to bring the Bible into the schools will work against us . . . who are making so much of the Bible.” (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials 1164)
- 1 Peter 3:13—“Who is going to harm you, if you are eager to do good?”
When you seek common good,
you share common ground.
Pioneer Operating Budget
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:42-45, ESV).
In one of my first years as a professor, I had a student who clearly did not like me. Every day she came to class with a negative attitude. One day, as I was leaving, I felt the Holy Spirit impress me to give her money. It seemed like an odd thought, so I brushed it away. Later that week, I felt God saying once again to give her money, but now He had doubled the amount.
As we left the classroom, I asked her to stay, and I mumbled through an explanation about why I was giving her money. I watched as she burst into tearsand explained that she had had no idea how she was going to get diapers for her baby.
That experience is a reminder of our call as Christians, to give. We never know the far-reaching impact of our financial gifts. Today’s offering is for our local church budget. Let’s partner with our church to expand our ability to help those around us in need.
By Heather Thompson Day
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
The activity bags have been a big hit with Pioneer kids. Please help us replenish missing items and make more bags by buying items of our Amazon Wish list or by labeling an offering for "Kids Church Bags". Thank you for your support in bringing kids to church!
We would like our community to know that effective Sunday, September 1, 2024, Neighbor To Neighbor will only take donations Monday through Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Being found on the premises after hours will not be allowed and will be considered trespassing. Thank you for your understanding.
Something In Common SS presents Don’t Give Up by Kyle Idleman
When you are hanging by a thread, losing faith and short on strength, what you need is real encouragement—a battle cry, a call to action, marching orders to push back the darkness. Stand up straight. Face your fears and enemies. And remember that you are not alone.
Join us weekly from August 24-September 21, Sabbath Mornings at 10:30-11:30, in PMC room 141.
Pioneer Memorial Church is delighted to announce the selection of Jacob Gibbs as a new Associate Pastor. Pastor Jacob was introduced to Pioneer on July 27, 2024, although his official start date was July 18, 2024. Pastor Jacob will serve as Associate Pastor at Pioneer Memorial Church and an Associate Chaplain with the Center for Faith Engagement at Andrews University.
Pastor Jacob Gibbs felt a call to ministry when he accepted Jesus as his Savior in 2002. Over the next nine years, he pursued his purpose and training at Mission College of Evangelism and Andrews University—gaining experience as a Bible Worker and Literature Evangelist. Pastor Jacob graduated from Andrews University in 2011 with a Bachelor's in Art and Theology. He later returned for his Master's Degree in Pastoral Ministry.
During his undergraduate years, he met his wife, Emily Knott, and they were married in 2012. Pastor Jacob has served in the Michigan Conference for 13 years, starting with a three-church district in the central part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and most recently as the Senior Pastor of the Cedar Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church at Great Lakes Adventist Academy. Pastor Jacob's passions in ministry include hobby-based outreach, small groups, applied arts, and personal Bible studies. Pastor Jacob and Emily have two daughters, Eva and Avianne. They look forward to starting this new chapter of their lives by serving the communities of Andrews University and the Pioneer Memorial Church.