The Happy, Healthy Holiday 2025 Cooking demonstration will be on Sunday, Nov. 23 from 3:00 to 5:30 PM in the Youth Chapel, with samples for everyone downstairs. They are featuring vegan foods suitable for festive events. This event is being co-hosted by Pioneer Health and Wellness, Healthy Together Friends, and RMES Home and School. To register text "FOOD" to 269-281-2345. Questions: please contact Evelyn Kissinger at evelynkissinger@gmail.com.
"You Turned My Mourning into Dancing"
The Habitude of Gratitude
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
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Program:
Preparation for Joy
Put on Gladness, O My Soul • Johannes Brahms
Invitation to Joy
O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord • Anonymous
Call to Joy
Psalm 100 NKJV • Sinegugu Katenga
Response of Rejoicing
Praise to the Lord • setting: Michael Burkhardt /Johann Gottfried Walther
Words of Joy
Psalm 98 NKJV • David Ortiz
Response of Rejoicing
Sing Praise to God • 29 setting:. Kenneth Logan
Prayer of Rejoicing
José Bourget
Choral Response of Rejoicing
From Hymns of Luther
Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord O Lord, We Praise Thee
Homily
"'You Turned My Mourning into Dancing': The Habitude of Gratitude" • Dwight K. Nelson
Choral Response in Thanksgiving
Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Lay in Death's Bonds) • Johann Sebastian Bach
Letters of Thanksgiving
From Chorales of Luther's Movement
What God Does Is Done Well O God, Thou Faithful God Rejoice Thyself, O My Soul Now Thank We All Our God
Procession of Thanksgiving
Gifts of Food, Song, Tithes & Offerings
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart • st. 1-2 of 27 | We Have Heard a Joyful Sound • st. 1,4 of 340 | This Is My Father’s World • st. 1, 3 of 92 | My Faith Looks Up to Thee • st. 1, 3 of 517 | To God Be the Glory • st. 1, 3 of 341 | Now Thank We All Our God • 559
Benediction in Thanksgiving
Dwight K. Nelson
Choral Response
Now Thank We All Our God • Kenneth Logan
Final Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God • Wilhelm Teschner
More In This Series
"'You Turned My Mourning into Dancing': Habitude of Gratitude"
- "Habitude"
- "An act or an attitude that becomes a custom or habit"
- "Habitude of Gratitude”
- Jeremiah 31:3-4, 13-14
- NRSV: "You shall take your tambourines and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers."
- Twenty One Pilots "Stressed Out":
Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days
When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out
We're stressed out . . . - Jean Twenge: "[The song] 'Stressed Out' captures this possible link between growing up slowly and mental health issues.... As Asbury University student Alyssa Driscoll wrote, the song ‘has exactly what we’re thinking written in it... [It] really GETS US.'" (iGen 111)
- "iGen is on the verge of the most severe mental health crisis for young people in decades. On the surface, though, everything is fine." (93)
- "In Laura's profile picture... she's a girl with wavy brown hair who looks no more than 16. Her site is titled 'a depressed person life.' Her pain is starkly evident in her posts, which include 'That's how depression hits. You wake up one morning, afraid that you’re gonna live,' 'I don't why I am so stupid. I don’t know why I am so sad,' and 'They all looked so [expletive] happy to me. Why couldn't I look like that?' The web page's title appeared as one apt word: ‘Broken.'" (99-100)
- Gregory Boyd: "My life is Christ—nothing else really matters." (Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now 57)
- Ministry of Healing
- Emotional Health Nugget #1: "When you open your eyes in the morning, God that He has kept you through the night. Thank Him for His peace in your heart. Morning, noon, and night, let as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven." (253)
- Emotional Health Nugget #2: "One of the surest hindrances to the recovery of the sick [physically/emotionally] is the centering of attention upon themselves. Many invalids feel that everyone should give them sympathy and help, when what they need is to have their attention turned away from themselves, to think of and care for ." (256)
- "Good deeds are a blessing, benefiting both the giver and the receiver of the kindness. The consciousness of right-doing is one of the best medicines for diseased bodies and minds. When the mind is free and happy from a sense of duty well done and the satisfaction of giving happiness to others, the cheering, uplifting influence brings new life to the whole being." (257)
- Emotional Health Nugget #3: "Let praise and thanksgiving be expressed in . When tempted, instead of giving utterance to our feelings, let us by faith lift up a song of to God." (254)
"My life is Christ—nothing else really matters."
Happy Health Cooking Demonstration
Pioneer Women's Ministries 2025 Advent Devotionals
Pioneer Women’s Ministries’ Advent devotionals will highlight a few of the promises of Jesus. To receive the “Red Letter Promises” daily devotionals by email for the first 25 days of December, text the word “ADVENT” to 269-281-2345. You can also receive a short daily text message preview of each day's devotional by providing your cell phone number when you register. We pray you will sense the nearness of Jesus during this holy season through these devotionals.
Sabbath School Volunteers Needed
Give our Pioneer kids a gift this holiday season - your time, teaching or supporting Sabbath Schools, 10:30-11:30 AM each Sabbath. Text CHILDREN to 269-281-2345 or email childrenss@pmchurch.org to learn more.
Offering for November 15, 2025
Pioneer Operating Budget
A recent article by McKinsey & Company noted that nearly two thirds of US-based employees who were surveyed said that COVID-19 has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. Nearly half said that they’re reconsidering the kind of work they do because of the pandemic. The research stated that people who live their purpose at work are more productive than people who don’t. They’re also healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay with the company.
When employees feel that their purpose is aligned with the organization’s purpose, the benefits expand to include stronger employee engagement, heightened loyalty, and a greater willingness to recommend the company to others. God gives us the privilege of partnering with Him in His kingdom work. It’s incredible that He gives us the joy of giving, and in doing so we find our purpose in life. God could have accomplished His mission of saving sinners without the aid of mankind. However, He knew that we couldn’t be happy without being part of the great work that would cultivate in us self-denial, compassion, kindness, and goodness—in other words, the Fruit of the Spirit. Today, let’s practice our purpose in life by partnering with God in Kingdom work.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
13th Annual Voice Vespers
Come worship with the AU Dept. of Music voice students for their annual voice vespers: "For Unto Us A Child Is Born". Focusing on songs celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Seeking Voices for Sabbath Video Series!
Adventist Learning Community is producing a short series exploring Sabbath keeping and its impact on everyday life. We're looking for individuals to interview who joined the Adventist Church within the last 15 to 20 years and are comfortable on camera. If you're open to sharing your experience and how Sabbath has shaped your life, please contact Luke Bowers at lbowersweb@gmail.com, we'd love to hear from you!
Belong: Thanksgiving
Our Thanksgiving tradition continues, just a little earlier this year! We’ll be serving Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, November 16 at 6 PM If you would like to contribute a dish, please let us know by texting the word "TOFURKY" to 269-281-2345 to select an item or two from the list!
Adventist-Muslim Relations Group
Join us to pray for active missionaries and explore how to build bridges between Adventists and Muslims. We meet at 6:30 PM on the first and third Monday each month in the Leadership Lab of the Campus Center at Andrews University.
Join the Traffic Ministry Team!
We’re looking for volunteers to serve in our Traffic Ministry, helping direct vehicles and assist members and guests as they arrive and leave. Your friendly presence helps ensure safety and creates a warm first impression for everyone coming to worship. If you’re interested or want to learn more, please contact Derill Legoh 732-379-1300.
Howard Center Presents...Rachel Barton Pine
Rachel Barton Pine, a renowned violinist, suffered a life-altering accident in 1995 when she was severely injured in a train accident, resulting in the loss of her left leg and significant damage to her right foot. Through resilience and determination Pine has overcome her challenges and has become an acclaimed American concert violinist whose infectious joy and passion transforms an audiences’ experience of classical music as they listen to her play. She has performed with the world’s foremost orchestras both locally and internationally and is a leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks. Please join us on November 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM at the Howard Performing Arts Center for a heart-warming concert by Rachel Barton Pine.
