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.

  Learn More
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 21:00

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

Saturday, March 11, 2017
Program: 
As We Begin
Most Lovely Lord Jesus • Hermann Schroeder
Praise
Holy Is the Lord • This Is My Desire (Lord I Give You My Heart) • Speak O Lord
Prayer
Sharon Terrell
Tithes & Offerings
Arioso • Johann Sebastian Bach
Baby Dedication
Cyrus Salvador Virchel presented by Gary & Athina Wood with José Bourget
Bible Reading
1 John 2:3-6 NLT
Worship in Music
Wayfarin' Stranger • Traditional / Barry Milner
Sermon
“STORM: Finding Jesus in the Gathering Dark”—7 • Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card
I Would Be Like Jesus • 311
As We Depart
O Lamb of God, Unspotted • Johann Sebastian Bach

“STORM: Finding Jesus in the Gathering Dark”—7
www.newperceptions.tv

 

  • Storm
    • James Hunter: “We say we want renewal of character in our day, but we don’t really know what we ask for. To have a renewal of character is to have the renewal of a creedal order that constrains, limits, bind, obligates, and compels. This price is too high for us to pay. We want character but without unyielding conviction. We want strong morality but without the emotional burden of guilt or shame. We want virtue but without the particular moral justifications that invariably offend. We want good without having to name evil. We want decency without the authority to insist upon it. We want moral community without any limitations to personal freedom. In short, we want what we cannot possibly have on the terms we want it.” (The Death of Character: Moral Education in an Age Without Good or Evil quoted by Gordon Bietz in Southern Columns Spring 2016)
  • Walk and Talk
    • Genesis 5:21-24
    • Hebrews 11:5
    • Ellen White: “In every phase of your character building [i.e., growth is taking place] you are to please God. This you may do; for Enoch pleased Him though living in a degenerate age. And there are Enochs in this our day.” (Christ’s Object Lessons 332, emphasis supplied)
    • John 15:5 à John 5:19 à John 5:30 à John 14:10
  • Credo
    • Hebrews 2:13—“‘I will put My trust in Him.’”
    • When you walk by faith, you will be like Jesus.
      • “By faith Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24) 
        • “By faith Jesus walked with God” (Hebrews 2:13)
      • “By faith Enoch pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5) 
        • ​“By faith Jesus pleased God” (John 5:30)
    • Ellen White: “Enoch kept the Lord ever before him, and the inspired word says that he ‘walked with God.’ He made Christ his constant companion. He was in the world, and performed his duties to the world; but he was ever under the influence of Jesus. He reflected Christ’s character, exhibiting the same qualities in goodness, mercy, tender compassion, sympathy, forbearance, meekness, humility, and love. His association with Christ day by day transformed him into the image of Him with whom he was so intimately connected. Day by day he was growing away from his own way into Christ’s way, the heavenly, the divine, in his thoughts and feelings. He was constantly inquiring, ‘Is this the way of the Lord?’ His was a constant growth, and he had fellowship with the Father and the Son.” (Review & Herald 4/28/1891)
    • Mark Labberton: “I started to read the New Testament just as I was about to enter college. With very few assumptions, and with no theological or spiritual commitments, I simply picked up the Bible and began to read. I read and reread the Gospels, and then the whole New Testament. . . . I was by no means sure there was a god, nor was I sure that this text and its apparent claims were true or relevant to some possible divine being. It simply seemed to me that a literate person should be acquainted with the Bible, and so it all began.”
    • “I came to discover that what Jesus offered was in fact the antidote to smallness: the kingdom of God. The smallness that pervades much of our natural human enterprise, whether it is business, education, politics, or religion, was the problem of a shrunken heart and mind. By contrast, the kingdom of God—life under the reign of God’s grace and truth in Jesus Christ—expands and unleashes our heart, mind, soul, and strength for the profound purposes for which we were made.”
    • “To my utter surprise, the Bible proved itself to be clear to me, even though I knew almost nothing about it. What the Bible made plain was that I was loved, sought, convicted, called, and redeemed by the true and living God who came to save the world—including me—in Jesus Christ. The clarity of Scripture was not an abstract principle; it was an apt description. . . . Over time, it has formed my spiritual genealogy and biography.”
    • “However urbane and cosmopolitan, skeptical and doubting, or poor and broken people may be, God’s Word speaks with authority and power. Just as water will always find its own way, so the Bible’s ‘streams of water’ do the same—finding their way into parched and thirsty lives to bring new life. . . . It’s not simply the clarity of comprehension for which Jesus calls us to be ‘perfect,’ but a life that looks increasingly like the life of the Word made flesh. This is the final test of the Bible’s clarity: Can people read our lives and see the life of God in us? This is the perspicuity [transparency] that God has given us in the Bible, a clarity that is meant to be readable in part through the unfinished lives of those who read and trust it.”
    • “The clarity of our faithful Bible reading is meant to show up in the clarity of our faithful lives.” (Christianity Today Jan/Feb 2017)

 

When you walk by faith in the Word,
 you will be like Jesus in the world.

 

(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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