If you are experiencing the realities that come with divorce or separation and are looking for a safe place to process it all and find a caring community that understands what you are going through, please join us Weds evenings from 6 to 8 PM in the boardroom. You can sign up on divorcecare.org or on at pmchurch.org in the Grow Groups section under Pioneer Life.
Chasing Hope
From an Empty Tomb
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, 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
“Chasing Hope: From an Empty Tomb”
- “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!”
New DivorceCare group starting 2/4/26
Honduras Mission Vespers
Come hear stories of answered prayers, stories and abundant blessings from our Honduras youth missions team. February 7, Sabbath afternoon 5 PM in the PMC commons.
You Can Lick Diabetes
Type II diabetes, by far the commonest kind, causes nerve and eye damage which can be completely reversed, along with lowering risk for heart attack and stopping further kidney damage through simple lifestyle changes. Join us on Monday evenings at 7:00 PM in the 6th grade Sabbath School room to learn several ways. The first meeting is this Monday, February 2, so register now by texting "DIABETES" to 269-281-2345, and bring your spouse or a supportive friend.
Sunday Music Series with Carla Trynchuk & Elena Braslavsky
Violinist Carla Trynchuk and pianist Elena Braslavsky will be performing a recital including works by Beethoven, Debussy, and the Jewish Ukrainian composer Meitus. Trynchuk, faculty at Andrews University, has performed internationally as soloist and recitalist in more than 15 countries. Braslavsky, formerly a faculty member at The Juilliard School and the Mannes School of Music, currently serves on the piano faculty of the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. Trynchuk and Braslavsky were classmates together at The Juilliard School. This will be a FREE recital on February 22, at 4:00 PM.
An Acoustic Evening with Sidewalk Prophets
We’re excited to be hosting An Acoustic Evening With Sidewalk Prophets this spring. In partnership with Great Big Family Productions, we’re hosting a night built around connection, stories, and songs. Because this is a small acoustic experience, seating is limited and will move quickly. If you or someone you know is planning to attend, we encourage you to get seats while they’re still available. The Howard Performing Arts Center is pleased to be able to host Sidewalk Prophets at our venue, however, all tickets will be sold online. Please click on the link to purchase your ticket.
Love on the Move
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
Master Guide Toolbox!
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!
ZOOM IN! Summer Camp 2026
ZOOM IN! to God’s Amazing World at The Crayon Box Summer Camp, running June 1–August 20, 2026. Children entering Kindergarten through age 12 will enjoy a summer filled with nature, science, creativity, teamwork, and play as they explore how God’s hand is at work all around them. Each themed week encourages campers to notice the small wonders, big ideas, and amazing details of God’s creation. Located on the beautiful campus of Andrews University, The Crayon Box offers a safe, joyful, faith-centered place for children to spend their summer vacation with on-campus adventures, campus field trips, and visits from zoo and wildlife educators. Enrollment is open now at andrews.edu/services/crayonbox/summercamp. Space is limited. Forms are due May 18, 2026.
