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What is the best way for a wife to romance her husband. Join me in this Church Requel Sunday evening message for this in-depth discussion on the topic of submission from Ephesians 5.
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We continue our Romantically Challenged series at Church Requel this weekend. Last weekend we focused on husbands and how they could romance their wives. This week we turn the tables and talk to the wives. Along the way, we'll tackle that culturally difficult word, "Submission," and talk about what it really means and what it does not mean for wives. We'll also provide some specific suggestions for wives to romance their husbands. Should be good!
You may want to review some history of how women were viewed in the ancient days when the Bible was written. A couple years ago I recorded a short video about the ancient Greek men's ideas about marriage and wives. It would be a good background for our talk this Sunday. You'll gain a new appreciation for just how progressive the Bible really is in its view toward women. Also, before the sermon Sunday night, we'll watch another view of marriage from One Time Blind, the drama team. You'll find it highly entertaining and possibly a bit familiar.
This weekend will also be our first weekend to collect food for our Easter Dinners to the poor in Richland County. We invite you to bring some groceries with you when you come to church Sunday evening. Specifically, you can bring cans of corn or green beans, cans of fruit cocktail, stuffing mix, boxes of mac and cheese, and boxed desserts like brownies or cake mixes with icing. We also visited with Sheri and Jack at their home and video recorded their vision for the Easter Dinner event!
Should be a good time of worship, communion, prayer, teaching and fellowship. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you Sunday evening at 6PM! - Pastor Mark
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In preparation for our talk this weekend's talk at Church Requel, I think it would be helpful for you to know a little more about marriage in the culture of the New Testament. I recorded and produced this short video back in April, 2009. You might want to skip up to 2:30 for the relevant info. Enjoy.
#111: Ancient Greek Marriage from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
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This past weekend Church Requel sandwiched this sermon about how a husband should love his wife with two parts of a humorous video from The Skit Guys. The talk makes more sense if you play the first 2:49 of the video before the sermon and then the balance after the talk. Here's "Romantically Challenged" from The Skit Guys:
And here's "Romantically Challenged Part 2 - Men from Mars." What does submission mean for a husband? What are the three ways a husband should romance his wife? Join me in this video talk from last Sunday evening as we seek the answers to these questions from Ephesians 5.
Men From Mars from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
I have made the following downloadable resources available to support thia sermon:All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog. Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week? Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices. You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast! Would you like to read my notes for this sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
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What does submission mean for a husband? What are the three ways a husband should romance his wife? Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel as we seek the answers to these questions from Ephesians 5.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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This weekend at Church Requel we continue our Romantically Challenged sermon series with part 2: "Men From Mars." You've heard it before, right? Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. That may not be exactly true, but it's pretty obvious that in many ways men and women feel, think and act differently from one another.
So this weekend we'll talk to husbands about being romantically challenged. (Wives - it's ok to listen in. Your turn comes next week!) We're going to talk honestly about this issue of submission and what it really means. We're also going to look at the three ways Ephesians 5 tells husbands how to romance their wives.
(By the way, you don't have to be married to benefit from this weekend and next. Remember what we said about romance last weekend? We are supposed to show our love to our parents, children, bosses, employees and neighbors. It's a pretty good bet that at least some of them will be the opposite sex.)
Along the way, we're going to to enjoy a fun performance from Tommy and Eddie (otherwise known as The Skit Guys) and a few of their friends. As always, their skits make us laugh and then make us think. This weekend is no different. I can't wait for you to see what's in store!
Nate, Dave and Jean will lead our worship music set. Scott will read the Bible for us. We'll share communion, prayer, and fellowship together. And there will be a whole gang of folks working behind the scenes this weekend. (I'm really enjoying all the help we're getting lately. Thanks!)
One more thing! We're going to be making a cool announcement this weekend about our ministry plans to help the poor in our community this coming Easter. EVERYONE will have the opportunity to help out over the next 8 weeks. This will be another great opportunity for Church Requel to be Christ to our neighbors and friends!
I can't wait to see you all! Come hungry for God and for one another! I look forward to seeing you Sunday at 6pm or earlier. - Pastor Mark
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God's Word has some great advice for the romantically challenged. We learn 3 parts of God's plan for real romance and we receive 4 hints for making the most of every opportunity. Join me in this fun video talk from Ephesians 5.
Romantically Challenged - Part 1 from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
I have made the following resources available to support this sermon.
All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog. Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week? Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices. You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast! Would you like to read my notes for this sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
Continue reading "Video Sermon: Romantically Challenged - Part 1" »
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God's Word has some great advice for the romantically challenged. We learn 3 parts of God's plan for real romance and we receive 4 hints for making the most of every opportunity. Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel in this study of Ephesians 5.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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This is the video of our skit, "It All Starts With Me." We performed it at Church Requel on February 6, 2011 - the same day as the Super Bowl. The two actors are Tara Gates and Jessica Pierce. Enjoy!
It Starts With Me from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
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Here is the video from January 16th of Frank and Theresa Rutkowski's baptism. Enjoy!
Frank and Theresa's Baptism from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
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Valentine's Day will soon be upon us and Church Requel is up to the challenge! We have some big plans in store for this Sunday.
First, we're going to celebrate with a Valentine's Day potluck. CR folks love their potlucks so come hungry! Plan to arrive at the church around 4:45PM. This will give us about 15 minutes to get all the food arranged. We plan to eat at 5PM. Families should bring two dishes - a main dish and a side dish. Single folks should bring one dish of any kind. No need to bring dessert. Jean McKinney and 3 of our teenagers (Haleigh, Hannah, and Erin) came over to the Pierce kitchen Thursday night and made special Valentine desserts for everyone! (I confess that it is taking great personal control on my part not to sneak an advanced bite in the name of quality control. Ha!)
Second, at 6PM we'll begin our normal evening service. We'll stay with the Valentine's Day theme; our topic will be "Romantically Challenged." We're going to have some fun. I plan to grab a handheld microphone and get some audience participation on the definition of romance. For those who participate, I'll have a few Valentine's Day treats of my own to pass out. Then we'll turn our study to what God's Word has to say about romance by looking over Ephesians 5 and 6.
We'll also enjoy a wonderful evening of worship music led by Nate and Stephen. Communion, prayer and Bible reading will also make up an important part of our evening together. And we'll hear an important announcement and update about the CR ministry.
Come for the entire evening. Come early. Come hungry. Come with a friend. I look forward to our church family time together! See you Sunday! Pastor Mark
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Church Requel has a new look on its front page today. Sunday we begin our new sermon series, Romantically Challenged. I'm not yet sure how long this series will be. But here is what I do know...
(1) No matter whether we are married or single, we could all use a little more romance in our lives.
(2) Most of us find ourselves "romantically challenged." We would love to be more romantic (and we would love to be romanced), but few of us know how to go about this, beyond the occasional flowers and chocolate.
Here's a news flash: the Bible is an incredibly romantic book! If you want to know more about romance, you'll learn everything you need to know in God's Word. So, we'll spend a few weeks exploring this fun, informative, and God-inspired topic. And oh yeah... it just happens to be Valentine's week coming up. Wow. What a happy coincidence! <grin>
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The question is not whether or not we worship. We were created to worship. The question is who will we worship? Join me on Super Bowl Sunday as we consider the very modern issue of idolatry and worship. In this video talk we study Exodus 20:1-6.
Idol Worship from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
I have provided the following resources for this sermon:
All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog. Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week? Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices. You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast! Would you like to read my notes for this sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
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The question is not whether or not we worship. We were created to worship. The question is who will we worship. Join me in this pre-Super Bowl audio sermon as we study Exodus 20:1-6.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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We have a Super Sunday planned for Church Requel this weekend. You surely don't want to miss it! So remember - THIS WEEKEND WE KICKOFF AT 4PM! That's two and half hours before the Super Bowl begins - so you'll have plenty of time to come to church and still get to your evening's family gathering or party.
In fact, we've done everything we know to make this Sunday's worship experience something SUPER to tell all your family and friends about. Jessica and Tara have been working hard on a SUPER skit they will present to you. They'll take you to a Packers football game, a Hannah Montana concert, and to a certain special "Super" church! Somewhere in the midst of your laughter, I hope you'll have an aha moment too.
Nate, Jean and Ryan will lead our worship set. Something tells me that after watching Jessica and Tara, you'll worship with even more enthusiasm than normal. After our communion and greeting time, we'll enjoy a video visit from the Super Bowl linebacker. Nancy will read our Scripture from Exodus 20:1-6. Then we'll enjoy a particularly poignant video presentation from The Skit Guys.
Our talk for Sunday afternoon will be on the topic of Idol Worship. Idolatry is surprisingly rampant in our culture, but we often don't think of ourselves or our culture in this way. After all, when is the last time you've even seen a graven image? I'm hoping you won't think of idol worship ever again in the same way after our thematic worship service on Sunday.
Remember - Sunday is also Super Bowl 45. So we'll have our PreGame service from 4 to 5. This will be the perfect service to invite your friends and family. Don't let anything get in your way of enjoying your Church Requel family this Sunday - new time, same location!
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When a small group of friends joined me in my living room on Sunday mornings for church two years ago, and we talked of what kind of church we might start, nondenominational was our default choice. None of us belonged to any particular denomination. We all believed, however, that we belonged to Christ's church. So, for us, nondenominational was simply an accurate albeit nondescript descriptor.
We no longer can fit inside a living room; rather we meet Sunday nights at another local church building. Since those early days, we have learned that we are part of a much larger movement of "Nons". (See State of Christianity in America.) My friend, Chuck Clevenger, emailed me another article this morning. This one entitled, "Where Have All The Presbyterians Gone?" is from the Wall Street Journal. Journalist Russell Moore notes:
According to the Baylor Survey on Religion, nondenominational churches now represent the second largest group of Protestant churches in America, and they are also the fastest growing.
There was a time when people chose a church on the basis of beliefs and doctrinal statements. Now there are much more pragmatic decisions:
More and more Christians choose a church not on the basis of its denomination, but on the basis of more practical matters. Is the nursery easy to find? Do I like the music? Are there support groups for those grappling with addiction?
In other words, people choose a church like they do everything else in life: on the basis of what works best for them. Sadly, we have a word for this. It's call consumerism. We could despair about this fact or we can admit that this is the culture we live in and respond to it in a Christ-like way: with faith, integrity, love and preparation.
At Church Requel our aim is to be a community loving God and loving people. Each week we take an honest look at what the Bible teaches us. We work hard to meet the needs that people have for community and for support. And we rarely, if ever, talk one way or the other about denominations.
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Church Requel has a very special weekend service planned for Sunday. I'll publish all the details tomorrow. Suffice it today to say that we will take full advantage of the USA's obsession with Super Bowl mindednes on Sunday. Rather than fight, we're going to switch. (You'll have to be a certain age to get that particular reference.) Our service this weekend will begin at 4PM, rather than at 6PM. For anyone who happens to check the website, they will find a new special page trumpeting the special service with the special time. Check back tomorrow for all the details!
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What do you do when you're really stuck? Join me in this Church Requel video message as we study 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. We learn why we get stuck, how we get unstuck, and what we should do about it.
Stuck - Part 3 from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
I have provided the following resources to assist you with this sermon:
All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog. Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week? Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices. You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast! Would you like to read my notes for this sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
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