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We learn about the 5 Links in God's Plan of Salvation. We start with the simple children's sermon - simple but filled with truth! Then we put this into the theological language of Romans 8:29-30. Finally I answer 3 questions about God's unconditional election of Christ-followers.
If you'd like to follow along with the sermon notes in YouVersion, click here.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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Hey everyone! Pastor Mark here with your weekly blog update about all the cool things happening at Church Requel. Mary Kay is off to Celina today and tomorrow, visiting with her siblings and taking care of some estate chores for her mom - so pray for her as you think about her. I remained in Mansfield because I'm cooking breakfast for all the guys tomorrow - see below. I'm hoping this finds you enjoying and making the most of your TGIF Friday!
Breakfast for the Men Saturday at 9am! Tomorrow morning will be a lot of fun for all the guys at CR. Come over to my place (1216 Butternut Court) tomorrow morning for all the breakfast fixins'! I'm planning on making 2 batches of scrambled eggs - one with all the veggies and one plain, bacon, toast, orange juice and coffee. Yum! Yum! Fathers, bring your sons (and yes, daughters are welcomed too!) We'll enjoy good food and good fellowship and make some plans for 2012.
Sunday Night - Back to Romans 8! We took a break last weekend for the annual meeting. Sunday night we'll get back to our "I KNOW" sermon series with our study of Romans 8:29-30. We'll talk about the idea of God's choosing - known as God's election. What does it mean when the Bible talks about predestination? This is a study you definitely won't want to miss. (Want a head start? Here's the YouVersion sermon notes.) We'll also have a great children's sermon with a special gift that all the children will receive AND give away! We'll sing together, pray together, and share communion together. As was our custom last year, we'll take communion all at the same time at the end of each worship service during Lent. Sunday night should be special - don't miss it!
Women Start James Study on Wednesday! Ladies, I have good news for you - your new study materials arrived at the Pierce home yesterday. What new study is this, you ask? Starting Wednesday evening, you'll be studying the book of James with master teacher, Beth Moore. This video Bible study is an 8-week immersion into the idea of mercy! James, Jesus' brother, started out as a skeptic. You'll learn how one glimpse of the resurrected Savior turned this skeptic into a believer. Topics in this study include: joy, hardship, faith, reversal of fortunes for rich and poor, wisdom, gifts from above, single-mindedness, the dangers of the tongue, humility, and prayer. We will be passing out the books this Sunday night - just another great reason why you'll want to be in Church Requel this weekend!
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One of the greatest promises of the Bible can be found in Romans 8:28 - that God works in all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to HIS purpose. There are 6 ingredients to this great promise. In this video sermon, we learn all 6 ingredients as well as 4 ways to remember and apply this great promise in our lives. Join me as we study Romans 8:28 together!
Here are the resources to support this sermon from February 12th. This evening was a highlight of our year so far at Church Requel. We hope you will be blessed too as you follow along. You may want to download the weekend program. Or you might want to connect to the YouVersion LIVE Event. 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:
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.
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Every week or so I update our family members on their Kindle books. We each keep our own Kindle, but we share an Amazon account together. I keep track of who buys what. The cool part is that we can share the books with one another. Not only does it save us money, but it gives us something to enjoywith one another. Here is this week's email.
Dear Dad, Jillian, Tim, Jessica, Dave, Jennifer, Mike, Nancy, Patty, Cheryl, Grayden, Mary Kay, Kimberly and Riley:
Hi everyone!
Hope this email finds everyone enjoying their Kindles. You have been quite busy buying and reading books. Jillian and Tim, pictured on the right, have found their Kindles especially fun these days. Tim loves all the apps on his Kindle Fire. And Jillian has been sick with the flu lately and found her Kindle a real boost to her morale.
Since I last wrote to you, we have purchased 9 new books and - thanks to Cheryl - have borrowed one. This brings the number of titles in our archives to 1,114, including 950 book titles! The new titles you've added to our collection are listed below. Thanks everyone for keeping me posted on your purchases.
ONE MYSTERY BOOK - No, I'm not talking about a thriller. I'm talking about a book purchased for $9.99 (not a cheapie!) and I don't know who bought it. I've been asking around, but so far no one is claiming ownership. Could you help me solve the mystery? The title is I Used To Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School. If I don't hear from someone soon, I'm going to ask Amazon for a refund. However, we're past our week's grace period on the book so I don't know if I can get it or not.
I'm also thrilled to have purchased the Adventure Bible for our grandchildren. I'm sure Grayden and Sicily will enjoy being able to read their Bibles on their Kindles.
Speaking of Sicily and her Kindle... she is well on her way! Thanks all of you who have donated to the Sicily Kindle Can. She is willing to do any small chores too to be able to earn the money. I'm excited that my grandchildren AND children all love to read!
New Books. Here are the books you have purchased over this past week. Check out the list of what your fellow book clubbers have purchased. You might find something you would like to read too! If you want to purchase a book for yourself, go ahead and do it. Just write me an email or send me a text message right away so I know who did it. Thanks!
Continue reading "PFKBC - 9 New Books Purchased; One a Mystery!" »
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Last evening was one of the greatest highlights for me at Church Requel! We conducted our first ever annual meeting. I spent most of today editing the meeting into this week's podcast. Here are the best excerpts. Listen to the stories of Lisa, Randy, Sheri, Jonathan, Steve, and Todd. God has blessed the CR ministry so much this past year. I hope this audio recap is also a blessing to you!
Listen to highlights from CR's 2012 Annual Meeting!
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.
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Hey everyone! Pastor Mark here with our weekly blog update about what's happening at Church Requel!
POTLUCK AT 4pm! Don't you love the very sound of that word?!? We have a really fun and tasty Sunday afternoon to look forward to this weekend! We will begin our weekend with our potluck meal at 4pm! Families should bring two dishes - one main dish and another side dish or dessert. Single folks bring one dish of any kind. The church will provide plates, eating utensils, napkins, cups, coffee, and lemonade. We'll set everything out and get to the delicious eating part of our night as soon as possible... so don't come late!
One word about the potluck to some of our newer folks - we love the fact that you have been coming this year. Don't be shy about coming to the potluck. It's absolutely the very best way for you and your family to get to know everyone and to start really feeling like an inside part of our church family. Almost everyone you meet at CR was new sometime in the past year or so. We are a church full of new folks! So come early and enjoy the potluck meal!
Annual Meeting - Our FIRST Ever! This won't be like any annual meeting you've ever been part of before! We're going to remain downstairs in the fellowship hall and start our meeting as soon as we've cleared the dishes away. We'll probably go ahead and start before 6pm! We will sing a few songs together. Then we'll share stories with one another of what God has done for us through Church Requel this past year. We'll also share our individual ideas of the direction God is moving us going forward. It will also be a great time to ask questions to your leadership team. We'll end our meeting by sharing communion together. It should be a most meaningful experience. So don't miss it! We will also be providing Preschool/Nursery care for the whole meeting and we will offer a full Children's Church after our initial adult worship experience is over. Bring the whole family! Children are the fastest growing part of CR these days!
NEXT SATURDAY - Men's Breakfast by Chef/Pastor Mark! That's right guys! I'll be making our breakfast on Saturday morning, February 25th! Plan on coming over to my place by 9am. I'll have scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, coffee and orange juice waiting for each of you. I'm pretty good with the eggs in the skillet, if I do say so myself. Should be fun. Bring your children too. Sure, girls are welcomed as well as boys! Don't miss the fellowship!
Women Start New Study Wednesday - Feb. 29th! Ladies, make sure you put Wednesday night, February 29th on your calendar. After all - this day only occurs every 4 years! You are invited to Mary Kay's home at 7pm. The ladies have decided on a Beth Moore study from the New Testament book of James. We'll be passing books out this evening and we'll be sharing some of our personal stories of coming to faith. It will be a great opportunity to make some new friends. Should be fun!
Great things are happening at Church Requel these days. We have several new families who have joined our fellowship this year. Take advantage of these great opportunities to get to know other folks here at CR. And if you know someone looking for the chance to connect with a new, young church... invite them to come with you Sunday night.
See you Sunday afternoon at 4pm! God bless! Pastor Mark
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Most of us Christ-followers find a gap between our talk and our walk. In this video talk from February 5th, we learn that, on our own, we are too weak to live a righteous live that pleases God. The good news is that Romans 8:26-27 teaches us that the Spirit of God will help our weakness! Join me in this video sermon as we learn 4 glimpses of what happens on God's side when we pray for strength. (Sorry to say, we messed up the title slide and date of this video. The sermon really was given on February 5, 2011. It was the 9th sermon in the series.)
Here are the resources to support this week's sermon, "The Spirit Helps My Weakness." You may want to download the weekend program and follow along. Or you might want to connect to the YouVersion LIVE Event. 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:
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.
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Today is Valentine's Day - the day of romance. This is the opportunity for love to blossom and for the creative lovers in our midst to demonstrate their passion for their beloveds. As the photo on the right clearly testifies, my love for Mary Kay was young once too! This morning as I reflect on our early passion, I'm also asking the question: "What are the ways that our early LUV turned into a LOVE that has survived these 33 years?" With the total admission that we are still working on it, that we haven't got it figured out at all, that we still struggle, but that we know we truly love each other... I humbly offer these 5 thoughts:
#1 Marriage Is Still The Best Way For True Love To Grow! Marriage is declining in our society. The marriage rate has declined to less than half of what it was just 4 decades ago. Never before has co-habitation been more of an acceptable option in our society. In fact, couples living together has increased ten-fold since 1960. I understand all the many reasons for why couples would choose to avoid marriage. Sadly, the failure of marriages is also at an all-time high! Nevertheless I believe marriage is the best way for true love to grow. There's something about the commitment of two people promising to remain together as a couple for their lifetime that allows romance to mature into relationship. It's God's plan and God's idea. I know you exect to hear me say this since I'm a pastor. You should know, though, that marriage is just as much work for Mary Kay and me as it is for anyone else. Pastors' marriages fail just as much as everyone else! Mary Kay and I told each other often in our early years that "divorce is not in our vocabulary." Each phase of our married lives has brought new challenges. We're now entering the empty nest phase. We're discovering that we each have new work to do to affirm and grow our love in ways that we have not needed to do before. We don't always succeed. We mess up. Knowing that we are committed to the marriage working no matter what helps us through our mistakes and missteps.
#2 Major in Forgiveness, Humility, and Empathy. Here's another piece of advice one expects to hear. Trust me when I tell you, this is not just a throw-away line. LUV is all about me and getting my emotional (and other) needs met. LOVE is entirely about the other person in the relationship. That means that in many ways LUV has to die in order for LOVE to flourish. After 33 years I'm here to tell you that LUV doesn't die easily. I still struggle with my own selfishness. It's still deliberate, purposeful effort for me to stop looking at things from my point of view and to start looking at things from Mary Kay's point of view. If marriage were like college I'd say everyone would need 3 majors: Forgiveness, Humility, and Empathy. Swallowing my pride to say, "I'm sorry," doesn't get easier over time. Humility doesn't put me down, but definitely raises Mary Kay up. Learning to think (and talk and even act) like Mary Kay is still a struggle sometimes. The same is true of her. Yes, it's true. That saint of a woman I married can sometimes be just as stubborn as me! However, we have both learned that our LOVE is more important than our selfishness.
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Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
Listen to God Works All Things For My Good
I KNOW part 10: “God Works All Things For Good” 02.12.12
Scripture: Romans 8:28 NIV / YouVersion Sermon Notes
Videos: “Called” by Dustin Williams / “Alls Well That Ends Well” by Crossroads Creative
Intro: We come today to one of the GREAT promises of the entire Bible. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV If I’ve heard it quoted once I’ve heard it quoted thousands of times. Many Christ-followers tell me it is their most favorite verse in all of Scripture. The challenge is that not only have I heard it quoted, I’ve often heard it misquoted. Sometimes not all the ingredients are always included. Today we’re going to do two things. First we’ll take a look at the six ingredients of God’s great promise to us in Romans 8:28. Second we’ll consider 4 ways to remember all 6 key ingredients. Let’s take a look at this great promise with all 6 ingredients!
6 Ingredients of God’s Great Promise
Ingredient #1 - The ___ASSURANCE___ of the promise.
“And we know that ...” Romans 8:28a NIV
God does not want you to be doubtful about this promise in your life. God is good. He wants to accomplish good things in your life. And He wants you to KNOW it, not DOUBT it. Paul writes this to the Roman Christians - and to us today - with a shared conviction. This is not something that is only for some Christians, for saints, for clergy, for experienced Christians... it’s for all. And that includes you! What a difference this would make in our life if we KNEW that God was on our side, that He was for us and not against us... that evil is never His intent.
Ingredient #2 - The ___EXPANSE___ of the promise.
“... in all things ...” Romans 8:28b NIV
When you or I say “all things” we really don’t know what that means. We think we have some idea, but since we’ve not experienced all things, or created all things, we can only conceive of a limited slice of what “all things” really means. But when God says “all things,” and since He created all things, - this really has ALL THINGS in mind! Think of it. Every bad thing that happens is included. Every hurt, every loss, each disappointment, each heartache. All of it! It’s not just that somehow there’s more good than bad. It’s that God takes ALL THINGS - even the evil and bad things - and somehow miraculously works them for your good! No exceptions. No exclusions. Not a high percentage. ALL!
Ingredient #3 - The ___SOURCE___ of the promise.
“... God works ...” Romans 8:28c NIV
This is incredible. Where else have we seen God at work? Creation. All the universe around you that you are a part of, that you exist within. That’s God’s work. And God worked to plan and initiate your redemption through Christ. He sent His Son to die so that your sins might be paid for. He raised His Son so that you might have the hope of your own resurrection some day. The kind of work God does is awesome.
Here we learn about the ongoing nature of God’s work. That He is continuously taking all the things that happen, including the wrong, the cursed, the hatred, the evil, the foul, the disasters, the accidents, the wars, the murders, the lies - ALL of it... and God works to turn it into good for those who love him!
Chess Illustration - Think of the endless layers of thinking and working this involves. It’d be like a chess game with no corners, no dimensions, an endless, infinite, continuous, historic and future working to bring all that happens into the rightness of His will and intent.
God works, not delegates. And just so we’re clear, this is not God at his managerial best delegating out the details to subordinates. This is personal for God. HE WORKS. This should send a chill and a thrill down the back of every Christ-follower. God isn’t retired waiting for it all to work out eventually. He is making it happen - despite the working of Evil to the contrary - for your good and mine.
Continue reading "Sermon Notes: God Works All Things For My Good" »
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One of the greatest promises of the Bible can be found in Romans 8:28. We learn all 6 ingredients as well as 4 ways to remember and apply this great promise in our lives.
Listen to God Works All Things For My Good
Want to follow along with the YouVersion sermon notes? Click here.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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We'll have a live praise band at Church Requel this weekend! That's right... Dave, Ryan and Nate will return to lead our worship this week. The picture to the right is an early photo from our Mid-Ohio days. We all love Nate, who gave so much of his love and energy to Church Requel. They will lead us in four of our favorite songs:
As wonderful as this news is, it really is only a terrific start to a wonderful evening of worship we have planned. After you've had the opportunity to greet one another we'll watch a short, one-minute poignant video featuring 4 quick incoming phone calls. It's guaranteed to give you an "aha moment."
I'm really looking forward to the Children's Moment Sunday night. I'll invite all the kids in the audience to come up front with me for a delicious illustration of lesson. I'll give you two clues. First, the illustration involves chocolate chips! Second, I've named the illustration, "The Missing Ingredient." If you have an elementary-age child living in your near vicinity, you will definitely want to bring him or her with you to Church Requel Sunday!
Steve will tell us all about the great things happening this week at CR. He will also lead our prayer time together. We plan on sharing communion together. Jessica Pierce will read our Bible verse Sunday night. Our entire teaching time Sunday night will focus on just one verse, Romans 8:28. Many of you have told me this is your favorite verse in the Bible. I promise you will walk out of church more encouraged than we you walked in!
For those of you who have installed the Bible app from YouVersion.com, you can get an early look at the sermon notes for Sunday night. Click here to see it in your browser.
Women's Social This Wednesday! Ladies, make sure you have Wednesday night marked on your calendar. You are invited to Mary Kay's home at 7pm. Lisa Hatfield will be bringing the snacks (and we all know how good that will be!!!) Together the ladies will decide which book you'll choose to study. If you have any suggestions, bring them with you. Should be fun!
Potluck and Annual Meeting Next Sunday! We have a special weekend planned for one week from now. On February 19th we'll enjoy a potluck meal together at 4pm. Families bring two dishes of any kind. Single folks bring one dish or liters of pop. The church will provide plates, eating utensils, coffee and lemonade. After our potluck meal we'll gather in the same fellowship hall for our first-ever annual meeting. Of course it will be "requel" style! Come with any questions or ideas you have for 2012!
Men's Breakfast by Chef/Pastor Mark! That's right guys! I'll be making our breakfast on Saturday morning, February 25th! Plan on coming over to my place by 9am. I'll have scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, coffee and orange juice waiting for each of you. I'm pretty good with the eggs in the skillet, if I do say so myself. Should be fun. Bring your children too. Sure, girls are welcomed as well as boys! Don't miss the fellowship!
Great things are happening at Church Requel these days. We have several new families who have joined our fellowship this year. Take advantage of these great opportunities to get to know other folks here at CR. And if you know someone looking for the chance to connect with a new, young church... invite them to come with you Sunday night.
See you Sunday night at 6pm! God bless! Pastor Mark
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Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
Listen to "The Spirit Helps My Weakness."
I KNOW part 9: “The Spirit Helps My Weakness” 02.05.12
Scripture: Romans 8:26-27 ESV
Intro: Today we come to one of the most important and one of the most insightful of all of these “I KNOW” messages. One difficulty of the Christian faith is the high calling to live a righteous life - that means to live in the “right” way, the way God intended and in a way that pleases Him. Yet for many Christ-followers, our walk rarely comes close to our talk. While some like to point to Christian hypocrisy, for most of us, we ourselves are our greatest critics. We “KNOW” what to do, how to live, how to walk, but often find ourselves unable to do what we want to do. Accordingly, we fall to all kinds of sins - sexual, health, relational.
Here’s the good news AND bad news of today’s talk:
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO LIVE THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE.
YOU ARE TOO WEAK.
It’s good news because when we can admit this, we can get help for ourselves. And God is all too willing to provide this help. It’s bad news because way too few of us take advantage of this help.
Likewises of the Spirit: By the time we come to 8:26, Paul starts us with a “Likewise.” (1) Set you free from sin v. 2. (2) Walk according to... v. 4. (3) Set our minds... v. 5. (4) gives life and peace v.6 (5) God in us v. 9 (6) evidence of Christ v. 9 (7) is life v. 10 (8) will give resurrection life v. 11 (9) put to death deeds of body v. 13 (10) those led by Spirit of God are sons of God v. 14 (11) adoption by Spirit v. 15. (12) we know God as Abba v. 15 (13) the witness we are God’s children v. 16 (14) heirs of God v. 17
Illustration - My blue-marked Romans 8, first Bible. When I rededicated my life to Christ around the age of 22, I purchased one of the first NIV Bibles - copyright 1979. Someone told me about the idea of marking the Bible with colored pencils around themes and ideas. I used the color blue for verses about the Holy Spirit. If you could see that Bible now, you'd see that Romans 8 is covered in blue!
Four Glimpses Inside Our Prayer Life
Glimpse #1 - Handling our ___WEAKNESSES___.
New Testament 45 mentions! Can we just admit right up front that we are weak? We intend one thing, but do another. Paul - for all his power, for all his accomplishments for the Kingdom, was right up front with his own weaknesses. Why should we expect to be any different?
“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead I do what I hate.” Romans 7:15 NLT
Admitting our weakness - that we don’t live up to our own standard of rightness, let alone God’s - is the first step to getting a handle on our weaknesses. We will never ask God for help for what we think we can handle on our own. Each morning - with all sincerity - I pray that God would help me to avoid sin. (Part of Lord’s prayer - “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.) Paul admitted weakness.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Cor. 12:9 NIV
Do you see the connection point between Paul’s admitting his weaknesses - even his boasting gladly about his weaknesses - and Christ’s power? How exactly does this happen?
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought...” Romans 8:26a ESV
We shouldn’t be surprised - after all we’ve studied about the HS in Rom. 8, that the strength to handle weakness comes through the Spirit. He is our strength. What IS amazing is that we learn that we don’t even have a clue as to just how weak we really are! We don’t even know how to put into words our predicament, our weakness. Our uniqueness as one of God’s creatures is that we can put words to things. We can communicate. But when it comes to talking to God about our weaknesses, we really are just like the dumb animals!
Continue reading "Sermon Notes: The Spirit Helps My Weakness" »
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Why should a pastor consider using the online YouVersion LIVE event software to provide his or her sermon notes on mobile devices? After all, as the pastor you already have more on your plate than you can handle. Especially if you are like me and pastor a new or small congregation, you wear a lot of hats. Why add one more?
After four months of experimentation with the YouVersion Bible app, I have found it takes me on average another 30 to 40 minutes per week to provide a detailed version of our sermon notes to our congregation on their mobile devices. Why do I do it? Is it worth it?
The WHY behind the LIVE Event. The mobile market of smart phones and tablet devices has been growing by leaps and bounds over this past year. Apple just reported their best quarter ever, selling 37 million iPhones and over 15 million iPads. While they don't report the specific numbers, most analysts estimate that Amazon sold over 5 million Kindle Fires in their first quarter. I have a good friend and parishioner who owns 13 Verizon stores and he tells me that the sales of all mobile devices have never been better. In the tablet market alone, it's estimated that in this past Christmas alone, the percentage of people who own a tablet device DOUBLED to 19 percent.
The mobile device market is exploding, my pastor friend. And if you're not tapping into this incredible phenomenon, you're missing out on this fast-growing opportunity to multiply your weekly results from the weekly work you are already doing. And thanks to the YouVersion Bible app, this opportunity is FREE - both to you and to your congregation!
Never before in our lifetime - and maybe not since the invention of the printing press - have we seen such an explosion in the number of people who are regularly accessing their Bibles!
YouVersion does a pretty good job of sharing their own success story. But just in case you haven't heard, here are a few incredible statistics. The Bible App has been installed on more than 30 million devices. One device in seven carries the Bible app on it. To put this in numbers that might make sense to a pastor with a congregation of 100 parishioners. I would guess that 66 of your parishioners already have either a tablet or a smart phone. Of that number - if your congregation simply represents the averages - 10 of your attendees already have the Bible app. That number could easily be higher since your people are more likely than the average to be interested in the Bible. In other words, this is a trend already taking place within your church. It's not often that pastors are presented with trends moving in their direction! Why not take advantage of it?
Continue reading "The WHY Behind Using YouVersion LIVE Sermon Notes" »
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Since September 25th, a little over 4 months ago, Church Requel has been publishing its weekly sermon notes as a LIVE event for the YouVersion Bible app.
The picture on the left is the slide we show in our pre-service announcements reminding our congregation that the sermons are available on their mobile devices.
I've written quite a bit about the YouVersion Bible app in previous articles here on the CR blog. One thing I haven't written about, though, is my evolving use of the LIVE event as an additional tool for sermon notes.
After 4 months, I am a confirmed fan of the YouVersion LIVE Event. More than half of the attendees in my church now follow along on their cell phones, iPads, or Kindle Fires. A new family started attending over the holidays. The husband - thinking everyone around him was being disrespectful - told his wife, "Look at everyone who has their cell phone out during the sermon!" To which she answered, "They're following the sermon notes! Get into the 21st century." And she promptly showed him her own smart phone with the sermon notes on it!
I'd like to write to you about my own experiences - both my own evolution in developing the sermon notes for the LIVE event as well as the unexpected and surprising results we have heard about. I'll write these stories in subsequent articles.
To begin this series, I thought it would help my other pastor friends to be able to see the actual LIVE events that I've created using the online software YouVersion provides for free. For the first time in one place, here are all the CR YouVersion Live Events since we began:
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Every week or so I update our family members on their Kindle books. We each keep our own Kindle, but we share an Amazon account together. I keep track of who buys what. The cool part is that we can share the books with one another. Not only does it save us money, but it gives us something to enjoywith one another. Here is this week's email.
Dear Dad, Jillian, Tim, Jessica, Dave, Jennifer, Mike, Nancy, Patty, Cheryl, Grayden, Mary Kay, Kimberly and Riley:
Hi everyone!
Hope this email finds you all doing well. Personally I've been struggling with some illness that I picked up from Mary Kay. Bless her heart (as Cheryl would say), Mary Kay struggled and finally overcame her flu bug after two weeks. I've been fighting it since last Thursday. I'm hoping I hit bottom last night. I've been feeling a little better today - good enough to get this out to all of you.
Super Bowl - Super Kindles! We had a lot of the family over to our place last night during the Super Bowl. Great Grandpa Pierce still loves playing with the great grandkids. He taught Cohen a magic trick. In this photo (to the right) you can see that he and Grayden have just put down their Kindles to talk about the importance of lighting. Grandpa Walt shows off his homemade solution of a light that wraps around his head. Lincoln gets into the act by taking the light and putting it on "blink" mode, and then trying to find dark rooms and closets.
Jennifer Leads The Way! We purchased 8 new books this past week. Jennifer has really been in a reading mood lately! She's responsible for half of our purchases this week. She tells me she is loving the two books by Beth Revis. Check out the descriptions below. Jennifer recommends them highly - if you like the kind of books that she does. She also has added some practical books, including an outstanding "Declutter Your House and Your Life" book. Mary Kay suggests that we get the entire PFKBC together on one of Jennifer's days off and help her with a major decluttering project. Ha! Good luck with that one Jennifer and Mary Kay!
Grayden Reads 4 Books! I met with Grayden this past Friday night. Because one of you generously (and anonymously) donated $10 to his reading fund, he had some money available to buy a book or two. Grayden recently won a reading medal (you can see it on him to the left) for how many books he has been reading from the "book list" at school. So as Grayden and I were searching for a book, we had two primary objectives. #1 - it had to be a book that Grayden wanted to read. #2 - it had to be a book that was on the reading list at school so he could get credit for reading it. We found a 4-book collection in series of books by Dan Gutman. Mr Gutman, on his Amazon bio, says he aims to write for kids who don't like to read and hopefully reaches kids, like Grayden, who do like to read. Sounds this author has found his mojo, because there are 20 "Weird School" books out there. Most sell for $3.99 each for Kindle. Grayden bought the first 4 books for $9.99, pretty much shooting his wad! And here's the rest of the story. Grayden bought the 4 books on Friday. By Sunday night he had finished reading them all! So - if you have a young reader in your life, know that these books are available (like Sicily!) And if you ever wonder what Grayden likes to read - "Weird School" books are currently his fav!
To the one who gave the $10 gift to Grayden: He thanks you very much. He wants you to know how much your gift meant to him. And how much he enjoyed reading these books. If he knew who you were, he would write you a thank you note!
Sicily's Kindle Fund Started! I received several donations this weekend for Sicily's new Kindle Fund Can. I haven't seen Sicily for a week, but will make sure she receives the money. I've been instructed to tell her that if she counts out the change and dollar bills in one particular bag - and writes to Great Grandpa Pierce with the calculation of how much money was in the bag - that there will probably be more money on the way!
New Books. Here are the books you have purchased over this past week. Check out the list of what your fellow book clubbers have purchased. You might find something you would like to read too! If you want to purchase a book for yourself, go ahead and do it. Just write me an email or send me a text message right away so I know who did it. Thanks!
Continue reading "PFKBC Adds 8 Books; Jennifer & Grayden Reading LOTS!" »
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I am most thankful that God allowed me to keep my voice for last night's talk. I crashed with the flubug afterward. The perfect timing for a pastor's sickness is on Monday!
Most of us Christ-followers find a gap between our talk and our walk. Last night we learned that, on our own, we are too weak to live a righteous live that pleases God. The good news is that Romans 8:26-27 teaches us that the Spirit of God will help our weakness! Join me in this audio sermon as we learn 4 glimpses of what happens on God's side when we pray for strength.
Listen to "The Spirit Helps My Weakness."
Want to follow along with the YouVersion LIVE EVENT notes? Click here.
Subscribe to this audio podcast! It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.
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We're finally getting caught up with our backlog of video sermon postings here at Church Requel. This talk was from two weekends ago, January 15th, when we taught about what it meant for creation to groan. We live in a world of brokenness. Things aren't "right." Even creation longs for the world to be made right again. Join me in this video sermon as we study Romans 8:19-22 together. Thanks again to Dave Johnson for his dedication in editing and posting these videos so that everyone has the opportunity to watch, listen and learn!
Here are the resources to support this week's sermon, "Creation Groans." You may want to download the weekend program and follow along. Or you might want to connect to the YouVersion LIVE Event. 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:
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.
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Hey everyone! Pastor Mark here with your weekly Church Requel message! Most important reminder!!! We meet for church this Sunday night AT 4PM! This weekend is our annual pre-Super Bowl worship service. So come at 4 instead of 6...
... and be ready for an AWESOME EXPERIENCE! We're going to sing some great songs together. We'll see a brand new video reminding us about what we want our church to become. We'll listen as Gabe Kraft reads our Scripture for us (his first time!) We'll share communion and pray together. We'll study Romans 8:26-27 and gain some great insight into what goes on within God's mind when we pray!
Would you like a head start on the study for this Sunday? Check out the YouVersion Sermon Notes.
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We are still playing catch-up on our sermon videos here at Church Requel. This one is from December 18th. I remember that as I was preparing this sermon, we had recently gone through the tragic loss of my mother-in-law. That reminded me of her Catholic faith and the church that Mary Kay and I were married in 33 years ago: Immaculate Conception Church in Celina, OH. The question of the Immaculate Conception provides some direction to this talk, "Immaculate Consent." We learn how to turn surprise into surrender by studying Mary's dialog with the angel in Luke 1:34-38. Thanks to Dave Johnson, who is working hard editing these videos.
Here are the resources to support this 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:
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.
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This is the video sermon from this past Sunday evening. If you are a Christ-follower then you have real hope. There's nothing you can do to make your hope any more real! However, you may not REALIZE your real hope all the time. Join me in this video talk to learn 4 ways we can know our H.O.P.E. is R.E.A.L.
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:
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.
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