Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

This Weekend: Doubt, Joy and Scott Rigsby

Hi everyone!  Pastor Mark here with details of what's going on at Church Requel this weekend.  

This weekend we continue our Count it all Joy series with part three: "Joy and Doubt."  We'll study James 1:5-8 and not only learn some valuable insights into the connection between joy and faith, but also learn a great deal about the importance of context along the way.

We'll hear the inspiring story of Scott Rigsby, the first double amputee to ever finish an Ironman competition.  (Click here to watch a 6-minute video to get a preview of Scott's story.)  We have much to learn from Scott about being able to ask God serious questions in the midst of deep difficulties in life.

We also have some great music lined up for Sunday evening.  We'll sing "Counting On God" by Jared Anderson for the first time ever. (Click here if you'd like listen and sing along early!) Also in the lineup is "Today is the Day," "Came to My Rescue," and "Here I Am To Worship."

Of course you'll want to connect with all your friends and hear all their great plans to get together. Dave Johnson is putting together a new group for fantasy football.  Dick Jourdan is checking on Indians tickets for men and boys on September 24th.  The women have a new Bible study and will soon be ordering the book, A Life of Worship.  And I hear rumors of a new prayer group that might be named, "Praying with Umph!"

As always, there's lots of great things happening at Church Requel!  Hope to see you there Sunday night at 6PM!

- Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Joy and Endurance

Endurance is the key for  the Christ-follower to remains faithful and mature in his faith.  It also translates the trials of our life into joy.  Find out how from this Church Requel video sermon as we continue our study of James 1:2-4.

Joy and Endurance from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Weekend Program Without Answers (PDF - 1.3MB)
• Weekend Program With Answers (PDF - 1.3MB)
• My Personal Sermon Notes (PDF - 156KB)
• My Notes in Kindle Format (AZW - 16KB)
• Sermon Notes with Graphics in Margins (PDF - 4.4MB)
• Weekend Planning Sheet (PDF - 35KB)

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

Sermon Notes: Joy and Endurance

Joy and Endurance 07.24.11

REVIEW FROM LAST WEEK...
Sure, I’m joyful in the blessings... but in the testings?

The key word is ___CONSIDER___.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” James 1:2 NIV

I must CHOOSE joy; it is not:

• ___AUTOMATIC___, it’s an attitude!
• ___EASY___, it’s often a challenge!
• ___A FEELING___, it’s a decision!
• __DEPENDENT ON CIRCUMSTANCES_, it comes from God!

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10b ESV

All kinds of trials - All Joy!

DIFFICULTIES, HARDSHIPS / TEMPTATIONS / CHALLENGES, DISCIPLINES / FROM GOD, SELF-IMPOSED, OTHERS / LONELINESS / FAILURES, SETBACKS / TRIBULATIONS, ACCUSATIONS / ILLNESS, DEATH

“... whenever you face trials of many kinds.” v2b (NIV)

5 Reasons Why the Testing of My Faith is Joyful

1.  So that I may ___KNOW MY FAITH IS AUTHENTIC___.

“The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it.  But it does not sink deep into them, and they don’t last long.  So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.” Matthew 13:20-21 GNT

5. So that I may ___BE BLESSED___.

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 NIV

That’s where we left it last week.  Our objective today is to connect the dots.  How do we get from point 1 to point 5?  How do we go from trial to faith to blessedness to joyfulness?  James tells us in verses 3 and 4.  Let’s read them together.

2.  So that I may ___PERSEVERE___.

“Because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” 
James 1:3 NIV

One of the key reasons I can be joyful despite the trial I am going through is because I know that - as a  Christ-follower - this testing develops perseverance.  Helps to look at other versions...

= endurance (NRSV) = steadfastness (ESV) = patience (KJV)

The two go hand in hand.  On the one hand is testing.  On the other hand is endurance, the ability to persevere.  I love the ESV “steadfastness” because this is the most oft-used descriptor in the OT of God’s love for us - steadfast.  And it is what he wants for us...to be steadfast in our love.

Illustration - Running Marathon.  Has anyone ever run a marathon?  Know how you train? You run... longer and longer each week.  (This isn’t rocket science!) Every weekend you include a “long run” in your training.  You start with wherever you are... maybe 4 or 5 miles.  Then the following week you add a mile.  And you keep adding distance every week until you’re up to 26 miles!  Takes about a year of training.  When you’re actually running the marathon in the race - at about 23 to 24 miles, you “hit the wall.”  You feel like you just can’t go on... but you do anyway.  This is the gut check... the joy!

Audio Sermon: Joy and Endurance

Endurance is the key for  the Christ-follower to remain faithful and mature in his or her faith.  It also translates the trials of our life into joy.  Listen as I share the similarities between living the Christian faith and running a marathon.  In this audio sermon we continue our study of James 1:2-4.

110724JoyEndurance

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

Lots Happening at CR This Weekend!

Hi everyone!  There's lots of things happening at Church Requel this weekend so take just a quick moment to look through this message so you won't miss anything important to you!

Men's Breakfast.  Saturday morning is the opportunity for our men to get together and enjoy some great fellowship.  Our men's ministry leader, Randy Craig, also has a ministry opportunity he would like to propose to you.  Let's meet at Paul Revere's in Lexington at 9am on Saturday for breakfast.  I plan to be there.  Hope to see many of you men there too!

Part 2 of our Count It All Joy series.  We got off to a great start last Sunday evening talking about experiencing joy in the midst of trials.  Sunday night we continue this exploration of James 1:2-12 with a connection between perseverance, maturity and being fully equipped.  Last weekend we talked about the end result of blessing.  This weekend we give you the nuts and bolts of how to see the difficulties in life as a blessing.  By the way, if you weren't with us this past Sunday night (or even if you were and you just want to see it or hear it again) you can listen to part one of this series here or read the sermon here.

This Sunday evening will be special for another reason... Nate Williams will be back leading our worship Sunday evening.  That's the good news.  The sad news is that this will be the last time he'll be leading us at Church Requel, which brings us to our fina event of this weekend...

Farewell to Nate Evening & Love Offering.  After our evening service we will have a special farewell gathering for Nate and Trisha.  Nate has been an important part of CR these past two years and we want to bless him as he goes on to minister in another place.  So bring your cookies and snacks to share.  Bring any cards or notes of appreciation you'd like to pass on to Nate.  And, if you'd like, you can designate a love offering for Nate Sunday evening.  I'm sure he will appreciate any gesture of kindness and thanksgiving for his ministry to us.

Like I said, lots happening!  Hope you're planning on a great weekend.  See you soon!

With love, Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Joy in the Testings

How do we experience joy in both the blessings and testings of life?  Join me in this first video sermon of four on the topic of Christian joy.

Joy in the Testings from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Weekend Program without Answers (PDF - 1.3MB)
• Weekend Program with Answers (PDF - 1.3 MB)
• My Personal Sermon Teaching Notes (PDF - 130KB)
• My Personal Notes in Kindle Format (AZW - 16KB)
• Sermon Notes with Slides in Margin (PDF - 4.6MB), used by our tech team
• Weekend Planning Sheet (PDF - 40KB), for creative worship ideas on theme of joy

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.

Sermon Notes: Joy in the Testing

Here are my personal sermon notes from this past weekend, July 17th.  I'm aware of many within my congregation who are experiencing various trials and difficulties, so a brief series from James 1 seemed appropriate.  I've never experienced the emotional outlet of both joy and tears of so many people at the end of this talk.  Clearly the Holy Spirit was at work ministering with a power that used my words, but went far beyond them.  It was both a humbling and a frightening experience.

Joy in the Testings and Blessings 07.17.11

Bible Reading: James 1:2-12 NIV (Read by Jana)

Sure, I’m joyful in the blessings... but in the testings?  Joy.  It’s something we all know when we experience it.  It’s the most wonderful experience, the greatest comfort, the source of delight, the result of great fortune.  When we look up “joy” in the dictionary, we find the following synonyms: beatitude, blessing, bliss, felicity, gladness, happiness, warm fuzzies.  When we look up the opposites of “joy” we find: calamity, ill-being, misery, sadness, unhappiness, wretchedness.  This would seem to be a problem for us Christ-followers when we come to James 1, because we are to:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
James 1:2 NIV

Now I don’t know about you, but I REALLY struggle with this.  I’m to consider it pure joy when I face trials?  When things don’t go my way?  When I’m struggling with the very opposites of joy: calamity and ill-being?  When my best friend stabs me in the back and I’m left not only without my friend but also this feeling of overwhelming betrayal? Joy?  Or when I work really hard to qualify for a job, then find out it goes to someone else.  Joy?  Or when my daughter is sick and I don’t know what to do to help her.  Joy? Or when I lose someone I love most dearly.  Joy?

Today and over the next several weeks, I’d like to talk to you about what the Bible teaches us about how we respond to trials and difficulties... about what joy really is (and isn’t).  And how we - as Christians - should handle the “misery, sadness and wretchedness” of life with JOY!

The key word is ___CONSIDER___.    “Count it all joy...” James 1:2 ESV

I like how the ESV and other versions use the word “count” when it comes to joy, because there is a certain calculation that must occur in our minds in order for us to connect the trials of life with joy.  It helps us to understand if we look at how this same word is used in other places in the Bible.

* When Paul is making plans for the Corinthians’ offering he uses this same word in the instructions.  He says “I thought it necessary to...”

“Go on ahead and arrange in advance...” 2 Cor. 9:5

We see here the preliminary thinking and planning... the leading or governing thought necessary to come to the right conclusion.  Joy is the same thing.  It is a leading or governing thought.

* We also see this same word in Paul’s great letter to the Philippians in 2 places.  First in how Jesus thought about his position to God:

“[Jesus] did not count equality with God ...” Phil. 2:6

...and how Paul viewed his own previous righteous life as a Pharisee:

“Whatever gain I had I counted as loss.” Phil. 3:7

* We see it again in Paul’s letters to Thessalonica.  First in how he wanted them to think about their leaders and preachers:

“Esteem them very highly in love.” 1 Thess. 5:13

In other words, this was a choice, a point of view, a decision in advance of how to regard their leaders. Also in how they were to view people who did not follow Paul’s advice.  Separate but...

“Do not regard him as an enemy...” 2 Thess. 3:15

What we learn from all of this is that joy is something we think about ahead of time.  It’s an attitude, a decision, a point of view, a choice!

Audio Sermon: Joy in the Testings

How do we experience joy in both the blessings and testings of life.  Join me in this first audio sermon of four on the topic of Christian joy from James 1:2-12.

110717JoyTestings

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Weekend: Joy in the Blessings and Testings

Hey everyone!  I'm most enthusiastic about our plans for Church Requel this weekend.  If ever there was a great weekend to invite a friend or family member, this Sunday night is the one!

Our theme for the evening will be Joy... joy in both the blessings and in the testings of life.  I don't know about you, but I have no trouble at all with joy when it comes to the blessings of my life.  But the testings?  That one's a challenge!  We're going to use James 1:2-12 as our Scriptural home grounds, not only this Sunday, but for the next 4 weekends.  So I'd suggest you get out your Bibles and start reading.  James 1:2 especially would be a great verse to commit to memory for this weekend: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

To help us really grab hold of this concept, we have more music planned than ever before.  Christy Anne Pierce will be joining Dave Johnson and Ryan Shoemaker to lead our worship time.  They also will sing for us a great special, "Hold Me," by Jamie Grace.  Christy will sing another most appropriate song, and one that is on the top charts right now: "Blessings," by Laura Story.  Along the way we'll also hear "Joy" by the Newsboys, "Be Full of Joy" by Rick Muchow, and "Count It All Joy" from Better Than Life. 

I'm looking forward to a joyful experience with you at Church Requel Sunday night!  - Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Declaration of Freedom

We are to stand firm in our Christian freedom.  In this video talk from Galatians 5, I describe the two challenges against which we need to guard in order to maintain true Christian liberty.

Declaration of Freedom from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Weekly Program without Answers
• Weekly Program with Answers
• My personal teaching notes
• My notes with slides in margin
• Our Weekend Planning Sheet
  

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.

14 New Books Plus Yahtzee for Pierce Family Kindles

Dear Dad, Jillian, Tim, Jessica, Dave, Jennifer, Mike, Nancy, Patty, and Cheryl:

It's been a couple weeks since I've sent you a Kindle update.  Over the past two weeks we have added 14 new Kindle books and one new game to the family's shared Kindle account.  Nine of the books were free.  $41.98 was invested in book content, including self-improvement, political, science fiction, and thriller genres.  Read below for details on the specific additions.  We also took advantage of a special $1 sale on games to add the Electronic Arts game, Yahtzee.

Skins, skins and more skins:  I wrote you last time that I had added a skin to my Kindle.  Since then Jessica, Jennifer, Nancy and Dad have added skins to their Kindles as well.  This is a great way to personalize your Kindle.  Dad, for example, ordered a U.S. Navy theme for his Kindle.  While I spent hours looking over all the choices, Dad made his decision in about 60 seconds.

Dad: "Is there a Navy skin?"

Mark: "Yes."

Dad: "Order it."

I love to show off your newly skinned Kindles! The skin at the top right is from Nancy, ordered from DecalGirl.com and it titled "Beginning of the End."  The skin on the left is from Jessica's Kindle.  She ordered hers (through Amazon) from GelaSkins.  Her skin is titled, "Dusk 'til Dawn."  I'll try to include Dad's, Jennifer's and Jillian's good-looking Kindles in future editions.

I've enjoyed new popularity with my own "Cold Silence" skinned Kindle.  I've had several people stop me and wonder where someone orders a good looking device like that?  Skinned Kindles definitely stand out!

Sermon Notes: Declaration of Freedom

Here are my personal notes for the sermon on the topic of Christian liberty  I delivered on July 10, 2011.  One small personal note:  This is the only sermon I've ever preached where all the Bible quotes came from The Message version of the Bible.  This just seemed to be the best fit for this particular sermon.  However, I also am aware that I might not have had the freedom to preach this sermon with The Message version in prior churches I've attended... a bit of my own "declaration of freedom."  Enjoy. - Mark

Declaration of Freedom 07.03.11

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:1, 4-6 MSG (read by Jessica)
Video: “Finding Freedom” by Centerline New Media [1:53]

Intro:  This is the 4th of July weekend - Independence Day... the day we celebrate our country’s birthday.  We are 235 years old tomorrow.  From date of signing of our Declaration of Independence.  This document is what declared our independence and our freedom. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Perhaps the best-known, most poignant sentence in the history of the English language.  Christianity also has its own declaration of freedom sentence... we find it in Galatians chapter 5, first verse:

“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand!
Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”
Galatians 5:1 MSG

Reflections on Our Freedom in Christ.  This evening I’d like to reflect upon our Christian freedom, appropriate on this holiday when we celebrate our political freedoms.  This declaration of Christian freedom found in Galatians was one of the first penned in the NT.  Scholars tell us that Galatians was written before any other book in the NT!  Isn’t it significant that the first NT book written was about our Christian freedom?

Christ died so that we ___MIGHT BE FREE___!

This is profound when you stop and think about it.  Here and in Romans 6-8 we learn that we Christians identify with Christ’s death and resurrection... and we live differently as a result.  This is the sign of baptism.  Death no longer contains us.  Sin no longer holds us.  We are free to live a significant, meaningful, full, and abundant life - the life God the Father created us to live, the life God the Son died that we might enjoy, and the life that God the Spirit empowers us to live!  That’s a real declaration of freedom!

Taking Our Stand Involves 2 Challenges:  What is “taking stand?”

Audio Sermon: Declaration of Freedom

We are to stand firm in our Christian freedom.  In this talk from Galatians 5, I explain the two challenges we need to guard in order to maintain true Christian liberty.  How do we "take our stand?"

110710Freedom

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Weekend: Freedom in Christ

Hi everyone!  It's been a busy few days at Church Requel.  Yesterday's memorial service for Frank went really well.  I appreciate the way you as a church came together to support Theresa and her family.  How marvelous for Frank's more distant family and old friends to be able to come together with the church as host and to be able to see the way Frank was loved.  You done good! Thanks for all who set up and tore down, for those who helped in the kitchen, for those who helped with the tech setup and signage, and for Jean, Steve and Rachel who spoke at the memorial and represented CR nicely!

Tomorrow evening we will come back to the theme we had originally planned for last weekend. I'm glad we changed up things last Sunday.  Clearly you were too - I've never received more positive feedback on any sermon I've given.  I'm also now excited about our topic tomorrow too.  I believe God gave me this talk a week ago for our service tomorrow, knowing I'd be pretty busy with Theresa and the memorial service.

You might want to read through the book of Galatians.  It only takes a few minutes - it's short.  Did you know that many scholars believe that Paul's letter to Galatia was the first New Testament book actually written?  When you read it, you'll certainly get a picture of the earliest church - and a picture of what we want to be as a requel church! 

I look forward to seeing all of you at 6pm tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Pastor Mark

Audio Sermon: Praying with Umph

This is the prerecorded, 10-minute sermon I prepared for Frank Rutkowski's memorial service at Church Requel.  We put this on CDs and gave them away for Frank's friends and family.  I hope this might bless you as you listen to it.

110708FranksMemorialPre

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

Frank's Memorial Service

Hi everyone!  I thought I would update you on what is going on with Theresa and with Frank's memorial service.

I've met with Theresa every day this week planning for Frank's Memorial Service Friday.  She is doing as well as could be expected.  Theresa is surrounded by friends and family.  Her dad came up from North Carolina.  Her son, Jason, has received permission for leave from his military service. 

Theresa and Frank had sold their place and Theresa moved everything out last Friday.  Consequently she had no place to live.  Friends and fellow parishioners, Sheri and Jack, have come to the rescue, providing a place for Theresa to stay.  If you would like to write Theresa a note or send her a card, use this address: Theresa Rutkowski, 4565 Flowers Road, Mansfield, Ohio 44903.

Frank's obituary can be read online at Wappner's website here.

Frank's Memorial service will be held tomorrow late afternoon at the church.  Here are the details:

• Calling Hours from 4pm to 5pm, Friday July 8th, held in the Chapel at church - 636 S. Lexington - Springmill Road.  Theresa has selected photos of Frank, which we will be showing on the chapel screen.  She has also chosen inspirational music, which she thinks Frank would have enjoyed.  Friends and family can meet and share stories with one another before the memorial service begins.
• Frank's Memorial Service will begin at 5pm, also in the chapel.  Family and friends will share stories celebrating Frank's life.  We will sing two songs together and two of Frank's friends and family will sing for us.  Helga will also play her violin.  We will watch Frank's testimony and baptism and I will share a brief sermon.
• Reception follows.  Sometime after 6pm (don't know exactly how long the memorial service will go), we'll move back to the new gym where a reception will be offered.  Frank's long-time friend, Jack, has put together a playlist of oldies music Frank would have liked.  Sandwiches and finger foods will be offered.

Frank was a friend to all of us.  He gave his life to the Lord and was baptized within our church last January.  The vocabulary of our church will forever be changed by Frank's oft-given request that we "pray with umph!"  Let's celebrate our memories of Frank together on Friday.  All are invited.  Hope to see you there! - Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Comfort in the Valley

How does God provide comfort in our time of loss?  Join me for this special memorial sermon (for Frank Rutkowski) from Church Requel on Sunday, July 3, 2011.

Comfort in the Valley from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

 Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Special Comfort Sermon Handout (PDF - 209KB)
• Comfort Handout with Answers (PDF - 217KB)
• My teaching notes for Comfort sermon (PDF - 143KB)
• My notes in Kindle format (AZW - 16KB)
• My notes with graphics /slides in the margin (PDF - 2MB) used by our tech team
• Weekend Planning Sheet (PDF - 37KB) for ideas to support the Comfort theme

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.

Sermon Notes: Comfort in the Valley

This sermon is unusual for me in that it was written the same day as it was delivered.  We found out Saturday evening that Frank Rutkowski has passed away.  Somehow on Sunday morning I didn't feel like a message on our Freedoms in Christ would be appropriate to our grieving congregation.  So I wrote this sermon Sunday morning and delivered it Sunday evening.  I don't think I've ever had more feedback on any sermon as this one. 

Comfort in the Valley 07.03.11

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 MSG (read by Jessica)
Video: “You Are With Me” by Flickering Mind Media [2:43]

Intro:  Normally we’d be talking about Independence Day, our freedom in Christ.  I had prepared a sermon along those lines.  Maybe we’ll get to it next week... or next 4th of July.  This morning as I awoke I was mourning the loss of Frank Rutkowski.  And I felt strongly that we needed to change the direction of our worship service this evening. 

Meditations During Our Loss

Losing Frank is a blow to all of us - not the least Theresa.  All of you were his friends.  We watched Frank give his life to the Lord, we watched his video testimony, and we watched him and Theresa be baptized here almost six months ago on January 16th.  The vocabulary of our church, I think, has been changed forever by Frank’s often given request that we all “pray with umph!”  So it’s natural that we are mourning, grieving.  It’s hard to party this 4th of July when our hearts are so heavy. 

But I have GOOD NEWS for you this evening...

God promises comfort - ___HIS VERY PRESENCE___ - in the valley!

We are going through the valley of the shadow of death right now.  Frank has been there, done that.  He’s past it all!  But we are still in death’s shadow.  God promises to be with us too!

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  Psalm 23:4 ESV

It’s worthwhile for us to note the fact that none of us ever ARRIVE at death.  It is not a destination for us.  We always walk through it.  Frank has walked through it.  We also are walking through the shadow now.  We have no need to fear - for ourselves or for Frank.  God promises to be with us.  And his Presence gives us all the comfort we need BECAUSE...

God Himself is ___THE COMFORTER___.

The Greek word for comfort (and encouragement) is παρακαλέω.  It means to call to one’s side, to invite, to call out to, to summon aid; to speak earnestly, to implore, to beg... and to comfort.

The Greek word/name for the Holy Spirit is παράκλητος (John 14:16; 16:7)

“And I will pray to the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, 
that he may abide with you forever.” John 14:16 KJV

Many different words used in English: Comforter, Advocate, Helper.  But this is God in His Spirit, coming alongside in our time of grief and trouble and mourning.  The early church experienced comfort:

“Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, [the church] multiplied.” Acts 9:31 ESV

How Does God Comfort Us?

It is all well and good to state the facts that God comforts us... but it would be helpful if we understood HOW he does this.  Especially when we are grieving the loss of someone dear and close to us.  Tonight I’d like to mention 5 ways the God of Comfort comforts us...

Audio Sermon: Comfort in the Valley

How does God provide comfort in our time of loss?  This past Sunday morning I woke up mourning the loss of our parishioner, Frank Rutkowski, who passed away the evening before.  I felt that I needed to change my plans for the worship service and the sermon.  So, for the first time in my preaching career, I wrote a new sermon and delivered it the same day.  God clearly moved powerfully in my thinking and writing.  The sermon below is the result.  I've received more comments from people on this talk than any other I've ever given.  Join me in this special memorial sermon from Church Requel this past weekend.

110703Comfort

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

We'll Celebrate Freedom at CR Sunday

Hey everyone!  Could we ask for a more beautiful July 4th holiday weekend?  I don't know about you, but I'm pumped about this weekend.  Mary Kay and I are planning on spending some time with friends and family - and of course all our close friends at Church Requel Sunday night!

I've really enjoyed planning our 4th of July eve service.  You might want to come a little early to hear the sounds of American Fantasia during our countdown.  We have several great videos comparing our freedom in Christ to our freedoms as Americans.  And we'll have a funny visit from the Skit Guys reminding us just how much God has blessed America. 

We have some great music planned too.  During our Greeting Time we'll listen to the enthusiastic sounds of Eddie James singing "Freedom" and we'll hear from Phillips, Craig and Dean singing "Freedom's Never Free" during our communion time.  (Gee... do you think we have a theme going or what?)

You'll want to hear the news of what's happening from Steve too - he has lots of new info for you.  He'll tell you about a new women's ministry opportunity coming up in two weeks.  He'll bring you some great news (and pictures) about Rachel's new ramp.  And he'll let us know how Frank is doing and what we as a church can do to support Theresa during Frank's recovery.

Jessica will read our Scripture for the evening out of her Message Bible.  We'll focus our attention on Galatians 5.  Did you know scholars tell us that Galatians was probably the first New Testament book actually penned?  Isn't it appropriate that in many ways it is also the Christian's declaration of freedom.  I'll have a few thoughts to share with you about the Christian's definition of freedom and how it might be a little different that you expect.

It's going to be a great evening together Sunday.  I rarely miss CR myself, but last weekend we were away for a much needed break.  So I'm really looking forward to connecting with all my CR friends.  I'm sure you're like me, having lots of plans for this holiday weekend.  I hope you'll include Church Requel in your plans for Sunday evening.  See you then!  Pastor Mark