If you ordered fruits during the Pathfinder Fruit Fundraiser and requested shipment to PMC, the orders are anticipated to arrive on Tuesday, December 5th. The fruits may be picked up between 6 PM and 8 PM in the PMC Commons.
Charmed into Righteousness
The Most Loving God
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
“Charmed into Righteousness: The Most Loving God”
- John 13:1—“Having loved his own, he them to the end.”
- John Peckham: “Profound love is connoted by the expression ‘to the end,’ likely connoting both and . Herman N. Ridderbos renders it ‘love to the last breath’ and ‘love in the highest intensity.’. . . Further, Christ’s love is here described as ‘for his own,’ a term of to near relations’ in some ancient Near Eastern literature.” (The Love of God: A Canonical Model 149-150)
- Jeremiah 31:3—“‘I have [aheb] you, my people, with an everlasting [ahabah]. With unfailing [chesed] I have drawn you to myself.’”
- Genesis 29:18—“Jacob was in [aheb] with Rachel and said, ‘I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel. . . . So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his [ahabah] for her.”
- God seizes the language of two and declares—that is how much I love you—with the passion of a Lover.
- John Peckham: “Scripture consistently displays God’s intensely and profoundly emotional love for his people.” (147-148)
- 2 Samuel 1:26—“‘I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your [ahabah] for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.’”
- God seizes the language of two and declares—that is how much I love you—with the deep love of a friend.
- Exodus 34:6, 7—“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in [chesed] and faithfulness, maintaining [chesed] to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.’”
- Jeremiah 31:20—“‘Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great [racham] for him,’ declares the LORD.”
- John Peckham: “This language depicts profoundly passible [capable of feeling] and intense emotionality, evidenced by the Hebrew idiom . . . which literally refers to turbulent or roaring internal organs and here ‘depicts God’s being churned up with longing for his son.’” (153)
- We have but a faint and dim concept of how the love of God is for us.
- “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem—how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)
- “Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)
- “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!” (Hosea 4:17)
- 1 John 4:8, 16—“God is .”
- Romans 5:8—“But God demonstrates His own for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- 1 John 3:1—“See what great the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!”
- 1 John 4:10—“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
- John 3:16—“For God so the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
- Romans 8:35, 38-39—“Who shall separate us from the of Christ? . . . For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- John 15:13—“Greater has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
- Ellen White: “The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of [God’s] character of .” (Christ’s Object Lessons 415)
“The Maker of all things loves and wants me.”
—Reynolds Price
There will be a fellowship dinner, following the second worship service in the commons on the lower level. Visitors are always welcome.
Pioneer Operating Budget
December starts off the Christmas season in earnest for many people, even if merchants have been pushing the need to buy gifts for weeks already. What makes the Christmas season special for you? Is it the music, the decorations, special foods, family gatherings, or the gifts—what you might receive, as well as what you might give?
Gift-giving can be problematic. What if someone gives you a gift, but you don’t have one to give in return or vice versa?! Which matters more: the amount of money you spend on the gift or giving a “perfect gift” to a particular person? Let’s reverse that; what if someone gives you a gift and it’s not something you’ve ever wanted or will ever use? Should you put on a happy face and say something like, “How can I ever thank you enough for this gift?”
Each Sabbath we collect an offering as you give your gifts to God. We don’t limit this to the Christmas season because Christmas happens every time we come to church. We come to worship the greatest gift of all time—the gift of God coming to this earth in the form of Jesus Christ.
Our gifts, whether they are wrapped in beautiful Christmas paper or given as cash or checks or through online giving with a credit card, show our thankfulness to God.
So, “Merry Christmas!” And let’s take this opportunity to give our gifts to God.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
Pioneer Young Adult Ministries is hosting Soup for Students. All Collegiate-aged individuals are welcomed to attend and enjoy soup and a touch of home while studying for finals. Volunteers can contact Prescott Khair (prescott.khair@pmchurch.org)
Jesus said, "When I was in prison, you visited Me." If you have a heart for reaching out to a lonely person in need of encouragement while incarcerated, have I got a person for you! Please contact Sue Wein (whitewsu@andrews.edu). I will give you the details and help you in connecting with her.
In just a few weeks, on December 9, we will be having our annual Children’s Celebration of Christmas. This is the worship service every year where we bring a new unwrapped toy for a child up to age 16. These gifts will go to families in our community who are not able to purchase gifts. This is yet another way that Pioneer can be Love on the Move!
It is time to join the 4th Annual "First Advent Reflections". This Christmas season the Pioneer Women’s Ministries Team is delighted to invite you to reflect on Handel's "Messiah".
A daily email and a text will be sent to the ladies who sign-up. To register text the word "Hallelujah" to 269-281-2345
Bring in the sounds of the season with the Wind Symphony’s Christmas concert, “Christmas Through the Ages” on Saturday, December 2nd at 8:00 PM at the Howard Performing Arts Center. The program will feature familiar holiday tunes that will have you tapping your toes and singing along! Selections include a lively version of Carol of the Bells by Sean O’Loughlin, a fun arrangement of a famous John Philip Sousa march, Christmas and Sousa Forever by Julie Giroux, the ever popular Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, as well as a few other surprises. We look forward to having you join us as we begin to celebrate the Christmas season.
Would you like to show "Love on the Move" to foster, adoptive, kinship families in our community? This is your invitation to join God's Hands 4 Kids in doing just that. Could you make a pan of lasagna for GH4K's Connect Support Group Christmas Celebration on December 8 delivering ready to serve. For details and to sign up go to our website GH4K.org There will be more opportunities to give shared there. Godshands4kids@gmail.com
Did you know that 30% of our students are facing hunger on our campus? Belong Ministries is partnering with CFE and other campus ministries to begin bridging the gap of hunger on campus. You can be a part of this initiative by providing a Thanksgiving basket full of microwavable foods and treats. If interested in donating a Thanksgiving basket we'll provide a list, please sign up by scanning the QR code