Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Want A Friend? Be A Friend!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

They call this Black Friday because of all the sales that go on. But this year I hope most of you are shopping safely from home. Personally I took advantage of some of the Black Friday sales for tech items that we needed for church. Yay! 

So how was your Thanksgiving Day yesterday? Mary Kay and I spent a quiet day at home. Only Jessica and Dave came over for dinner last evening. But we had the opportunity to talk with all our children and grandchildren throughout the day. It was not the kind of Thanksgiving Day we normally enjoy with the house full of family. However the quiet moments gave us a chance to reflect on all the things for which we are grateful. I am so thankful for each one of you, who call Church Requel your church home. What a blessing each one of you are to Mary Kay and me!

Sunday morning we will continue our Wisdom series from the book of Proverbs. I hope you are enjoying these teachings as much as I am. It gave me great joy to be back in the pulpit this past Sunday morning.

This Sunday we will be talking about friendships. We'll be focusing on real friends and on quality of friendships, not quantity. (Not the Facebook kind of friends!) PARENTS - If ever there was a time for you to get your children to listen in, this is it! The kind of friends we make... make the kind of life we will enjoy! If you want to know the kind of person you are, look at the kind of friends you have!

The key lesson Sunday morning will be this: the type of friend you are is the type of friend you will attract!

We will focus on 6 attributes of a true and loyal friend. We will personalize it by teaching that this is the kind of friend we want to be to others. So this will be a good sermon for everyone, but I think it would be especially good for all of our younger audience to hear too!

Advent Begins Sunday! I know. It just doesn't seem possible. But we will be lighting the first Advent Candle this coming Sunday - the candle of HOPE!

We have something very special lined up for you all! Don and Vanessa Causley will be joining us from their home in England and will begin our Advent celebration this week. Don has some words of encouragement about the importance of this Advent season and Vanessa has prepared a glorious song! Then Don will pray for us all. It is so rich! You won't want to miss. Thank you Don and Vanessa for your continued contributions to Church Requel!

The Songs We Will Sing Together... (1) "Because He Lives Amen" by Matt Maher, (2) "Goodness of God" by Bethel, (3) "Nobody" by Casting Crowns, (4) "Praise Him Forever" by Chris Tomlin, and "Friend of God" by Israel Houghton.

Let's keep on being a friend to one another and giving encouragement in any way we can. Love you all so much! Pastor Mark

Out of Quarantine - Back In The Saddle!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I'm so excited to be writing to you this morning. I want to shout out to the world, "I am free! I am free! I am free at last!" Ok, that's probably a little over dramatic, but whoever has accused me of underdoing things? Ha! Seriously, the good news is that both Mary Kay and I are out of our quarantine. We are over the vast majority of our Covid-19 symptoms. We are feeling so good, as a matter of fact, that we are both back to our exercise routines. There's no doubt that we were fortunate to not have suffered through the worst of symptoms like so many others have.

Being out of quarantine also means that I get to be back in church this coming Sunday morning! Yay! I have missed being there so much these past two Sundays. I believe we should all thank Brian Betts for doing such a great job of taking my sermons and delivering them with such authenticity and enthusiasm. It's one thing to teach your own sermon - a sermon that you have thought about and worked on, maybe for weeks. It's another thing altogether to get the phone call on Friday that you need to be in the pulpit on Sunday. We are SO BLESSED to have such a willing and humble servant as Brian on our volunteer team! Thanks Brian!

I also want to give a big shout out to Brandi. This past Sunday our praise team was down to only she and Brian. She didn't blink - at least not publicly. Rather she soldiered on singing and playing the piano and praying and leading worship. Again, just how blessed can we be as a church to have such a willing leader!? Thanks Brandi!

And while I'm giving out thank-you's... let's also be thankful for Chris Thoman! Do you know he hasn't missed a Sunday this year? You never see him - he works in the sound booth and is also usually making sure that our online streaming camera is working ok. These past two Sundays he's also taken the offering deposit and made sure they made it to the bank on Monday. Again - humble, behind-the-scenes serving! Thanks Chris!

This coming week I won't be the only one back leading worship with Brian, Chris and Brandi. I understand that Dave and Trish will be back on the team too. I'm so looking forward to being back with most of the worship team. We'll eventually get everyone back! One week at a time!

Here are the songs we are planning to sing this coming Sunday: "The Whole Earth" by Gateway Worship; "Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship; "No Sweeter Name" by Kari Jobe; "Old Church Choir" by Zach Williams; and "Love Is The Reason" by Unspoken.

We also have some special videos lined up from Jack and Cheryl, who watch each week from their home in Virginia. Cheryl will lead a Bible reading from Psalm 136. We're even going to give a corporate response together saying, "His Love endures forever!" This is the perfect thanksgiving Psalm for us this week. Then Jack is going to sing a great solo, "Thank You" by Ray Boltz. How perfect for the Sunday before Thanksgiving?

By the way, this reminds me, for anyone who watches our worship services each week - we would love to have you participate too! Especially with Christmas coming up - if you have a song to sing, an instrument to play, a Bible reading to share, or a prayer you would like to offer - we would love to include your act of worship. Please let Brandi know and she will schedule it in for us! Also... don't wait long to let her know! Brandi is already making plans for the remainder of the year!

I will also be back in the pulpit this week with what I hope will be a very timely sermon for all of us. We will be continuing our sermon series, "God's Practical Guide To Good Living," this week with a focus on Reducing Stress. These are clearly stressful days for our country and our community with Covid-19 running so rampant. I hope to share some wisdom from Proverbs on how we can line up, lighten up, loosen up and look up! You'll have to tune in or come to Church Requel this Sunday to see what I'm talking about!

Love you all more than you know! Pastor Mark

Living with the Coronavirus - One Week In

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

One week ago today I tested positive for Covid-19. This past Monday Mary Kay tested positive as well. We are both doing much better today. My symptoms were mostly those associated with a severe head cold - laryngitis, runny nose, stuffy sinus, at times uncontrolled sneezing and at other times a dry cough. And always - fatigue. Most nights I go to bed at 7pm and sleep until 7 the next morning. Mary Kay's symptoms were different. She ran a low grade fever (I never did) and suffered from headaches. She also experiences fatigue. The earlier part of this week was the most difficult for us, but we seem to be on the positive side of this thing now. And we consider ourselves most fortunate that our symptoms were not much worse.

We are both following the isolating protocols of quarantine. Today is Day 7 for me. The Health Department contacted both of us and instructed us to quarantine for 10 days - or longer if we show any signs of a fever. So needless to say, I won't be leading worship at Church Requel again this Sunday morning. That honor will be given to Brandi and to Brian. Both remain symptom free and both want to maintain a live worship opportunity at our church. Thanks to both of you!

So for those of you who live in the Mansfield area, you will have the choice to attend worship locally at 11am. If you do, please wear a mask, maintain a social distance from one another, and make liberal use of the hand sanitizers. Several within our church have tested positive for Covid-19 this past week (besides Mary Kay and me), so we completely understand if you decide to play it safe and watch the worship stream on Facebook this week. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this pandemic is hitting all of us very close to home. 

Brian has agreed to preach the second sermon in the new series from Proverbs - God's Practical Guide To Good Living. This week the title of the sermon is "Earning Respect." I believe this will be an encouraging and helpful talk for all of us. Thank you Brian!

The songs we are planning to sing include "See A Victory," "Who You Say I Am," "What A Beautiful Name," "Stand In Your Love," and "Glorious Day."

Once again I will be worshipping beside many of you online. After I did this last week, I have some suggestions for those of you worshipping with us online. First, prepare your heart ahead of time. Don't just click in at the last minute. But start your own focus on the Holy Spirit about a half hour ahead of time. Anticipate the worship experience.

Second, I found out that it really helped me to make comments throughout the worship time. When we are present it is easy to clap and smile and participate. But we can participate online too! We just have to be a little more deliberate about it. I loved that several of you actually responded to others online writing that you were praying for them. Way to go!

Finally, it is really easy to miss out on the communion and prayer time and just allow your brain to go into stagnation. It helps to actually have the communion elements in hand as well as writing out a list of prayer requests.

This is a difficult time for all of us. We are each doing what we can to make the best of it. Hopefully the end of this pandemic is in sight. In the meantime, let's continue to hold one another up in prayer, encouraging one another with affirming words. I appreciate each of you! Love you! Pastor Mark

Pastor Mark Tests Positive For COVID-19

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Well... I have some unfortunate news to report to you, my church family. This morning I tested positive for COVID-19. Thus far my symptoms are relatively minor: laryngitis and a higher heart rate than normal for me. My first symptoms were overnight and I got myself tested first thing this morning. So I will appreciate your prayers on my behalf.

Of course, neither Mary Kay and I will physically be at Church Requel this coming Sunday. Possible longer - I honestly don't know what the current quarantine protocols are. I was told this morning that the Health Department will be contacting me soon to go over the details. For this Sunday, the Praise Team (without me) will lead worship. And I've given my sermon notes to Brian Betts and he has graciously agreed to preach my sermon for me.

We'll take the rest one day at a time. Fortunately, Church Requel is bigger than me. I am so glad we have others who will continue to minister in my place until I am permitted back in the saddle.

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers. Love you all much! Pastor Mark

British Invasion On All Saints Day

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I have such exciting news to share with you about our planned worship service this Sunday morning. We shall have our own version of a British Invasion! Ha! Our good friends, Don and Vanessa, have prepared a very special video celebrating All Saints Day on Sunday, November 1st.  One of the few really good things that has come out of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the enlargement of our Church Requel family to include many who watch online from afar. None are more afar so far than Don and Vanessa, hailing from the southwest regions of England. They will bring a unique perspective for us about All Saints Day with a focus on the Lord as our Shepherd. I promise you that you won't want to miss!

There is no better time than now to remind those who watch us online that we would also LOVE to include YOUR contributions. If you have something that you would like to send our way - a testimony, a story, a Bible reading, a prayer, a song - whatever form of worship the Lord Jesus inspires in you, please let us know! We absolutely love that so many of you share our worship experience with us!

Remember! We FALL back Sunday morning. Eleven AM comes an hour later than normal starting Sunday. So turn your clocks back and enjoy that extra hour of sleep. If you live near Mansfield and show up an hour early, no worries. You can sing along with the praise team, who always arrives a couple hours early to practice. For those of you tuning in to the stream, you won't find it until about 10-15 minutes before the worship service begins,

Our Sermon - Guidance From God! Over the past 3 Sundays we've been talking about how to hear from God. This week we will take all we have learned over these past 3 talks and put it all together. How do we ask God for guidance? Especially in the big direction changes of our lives? I'm pretty excited about this talk, because I believe it could help so many. Also - we will be teaching from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, which I don't often do. We will discover a pattern of  5 W's to follow when we want answers from God.

This would be a great time to remind you that if you ever miss a sermon, that there are multiple ways to catch up! First, our entire worship service - including the live sermon - is kept up on our Church Requel Facebook page. Also, the sermon video itself is made available in 3 places - our website, our YouTube channel, and again on our Facebook page. If you've missed any of the last 3 weeks, take a few minutes to catch up on what you've missed! 

Our Worship Music This Sunday. One of the great joys of 2020 - yes indeed, there are joys to be found - is the growth of our praise team. These men and women have gone so far above and beyond in learning their instruments and developing their voices to lead us in worship singing each and every Sunday. I appreciate their sacrifice of praise!

Here are the songs we will be singing this Sunday: "Praise Your Name" by Cory Voss; "Champion" by Bethel Music; "The Whole Earth" by Gateway Music; "Raise A Hallelujah" by Bethel Music; and "This Is Amazing Grace" by Phil Wickham. Also we will have two special pieces of music on Sunday - Vanessa's song that I mentioned at the top of this newsletter AND an ancient Irish hymn, "Be Thou My Vision" sung by yours truly.

First Wednesday! We are starting something new this coming Wednesday evening. We are calling it "First Wednesday." We recognize that many of us are not able to connect in person because of the Coronavirus and also because so many of us are located in so many different locations now. So we are setting up the first Wednesday of every month at 7pm EST for a fellowship Zoom meeting. This will give us the chance to catch up with one another - in many cases actually meet one another - and to share what's going on in our lives. This will also give us the opportunity to pray for and encourage each other. If you have participated in any of the Zoom meeting in the past, Brandi will automatically send you the link to this one. But if you haven't and you want to be a part - please just let me know and I will make sure you receive the Zoom connection.

I look forward to seeing you all Sunday - whether in person or online. Stay safe! Be gracious! Pray for one another! Love you! Pastor Mark

How To Test Impressions From God

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I am writing you from my hotel room in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Mary Kay and I arrived yesterday and we are planning to spend a couple days with Jillian and her family.  Last night we hiked through the woods of Englewood Metropark near sunset. It was so beautiful. And if I may proudly boast - my grandsons were terrific little hikers!  After our hiking adventures we came back to Jillians home, where she served us Grandpa's chili. I wolfed down two bowls! It was so hearty and flavorful.  This morning I ran alongside the Mad River as I jogged out of the city along some gorgeous countryside. In this time of trouble and turmoil, it is good to remember that life is good!

This Sunday we will continue with the sermon concept we began last week about the different ways that God speaks to us. Do you remember the six ways we talked about? (Through the Bible, through gifted teachers, through other godly people, through circumstances, through pain, and through impressions.) If you want to review it, check out the YouTube video here.

Picking up where we left off last week, I'd like to delve a little more into the feelings or impressions we think may be from God. How do we know that an impression or feeling or dream is really God given? In this week's talk we will consider 7 tests to know for sure. If God is the Source of the impression, it will pass all seven tests.

I'm looking forward to our worship time together too! The worship band will all be here and we have some favorite songs that we will be singing together. I really love this group of people and I love their dedication to practicing each week to lead us in worship.

Here are the songs we will be singing together Sunday morning: "Cornerstone" by Hillsong; "You've Always Been" by Unspoken; "Living Hope" by Phil Wickham; "King Of My Heart" by Bethel; and "Forever" by Kari Jobe. It should be a wonderful morning together. Can't wait to celebrate with you! Love you all! Pastor Mark

How Does God Speak To You?

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

So how does God speak to you? My first response is always, "Any way He wants!" Right? God is God, after all. There is nothing He cannot do. However, from a practical matter, it does seem like there are some ways that we hear from God more than others. This will be the topic of my talk with you this Sunday morning. We'll start with 3 reasons why it is important to hear God's voice. And then we'll finish with six of the most common ways God talks with us. I hope you'll join me Sunday morning.

The Songs We Will Sing.  I sure am looking forward to worshiping with you Sunday morning. Here are the songs we are planning to sing: "Your Grace Is Enough" by Chris Tomlin; "How Great Is Your Love" by Phil Wickham; "Do It Again" by Elevation Worship; "Tremble" by Mosaic; "Fighting For Me" by Riley Clemmons; and "Only A God Like You" by Tommy Walker.

I don't know about you but I am so thankful for our band that sacrifices their time every week to lead our worship. We are indeed so blessed!

Hope to see you in person or online this Sunday at 11am EST. Love you! Pastor Mark