Pioneer Welcomes New Lead Pastor  —  

On March 22, 2023, Shane Anderson was confirmed as lead pastor of Pioneer Memorial Church, becoming the fifth lead pastor to shepherd the campus church of Andrews University.

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Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 21:00
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Chasing Hope

From an Empty Tomb

Resources

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 1 of this 4-part series.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Program: 
As We Begin
That Easter Day With Joy Was Bright • Sharon Rogers
Praise
Christ Is Alive • Mighty to Save • How Deep the Father's Love for Us • Because He Lives
Prayer
Ben Martin
Children's Story
That Easter Day With Joy Was Bright • David Johnson
Processional of Hope
Dwight & Karen Nelson / Christ the Lord Is Risen Today • 166
Sermon
“Chasing Hope: From An Empty Tomb” • Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card, Tithes & Offerings
Hymn
He Lives • 251
As We Depart
Alleluia • Théodore Dubois

More In This Series

04/23/2016
For an Empty Dream
Part 4 of this 4-part series.
04/16/2016
With an Empty Bank
Part 3 of this 4-part series.
04/09/2016
To an Empty World
Part 2 of this 4-part series.
All Sermons
Print Download

“Chasing Hope: From an Empty Tomb”

www.newperceptions.tv

 

  •  “The Instinct of Hope”

Is there another world for this frail dust
To warm with life and be itself again?
Something about me daily speaks there must,
And why should instinct nourish hopes in vain?
'Tis nature's prophesy that such will be,
And everything seems struggling to explain
The close sealed volume of its mystery.
Time wandering onward keeps its usual pace
As seeming anxious of eternity,
To meet that calm and find a resting place.
E'en the small violet feels a future power
And waits each year renewing blooms to bring,
And surely man is no inferior flower
To die unworthy of a second spring?

                              —John Clare (1793-1864)

  • The Narrative of Hope
    • Matthew 28:1-10
    • Desire of Ages: “The earth trembles at his approach, the hosts of darkness flee, and as he rolls away the stone, heaven seems to come down to the earth. The soldiers see him removing the stone as he would a pebble, and hear him cry, Son of God, come forth; Thy Father calls Thee. They see Jesus come forth from the grave, and hear Him proclaim over the rent sepulcher, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ As He comes forth in majesty and glory, the angel host bow low in adoration before the Redeemer, and welcome Him with songs of praise.” (780)
  • The Promise of Hope
    • 1 Peter 1:1-3
    • 1 Corinthians 15:13-19
    • Earnest Becker: “The soberest conclusion that we could make about what has been taking place on the planet for about three billion years is that it is being turned into a vast pit of fertilizer.” (The Denial of Death 283/in Lewis Smede’s How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong? 132)
    • 1 Peter 1:3-5 The Message: “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.”
    • Lewis Smedes: “We may as well be very candid: Christian hope is fixed on the last square of our date book. Hope bets that the last square is not that closed closet commonly called a coffin, but a front door into a new world where everything is right, right in all its dimensions. There will be an intermission, of course, between my arrival at my own private last square and the arrival of the new world. But I will not feel as if I need to wait for it to come. In fact, when I find myself in the new earth, I will feel as if I got there at the moment I left the last square of my calendar. It may be light years away, but in the new dimension it will seem like tomorrow.” (How Can It Be All Right, When Everything Is All Wrong? 124)
    • Rubem A. Alves: “Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it.”

 

“And the future starts now!”

 

(Flyer, TV, Google search, name of person who invited you, etc.)
Offering for March 25, 2023

Michigan Advance Partners

I was appointed to the Conference Lay Advisory Committee as Vice Chair of Area D and last year moved to Chair of Area D. Back when the MAP concept was presented by Jerry Snowden at Cedar Lake, I was there.

It seemed like a genius idea, and I have supported MAP with my 1% offering ever since. During my time on the committee, I have personally been blessed to deliver 9 of the 10 grants for Area D. It has been a joy and pleasure visiting the churches and seeing how they are dedicated to maintaining and building up their churches to the glory of God! On these trips to deliver grants, we make an appeal to all members to focus on the MAP giving which is recommended at 1%.

Historically, there has been about .25% donated for capital improvements and unique evangelism projects through MAP giving. Funding is approved for distribution in the meetings the committee has each year, generally scheduled in March, August, and December. Your church application for funding needs to be funneled through your Area Chairperson and is due a minimum of 14 days before these meetings. You may find more information on the Lay Advisory page at www.misda.org. Thank you for your support of MAP every 4th Sabbath.

By Patricia Lykins, Chair of MAP, Area D.

—North American Division Stewardship Ministries

Our Service People

Our SDA World Service Organization (WSO) at the General Conference ministers to SDA Military Active Duty, Reserves, and National Guard. Also under its umbrella are all levels of Law Enforcement, Firefighters, EMTs, Corrections Personnel, Government Workers at all levels, and Military Veterans. All have access to WSO support resources by creating a personal profile at portal.worldserviceorganization.org. Pass the word! Questions-contact James North, Jr., at jamesn@andrews.edu or cell 269-876-2232, your PMC Servicepersons Coordinator.

Paper Crafting Together

Bring your paper crafting (card making, scrapbooking, mixed media) supplies to the Lake Union Conference Board Room on Sunday, March 26, from 1 to 5 PM. Enjoy spending time with friends or make some new ones. We will have chocolate to share. Questions, call Sherrie Davis, 269-473-8274. Email sherrie.davis@lakeunion.com to register. $5 Donation requested to help defray the cost of the rental.

“Who Is This King Of Glory?” Psalm 24:8-10

Easter Reflections 2023
April 1-9 “Who Is This King Of Glory?” Psalm 24:8-10 This is our third year of Easter Reflections.  You will receive a daily email and/or a text meditation for nine days on events that happened during the Passion week. Let us reflect on what Jesus did for us.  How does it relate to me today? To receive this daily short blessing, text "GLORY" to 269-281-2345 Sponsoring Organization or Ministry Name: Pioneer Women's Ministries

"Fellowship Leads To Friendship"

What a blessing!  45 Women attended the “Fellowship Leads To Friendship” event.

Our speaker, Paulette Johnson, Andrews University Dean of Libraries, encouraged us with the many benefits of friendship. Marlene Burt guided us through rounds of “Speed Friendship,”  where we became acquainted with one another. And everyone enjoyed the simple lunch we prepared for them. The ladies are looking forward to the next time we can be together again.

Pioneer’s Main Office Entrance Closed Mondays to Fridays until Further Notice

Thanks to great progress on Renovate 2.0—The Elevator Project—Pioneer’s main office entrance at the canopy is now closed Mondays to Fridays until further notice.  To access Reception or the Church offices, please use the entrance at the Lower Level Welcome Center. Thank you for your patience and continued support of this critical project.
 —Jenifer Daley, Pastor for Administration

RMES Book Swap

Ruth Murdoch Elementary School is collecting books during the month of March for their upcoming student book swap . If you have any books appropriate for grades K-8 and consistent with Christian values that you are willing to donate, please bring them to RMES during business hours between now and March 31. RMES students will have an opportunity to select a book during the week of April 3 to 7. This is a wonderful way for our church family to support our students and promote a love for reading. Please email RMESHomeAndSchool@gmail.com or speak to Kimberly Westfall if you have any questions. Thank you for your support!

Kindergarten Parent Night and Kindergarten Visitor's Day

Our Kindergarten program helps children grow in spiritual, academic, physical and social ways! Parents of children who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2023 are invited to our Kindergarten Parent Information Night April 4, 6:30-7:30 PM. Children are invited to Kindergarten Visitor's Day April 5. Please let us know you are coming by calling 269-471-3220.

Farewell Tributes for Pastor Dwight and Karen

You’re invited to send a personal message of thanks to Pastor Dwight and Karen. Selected messages will be included in a Tribute presentation to Pastor Dwight and available on this site at a later date.
-Farewell Planning Committee

Share your tribute at pmchurch.org/farewell/tributes. 

Beds for Berrien

On April 16, Pioneer is planning to provide beds for children in our community who don’t have any. This project, Beds for Berrien, needs your help! There are 3 main ways to assist:

First, you can donate. Our goal is to raise $15,000 to provide 40 beds to children who need a better sleeping situation in their homes. Your donations to the Pioneer Outreach fund will help us reach that goal!

Second, we need volunteers who can help us get organized on our bed distribution day, April 16. We’ll be unloading bed frames, mattresses, and bedding, sorting them into piles, and loading them into delivery vehicles.

Third, we need 40 delivery teams to transport the beds and bedding to homes, and assemble the bed frames for the families.

If you’d like to donate to the Pioneer Outreach fund, volunteer, and/or find more information, text BEDS to 269-281-2345 or visit pmchurch.org/beds. Donations to the Pioneer Outreach fund in excess of what we need for this project will be used for other service/outreach initiatives in and by our community.

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