A British Winter’s Night concert will be an evening of lively traditional British tunes and ballads. From the popular Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite, to the rousing tunes of the Irish Washerwoman and Country Gardens, this evening is sure to delight! This concert will also feature our newly formed Andrews Brass, an ensemble of student musicians. The Andrews University Wind Symphony, under the direction of Denisse Santos-Gooden will take the stage at the Howard Performing Arts Center on January 31, 2026 at 7:30 PM. This is a change from the original time of 8:00 PM. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the SMC Brass Band will not be able to join us this year. We hope you choose to start off your new year with toe-tapping tunes and swaying sweet melodies! Tickets are available at howard.andrews.edu.
The Last Letter
Reading Between the Lines
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
More In This Series
"The Last Letter: Reading Between the Lines"
www.newperceptions.tv
- Laodicea
- Oswald Chambers: "We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves—it is the last conceit to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in spiritual life is ." (My Utmost for His Highest 12)
- Ellen White: "God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude. . . . The is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give." (Steps to Christ 30)
- Sigve Tonstad: "The Laodicean community revels in a sense of wholeness, ensconced within an all-around edifice of accomplishment. The community has no sense of need. We should assume that the community is too sophisticated to say openly the things attributed to it, but it is capable of behaving in ways that convey the attitude described. The message to the community is the keenest statement of how difficult it is to see the discrepancy between self-representation and ."
- Isaiah 55:1—"'Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no , come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without and without cost.'"
- Jesus and Laodicea
- Three priceless gifts:
- Gift #1—"I counsel you to buy from Me ."
- 1 Peter 1:7—". . . that the genuineness of your , being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
- Hebrews 2:13—"I will put my in Him."
- Revelation 14:12—"Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of ."
- Gift #2—"I counsel you to buy from Me ."
- Isaiah 61:10—"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a of righteousness."
- Isaiah 64:6—"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."
- Desire of Ages: "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.'" (25)
- Gift #3—"I counsel you to buy from Me .
- Ephesians 1:18—"I pray that the eyes of your may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you."
- 2 Corinthians 4:6—"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. . . . [But] God made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of ."
- Gift #1—"I counsel you to buy from Me ."
- One persistent truth:
- Jesus became all we Laodiceans are, so He could give us all we Laodiceans need.
- And what do we need most of all?
- Three priceless gifts:
We need Jesus
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made Angel Tree possible this Christmas. Because of your thoughtfulness and generosity, many of our students/student families experienced a warmer, more joyful holiday season. We extend a special thank you to the Lake Union for their generous support and partnership. We are deeply grateful for your continued giving and support of Belong Ministries and for walking alongside us throughout the academic year to serve and uplift our students at Andrews University.
Michigan Advance Partners
The Conference leadership is tasked with guiding the churches in proclaiming the gospel in their areas. They do this in at least four ways. First, they provide pastors and specialized personnel like Family Ministries. Second, they encourage conference-sponsored evangelism activities done through pastors and members. Third, the conference supports and supervises Adventist schools. Fourth, they collaborate with the local congregations to build churches, schools, and other facilities.
For much of this work, the Conference depends on the local church and its members for their financial contributions, as the tithe only covers the salaries of the pastors and other specialized conference ministries and personnel. To finance the remainder of these projects, most conferences collect an offering once per month. The name for this offering may vary in some conferences, but it is generally called Conference Advance. While each giver must decide for themselves how much to give, it is recommended that each of us give the equivalent of 1.2% of our income. When this offering is collected, the local treasurer will then forward it to the conference.
Thank you for your committed support to the conference initiatives through your giving and for not becoming “weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:2, 9, ESV).
May you receive the bountiful blessings of God today.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
God's Hands 4 Kids, a PMC Grow Group outreach to our community serving foster, adoptive, kinship and guardianship families partnering with Berrien County Department Of Health and Human Services. As a gift to the families served by them and as a gift to the community of ministry leaders and professionals, we will be providing Hope for the Journey, a video conference on Trust Based Relational Intervention - trauma, on Sunday afternoons in February here at PMC. It is produced by Show Hope. For more information and to register go to our website GH4K.org
Please join us for the next Master Guide Toolbox event at the Andrews University Seminary, February 6-7, 2026! Share with your friends, colleagues, students or in your newsletters! If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Logan at cjhlogan@gmail.com. Spread the word!
Parent Circle is a new discipleship space where parents of kids ages 4–12 connect, study the Bible, and grow together while their children are in Sabbath School. The resource area features a lending library, as well as support for completing youth and children’s ministry certifications. Join us on any Sabbath, anytime from 10:30-11:30 AM.
A British Winter’s Night concert will be an evening of lively traditional British tunes and ballads. From the popular Vaughan Williams Sea Songs and English Folk Song Suite, to the rousing tunes of the Irish Washerwoman and Country Gardens, this evening is sure to delight! The Andrews University Wind Symphony, under the direction of Denisse Santos-Gooden, will once again collaborate with the Southwestern Michigan College Brass Band under the direction of Mark Hollandsworth. The two ensembles will take the stage at the Howard Performing Arts Center on January 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM. Start off your new year with toe-tapping tunes and swaying sweet melodies! Tickets are available at howard.andrews.edu.