A DIY Guide

A DIY Guide to Become the Healthiest University in the World (When Well-being Means More Than Being Well)

Speaker

Dwight K. Nelson

Dwight 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, September 28, 2019
Program: 
Opening Music
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart! • Kenneth Logan
Introit
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart • Patrick Hawes
Songs of Praise
Hymns of Holistic Wellness: A Hymn Cycle—O for a Thousand Tongues (st. 1, 3, 5-6 of No. 250), It Is Well With My Soul (No. 530), Praise to the Lord (No. 1), The Blood, Above All
Prayer
José Bourget
Children's Story
Deck Yourself, My Soul, With Gladness • Johannes Brahms
Worship in Music
O Be Joyful • Philip Stopford
Homily
“A DIY Guide How to Become the Healthiest University in the World (When Well-being Means More Than Being Well)”
Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Card, Tithes, & Offerings
Pioneer Operating Budget
Hymn of Commitment
I’d Rather Have Jesus • 327
Benediction
Closing Music
Alleluia • Théodore Dubois

“A DIY Guide How to Become the Healthiest University in the World (When Well-being Means More than Being Well)”
www.newperceptions.tv

» Forbes 

• “What Would You Pay for Extra Years of Perfect Health?” (www.forbes.com/sitesdavidrae/2018/06/19/perfect-health/#43ad19312ee2)
 

» Harvard University 75 years longitudinal study

• “The conclusion? According to Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one thing surpasses all the rest in terms of importance ‘The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.” (www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/want-a-life-of-fulfillment-a-75-year-harvard-study-says-to-prioritize-this-one-t.html)

• Waldinger: “It's not just the number of friends you have, and it's not whether or not you're in a committed relationship. It's the quality of your close relationships that matters.”

• Harvard psychiatrist George Vaillant re two foundational elements to the study: “One is love. The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.”
 

» 3 John 1-2—a prayer for Mens, Corpus, Spiritus

• English study of retirees: “Spirituality and religion appear to . . . bring [1] a sense of personal meaning; [2] control beyond one's own resources; [3] comfort; and [4] intimacy with a higher power; and they are life transforming, leading people to replace old values with new. . . The findings suggest that older adults who derive a sense of meaning in life from religion tend to have higher levels of life  satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism.” (www.academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/59/3/P123/563604)

• Canadian study of college students: “Canadian college students who are involved in campus ministries visited the doctor less. They also scored higher on tests of psychological well-being [PWB], and coped with stress more effectively.” (www.verywellmind.com/how-spirituality-can-benefit-mental-and-physical health-3144807)

 

» A DIY guide—5 strategies to grow spiritually (University of Northern Iowa)

• Be . Spiritual truths often come in the form of a still small voice that is difficult to hear above the chaos and confusion of a frantic lifestyle. Set aside time for solitude and meditation. [Go to www.pmchurch.org/projects/newwaytopray]

• Be to the spiritual. Spiritual experiences often come in unexpected forms and packages.

• Be and curious. An attitude of active searching increases your options and your potential for spiritual centering. Meditation may very well allow you to experience tranquility and peace.

• Be to pain and grief. Pain helps us focus on the widest questions of our being. It's a deepener. A life without pain leads to a sparse, shallow existence. Allow yourself to feel your pain fully, then ask, “What is it trying to teach me?”

• Be . Play is a pleasurable, freeing experience. It breeds spontaneous enthusiasm and celebration. When you make music, laugh, sing however you play—listen for sounds of the Spirit. (www.studentwellness.uni.edu/spirituality)

 

» 1 John 4:19, 10—L-O-V-E

Steps to Christ: “Such love is without a parallel. . . . The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him! . . . The more we study the divine character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly we discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite and a tender pity surpassing a mother's yearning sympathy for her wayward child.” (15)

• The love story of Robert and Muriel McQuilken

 

“O Love that will not let me go”

 

Fellowship Dinner
Pioneer Commons

 There will be a fellowship dinner following the second worship service in the commons.

Offering for January 10, 2026

Pioneer Operating Budget

You may have heard it said, and it is true that patience is a virtue. What is also true and closely linked to patience is found in the opening verse of the parable of Luke 18:1-8 (NIV). Jesus told his disciples that they should “always pray and not give up” (verse 1). In today’s fast paced, instant, and have-to-get-it-now world, learning to be patient and not lose heart or become discouraged is surely a quality that is desirable. The widow in this parable showed the importance of being patient in one’s petitions and pursuits.

In her attempt to get the judge to defend her against her enemy, who seemed to have been making her life difficult, she kept on asking for his defense. Finally, the judge yielded to her persistence and vindicated her.

The same is true of God. When we are diligent in our prayer life, longsuffering when we are seeking to invoke Christ’s intervention, and faithful in honoring Him in our stewardship, He will move to positive action. Let us remember that unlike the judge we cannot wear out God. 

Today, as we worship Him through the return of our tithes and giving of our offerings, let us practice being persistent in honoring Him with our substance and the first fruit of our increase.

North American Division Stewardship Ministries