There will be a fellowship dinner, following the second worship service in the commons on the lower level. Visitors are always welcome.
Roommates, Bad Dates, and Soul Mates
Roommates, Bad Dates, & Soulmates-Part 3
Speaker
Dwight K. NelsonSince 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
More In This Series
“Roommates, Bad Dates and Soul Mates”—3
www.newperceptions.tv
» Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
• #1—“Two are better than one” because you have someone to share the . (Financial benefit)
- “Research has shown the financial benefits of marriage. Long-term marriage offers a 77% better rate of return than staying single and total wealth of married persons increases 16% year over year. In other words, the you are married, the more money you make. . . . [I]f this was the reported returns on a stock growth fund, we’d all be jumping in.” (www.moneyunder30.com/financial-benefits-of-marriage)
• #2—“Two are better than one” because you have someone to help you . (Emotional benefit)
• #3—“Two are better than one” because you have someone to keep you . (Physical benefit)
• #4—“Two are better than one” because you have someone to help you . (Security benefit)
» A great love story most have never heard . . .
- C. S. Lewis: “We feasted on love; every mode of it, solemn and merry, romantic and realistic, sometimes as dramatic as a thunderstorm, sometimes comfortable and unemphatic as putting on your soft slippers. She was my pupil and my teacher, my subject and my sovereign, my trusty comrade, friend, shipmate, fellow-soldier. My mistress, but at the same time all that any man friend has ever been to me.” (Quoted in Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts 142)
- Les and Leslie Parrott: “If there is a lesson to be gained from this amazing love story, it must be that partners without a spiritual depth of oneness can never compete with the fullness of love that enjoy. Marriage, when it is healthy, has a mystical way of revealing God; a way of bringing a smiling peace to our restless hearts.” (142)
» The third strand
• Jeremiah 9:24—“Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know [yada] me, that I am the LORD.”
• Genesis 4:1—“Adam made love [yada] to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant.”
• God takes the same word for “making love” [yada] and declares “That’s what I want in a relationship with you—the between a husband and a wife—I want you to know me like Adam knew Eve.”
• Alan McGinnis: “There can be no intimacy without .” (The Friendship Factor 105)
• Alice Fryling: “[Sex] is an expression of intimacy, not the to intimacy. True intimacy springs from verbal and emotional communion. True intimacy is built on a commitment to honesty, love and freedom. True intimacy is not primarily a sexual encounter. Intimacy, in fact, has almost nothing to do with our organs. A prostitute may expose her body, but her relationships are hardly intimate.” (www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/three-lies-about-premarital-sex/)
• Don’t miss Adventist Engaged Encounter with Jeff/Twyla Smith (Nov 1-3).
• Ecclesiastes 4:12—“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
- The Third Strand—Proverbs 18:24/John 15:13-14
- #1 Felt Need—How to grow a relationship with God
- Jennifer Schwirzer calls it “going .”
- “A New Way to Pray” (www.newperceptions.tv/newwaytopray)
• R
• R
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“Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners!”
Adventist Community Services
People come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their needs. Adventist Community Services offers diverse services tailored to fit the needs of the vulnerable in their community.
David walked into Joseph’s Storehouse Food Pantry, an ACS center in Oklahoma. The staff soon learned that he had recently been released from prison and was saving money to rent an apartment. At the time, he was living in a tent near a creek just outside of town and had no way to cook. David chose food that was ready to eat out of the package.
Realizing that more was needed, a volunteer invited him back the next day to pick up cooking items. The volunteer went shopping for items they didn’t already have at the center and soon, David received a small cook stove, fuel, can opener, and cookware when he returned. ACS continues to assist David with food when he runs low, and prays for his safety and for God’s continued presence.
Whether giving food and cooking gear, dental care, clothing, after school tutoring, or English language skills, your ACS offering paves a pathway forward for somebody in need.
Ellen White shared, “The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me’” (Ministry of Healing, p. 143).
Adventist Community Service’s ministries mingle in our communities, bringing Jesus’ goodwill to the people. Join us and become the practical hands and feet of God in our world.
—North American Division Stewardship Ministries
Our annual Christmas breakfast potluck will be on December 23, 2023, from 9:00 - 10:15 AM at the Commons. Bring your favorite breakfast to share.
A-J - breakfast casserole or hot/cold cereal
K-R - bread, muffin, or pastries
S-Z - fruits
Pioneer will provide hot and cold drinks and nuts.
Pioneer Young Adult Ministries is hosting Soup for Students. All Collegiate-aged individuals are welcomed to attend and enjoy soup and a touch of home while studying for finals. Volunteers can contact Prescott Khair (prescott.khair@pmchurch.org) or text SOUP to 269-281-2345.
Jesus said, "When I was in prison, you visited Me." If you have a heart for reaching out to a lonely person in need of encouragement while incarcerated, have I got a person for you! Please contact Sue Wein (whitewsu@andrews.edu). I will give you the details and help you in connecting with her.
In just a few weeks, on December 9, we will be having our annual Children’s Celebration of Christmas. This is the worship service every year where we bring a new unwrapped toy for a child up to age 16. These gifts will go to families in our community who are not able to purchase gifts. This is yet another way that Pioneer can be Love on the Move!
It is time to join the 4th Annual "First Advent Reflections". This Christmas season the Pioneer Women’s Ministries Team is delighted to invite you to reflect on Handel's "Messiah".
A daily email and a text will be sent to the ladies who sign-up. To register text the word "Hallelujah" to 269-281-2345
Would you like to show "Love on the Move" to foster, adoptive, kinship families in our community? This is your invitation to join God's Hands 4 Kids in doing just that. Could you make a pan of lasagna for GH4K's Connect Support Group Christmas Celebration on December 8 delivering ready to serve. For details and to sign up go to our website GH4K.org There will be more opportunities to give shared there. Godshands4kids@gmail.com
The award-winning Andrews University Singers and Chorale conducted by Stephen Zork collaborate with the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Élysée in the 25th annual presentation of Welcome Christmas. The theme of the concert is “Peace on Earth” and comprised of a festive garland of heartwarming and endearing sacred and secular symphonic choral works and carols. The variety of musical offerings encompass Giacomo Puccini’s “Gloria” to Harry Simeon’s choral setting of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Join us for this special concert featuring special guest soloists and presenters.
The Christmas Banquet for Seniors comes this year on Sunday, the 10th of December, at 1:00 PM at the Village Church Fellowship Hall. This year, Village Church is responsible for decorating the tables, the meal, and the program. (Next year it will be PMC's turn.) The cost of the meal is $20 for everyone. However, PMC and Village Church will pay for all attending Senior members of their respective churches. All other Senior members will need to pay at the door. If you have not yet signed up for the Christmas Banquet, please call either the Village SDA Church at 269-471-7795 OR Pioneer Memorial Church at 269-471-3133 OR Cleon White at 269-471-5553 by December 5.