« July 2014 | Main | September 2014 »
The greatest joy in life is experiencing unremitting love, when someone loves us no matter what. The greatest hurt comes when someone we thought would love us stops loving us. How do we find unremitting love? How do we give unremitting love? Join mel as we discover 4 truths about love from 1 Peter 1:22-25.
Unremitting Love from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
| |
|
Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Labor Day weekend is here. I don't know whether to celebrate because it's a holiday weekend or cry because it's the unofficial end to summer. It has been such a great summer for us at CR. I would estimate that about a third of us who are regularly coming each Sunday morning have started attending this summer! If you look around and don't know someone, introduce yourself. They're probably new too and looking for a friend!
I may be vacillating on my feelings about the Labor Day weekend, but I am absolutely certain of my excitement for this coming Sunday morning at Church Requel. I'm especially looking forward to Kay Butts reading 1 Peter chapter 1 to us. You all know Kay to be an excellent reader. She always puts everything she has into the reading of Scripture. I have a feeling this Sunday will also be pretty special for Kay too, as her summer-long prayer to move to a new home has been answered! Let's all celebrate with Kay on Sunday!
The reason we have Kay reading the entire chapter is that we are wrapping up our summer study this weekend. I have really enjoyed these past 6 weeks as we've taken an in-depth study of 1 Peter 1. We will focus our attention Sunday morning on the last 4 verses (22-25). I'm titling the talk, "Unremitting Love."
Would you like a little preview? I'm going to do something that my seminary profs would have told me never to do ahead of time. I'm going to give away my conclusion to you now. I'm doing this in the interest of motivating you to come hear the talk:
"What I’ve just laid out for you is God’s plan for love. Think about your love relationships. With your spouse. With your financé. With your friends. With your business partners. What we’ve talked about today is what God has designed for your relationships. All of them. All bound by love. This is God’s love roadmap. This is God’s love plan. Do you want to find a person like this? First start being that kind of person yourself!"
KidsMin - Armor of God. How many of you missed Tamira Barnes last weekend? I know your kids did! She had some family business in Florida to take care of and so we sent her away with our blessing. She's back this weekend and looking forward to starting a whole new series for the kiddos! So this Sunday would be an excellent time to make sure all the children are at CR.
Tamira tells me the elementary children will be learning all about the armor of God. Sounds like a great lesson for all of us! If you don't already know it, check out Ephesians 6:10-18. Knowing Tamira as well as I do, I'm guessing our childen will probably be quoting that from memory before too long.
The pre-schoolers have some exciting plans too! (Did you know there were 11 in our pre-school class last weekend?!) They will be learning about each day of Creation each week. My daughter, Jessica, told Tamira that last week went really well. Our tiny tots are excited to learn about what was created each day. Along the way, they will be making some creations of their own!
S'mores Praise & Bonfire. Make sure to mark 6PM on Friday, September 19th on your calendars for another great Church Requel social and spiritual event. We'll make a bonfire, devour some hot dogs and s’mores, and sing praise songs together. And here's the great news! Jack and Sheri Nichols have volunteered to host the event at their place! They live at 4565 Flowers Road in Ontario. We'll have a map for you two weeks before the event. But save the date now!
Feed The Hungry. Saturday evening, September 20th, will be our next opportunity as a church family to feed those in our neighborhood who could use a free meal. We need volunteers at 4pm. The meal begins at 5pm and lasts for one hour. Volunteers should plan to stay and clean up until 7pm. We also would appreciate you providing desserts for that evening. You'll find the sign-up sheet in the foyer for volunteers and desserts. I'm so proud of the way so many of you have already volunteered and signed up!
Finally, I leave you with this graphic above. This is what our teaching focus will be on this Fall. We will be studying the back half of the book of Ephesians on a verse by verse basis. Along the way, we're going to discover the best relationship advice ever given. If I were you, I'd do two things. First, I'd make sure not to miss a single Sunday. Second, I'd make sure that anyone in a relationship with me would be following each sermon each week too (either in person or online!)
Love you all very much! I'm excited about the growth of our church family! See you Sunday at 11am! Pastor Mark
| |
|
We love salvation stories in our books and movies. Many point back to THE salvation story found in God's Word. In this week's talk from 1 Peter 1, we discover that God's salvation was not a plan "B." He created mankind even knowing the sacrifice required of God's Son. Join me as we celebrate the greatest story ever told.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blank PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
| |
|
We love salvation stories in our books and movies. Many point back to THE salvation story found in God's Word. In this week's talk from 1 Peter 1, we discover that God's salvation was not a plan "B." He created mankind even knowing the sacrifice required of God's Son. Join me in this past Sunday's sermon as we celebrate the greatest story ever told.
Foundational Christ from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blank PDF outline.
| |
|
Good Friday morning Church Requel!
This week Mary Kay and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary! Yay! We drove down to Batvia, Ohio to a special bed & breakfast called the 1861 Inn. It was built just prior to the Civil War and provided just the right getaway spot for us to celebrate 35 years together.
I'm looking forward to being back with all of you Sunday morning at Church Requel. I am very appreciative of Jeff Barnes, who filled in for me last weekend while we were away. I've heard from several of you that he did a great job! Thanks Jeff!
This coming Sunday we'll continue our verse-by-verse study of the first chapter of 1 Peter. We'll learn some fascinating things about our salvation in Christ. Probably the most significant thing for me in my preparation this week is that God's plan is not a "Plan B." Haven't you sometimes wondered if God had to come up with another plan for his creation after mankind sinned? The other really interesting tidbit is this idea of the angels "eagerly watching" everything that happens. I can't wait to share it with you!
I'm also looking forward to Brandi, Trish and Haleigh leading our worship singing together. They always do such a great job and blend their voices so beautifully. We're going to turn things around a bit Sunday morning. We'll start with communion and then go right into our teaching. After our talk we'll sing some great worship songs as a response, songs like "Heart of Worship," "Indescribable," Hallelujah," and "No One Else Like You." It should be pretty special.
Remember that this weekend we'll also have the elementary kids join our families in the sanctuary. I love it when our children worship with us!
S'mores Praise & Bonfire. Make sure to mark Friday, September 19th on your calendars for another great Church Requel social and spiritual event. We'll make a bonfire, devour some s’mores, and sing praise songs together. And here's the great news! Jack and Sheri Nichols have volunteered to host the event at their place! They live at 4565 Flowers Road in Ontario. We'll have a map for you as well as our starting time two weeks before the event. But save the date now!
Feed The Hungry. Saturday evening, September 20th, will be our next opportunity as a church family to feed those in our neighborhood who could use a free meal. We need volunteers at 4pm. The meal begins at 5pm and lasts for one hour. Volunteers should plan to stay and clean up until 7pm. We also would appreciate you providing desserts for that evening. You'll find a sign-up sheet in the foyer for volunteers and desserts. Thanks for helping!
Mary Kay and I are looking forward to being back with you this Sunday morning. I hope you plan to be there. I love the way our church is growing one invite and one person at a time. Who knows? There may be someone out there you know just waiting for an invitation to your church.
With deep affection, Pastor Mark
| |
|
If we call ourselves Christ-followers, then our conduct should match our name. God is holy and He expects us also to be holy. How do we conduct ourselves as Christians? Jeff Barnes takes us through 1 Peter 1:13-19 and tells us how to live out this high calling.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
| |
|
If we call ourselves Christ-followers, then our conduct should match our name. God is holy and He expects us also to be holy. How do we conduct ourselves as Christians? Jeff Barnes takes us through 1 Peter 1:13-19 and tells us how to live out this high calling.
Holy Conduct from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
| |
|
Good Friday morning Church Requel!
What a beautiful weekend we have before us! You've worked hard all week long. You deserve some fun and relaxation and fellowship with your Church Requel family! So come out tonight and join Mary Kay and me (and about 60 of our closest friends!) at the Minute-To-Win-It Bash!
If you've long since said goodbye to school days, don't let the "Back-To-School" moniker keep you from coming. This party is for kids of all ages! Adults will have a blast too. Of course if you have a brood of kiddos at home, they and you won't want to miss out either.
Let me tell you how I understand this is going to work. We start off at 6pm with pizza! We're buying the pizza from Besta Fasta this time (thanks to the unnamed person who arranged us a nice discount.) So don't arrive late. I can't guarantee that the pizza will last all night.
After pizza we're going to play some Minute-To-Win-It games. These are going to be fun! Not everyone will be playing the games all the time (and if you don't want to play any games at all, that's fine too! Half the fun is going to be in the watching other people play.) Tamira Barnes has designed all the games to be fun and easy. She will sign up different teams for the different events once we all arrive.
This will be an awesome opportunity for you to get to know some new Church Requel folks. We've had so many new people attending this summer. This will be our chance to get to know one another better! If you know someone who has never been to CR before, but would like to come to the party tonight, by all means INVITE THEM! They would be most welcome!
Sunday Morning at CR. We have a wonderful worship service planned for this Sunday at 11am. (Here are directions.) Brandi and Missie will lead our worship singing with songs like "All Because of Jesus," "Give Us Clean Hands," and "The Proof Of Your Love."
After our greeting time, Tamira will come up front to lead our congregation in a special blessing for our children returning to school. This will be a memorable moment for Church Requel. Our children have become such a special part of our church life this summer! I don't know about you, but I feel like I know so many of them so much more personally after watching them participate multiple times in our worship experiences. Here will be our chance to surround them and their families with our prayers for a blessed year at school.
Jeff Barnes will be our teacher / preacher this Sunday morning. Some of you may know Jeff better as Tamira's husband. You've seen him lead our worship singing at Church Requel many times. He brings to our pulpit over 23 years experience in many different ministry roles. I love the fact that he has planted two different churches! (I can identify!) On top of everything else, Jeff is my good friend and neighbor.
I hope you will come out in a big way this weekend to support him and to hear what God places on his heart. He plans to continue our 1 Peter 1 series, focusing on verses 13-19. (Check out the sermon notes here, if you'd like a head start!) After his talk, Jeff will lead us in communion - which we will take together as a church family.
I love the way our church is growing - in numbers, in closeness with one another, in worship and in the study of God's Word. Last weekend we even had the opportunity to serve our community by giving away book bags to elementary students. What a blessing God is laying down before us! I'm so thrilled to be your pastor!
With loving affection, Pastor Mark
| |
|
Shouldn't our lives be better because of our Christian faith? Shouldn't our lives be easier because of our Christian faith? Better yes. Easier no. As a Christ-follower, the Bible tells us that we will be tested. In this talk from 1 Peter 1:6-9, I talk about WHY we are tested and the resulting benefits to our faith.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
| |
|
Shouldn't our lives be better because of our Christian faith? Shouldn't our lives be easier because of our Christian faith? Better yes. Easier no. As a Christ-follower, the Bible tells us that we will be tested. In this talk from 1 Peter 1:6-9, I talk about WHY we are tested and the resulting benefits to our faith.
Tested By Fire from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
You may follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF outline.
| |
|
Good Friday morning Church Requel!
Opportunity. That's what we have right now at CR. An opportunity to serve. An opportunity to grow. An opportunity to celebrate. This Sunday morning may be the greatest opportunity we've had yet in the young life of Church Requel - and you don't want to miss it!
Yesterday we received delivery of 103 school book bags, especially designed for elementary age children. They include a few school supplies and will also be stuffed with a toiletry goodie bag thanks to the fine folks in the Reaching Out group. Many children (I'm hoping 103 children) could use a helping hand as they return to school this Fall. Because of God's wonderful working, they could walk back into those school doors with a little extra confidence boost.
But we're going to need your help. This is an "all hands on deck" Sunday as it's very possible we could have more guests than ever. Here's how you can help us:
We have a special worship service planned for Sunday. Tamira, Brianna, Jana and Dinah will lead our worship singing. Dinah will start us out with a fantastic opener, "Waterfall" by Chris Tomlin. We've even put together some video of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world to accompany her song!
My talk on Sunday will be about the many testings and trials we experience. For the Christ-follower, we'll discover that these testings are really just a part of living the Christian life. I'll teach you how to go with the flow and rejoice when those special challenges come your way.
Minute To Win It Party Next Friday! Don't forget the church party we have planned for Friday evening, August 15th - one week from tonight. The party begins at 6pm and ends at 9pm. We will party at the church. While we are calling it a "Back-To-School Bash," we do not intend for this to be a party for children only. We want all the adults to participate and have fun too. Tamira has been working hard to put together a really fun-filled evening for all of us. (Tamira would love your decorating help. Let her know if you'd like to be on the decorating team!)
To help you realize that this "Minute-To-Win-It gamefest is for the big kids too, we want to invite 3 adults to pit their cup stacking abilities against the kiddos up front during our announcements this Sunday. Are you game? If you'd like to give it a try Sunday morning, please let me or Tamira or Brandi know. The kids got 10 cups to stack in 17 seconds. Do you think you could do better?
I'm going to wrap this week's letter up by telling you just how encouraged I am by what's happening at Church Requel this summer. Our attendance is up and not down. We've had more new guests attend since June than in the first 5 months altogether. People are renewing their relationships with Christ. We have new people wanting to become members. Last Sunday I had a request for a baptism. We are witnessing something special! Aren't you excited? Can't you feel the Spirit of God moving among us?
With all that being said, please continue to pray for me. I don't want to let up in any way. I realize that this is God's church and God's working and I am wholly and only His servant. Your prayers mean so much to me and to our ministry together.
Looking forward to celebrating with you Sunday morning! Pastor Mark
| |
|
In this talk from 1 Peter 1:3-5, I take us behind the scenes and considers our Christian lives from God's perspective. We discover that God gave us new life, provides an inheritance not subject to entropy, defends us, and will come back for us.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
| |
|
In this talk from 1 Peter 1:3-5, I take us behind the scenes and consider our Christian lives from God's perspective. We discover that God gave us new life, provides an inheritance not subject to entropy, defends us, and will come back for us.
Imperishable Inheritance from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the fill-in-the-blanks PDF sermon outline.
| |
|
Good Friday morning Church Requel,
May God's grace and peace be with you this morning. As I write you I am thinking of our great and rich inheritance we possess as Christ-followers, even though we don't always see it clearly now. Nevertheless our Father in Heaven has quite clearly promised some incredible benefits to us, His children through Christ. I am so looking forward to talking to you about this on Sunday. My heart literally overflows with God's good news! Here is a link to Sunday's notes, but I forewarn you that you may be blown away if you read it. It's that good! (Not the talk... the good news!)
There are so many good things going on behind the scenes at Church Requel these days that I'm not sure where to begin. Let's talk about the book bag giveaway on August 10th. Will you agree with me to pray for this upcoming event? I believe it has the potential of bringing so many new families into the life of Church Requel. We plan to distribute 100 book bags to children heading back to school. We have partnered with the Reaching Out group, led by new Requelers Angie Henke and Shelli Jackson, who plan to provide 100 small hygiene bags filled with shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant. If you get the chance, also thank Randy Craig and Blue Mobile Solutions for providing the book bags! We are so blessed with loving and caring members!
We are also pumped about the fun social event we have planned two weeks from tonight- The Back-To-School Minute to Win It Pizza Bash! Check out this exciting promo video from our CR children. I want all of our Church Requelers to come - of all ages! This is not just an event for the young kiddos, but for kiddos of all ages. (This means you!)
Think about this for just a moment. This party could be the largest single event we've ever promoted - and we need your help! The Sunday before we will have given out 100 free book bags to children - most of whom probably don't have a church home. Inside that book bag, they and their parents will find an invitation to a Minute To Win It church party the following Friday evening. I think we could have quite a few new families coming to this fun event and I want them to meet the wonderful people, who make Church Requel such a friendly place to worship. So plan on coming. Tell everyone you know about it. Bring someone with you!
Children Lead Worship Sunday. This Sunday will be the first Sunday of the month, so we will enjoy the presence and participation of our elementary age children in our worship service. (We will still offer the nursery for our newborns and toddlers.) Quite a few of our kiddos will be leading our worship time. Sicily Carrick and Elijah Jensen will join Brandi, singing on the Praise Team. (You can click on the image to see a larger version of the photo.)
Even though our announcement gal and church treasurer, Nancy Roop, will be back from vacation, we're going to pass her announcement duties to Phyllis Stanfield this Sunday. I love it when our kiddos step up to the pulpit!
Several children have rehearsed a skit they will perform for you in the middle of the sermon Sunday. Wyatt Stanfield, Anna Scott, Violet Carrick, Nathan Betts and Emma Betts all will play a part. Wyatt has a particularly challenging role - he will play the part of God! I am so impressed with the dedication of our families, who came to CR to practice this past Wednesday evening. One family drove up from Mt. Gilead and another drove over from Galion!
Let's Pray For One Of Our Families. I'm especially moved this morning to ask you all to pray for Cindy Thoman and her extended family (including her sisters - Sheri Shick and Diana Price, as well as daughters, Brandi Walker and Trish Trubachik and all their families.) Cindy's dad, Frank, is now home from the hospital under the care of hospice. I know your heart of compassion extends to their entire family. Pray for God's Spirit to grant them stength, hope and peace during these most difficult of days.
I tell you this often, but only because it's true: I love being your pastor. You give me such joy as I watch you serve and love each other. I can't wait to see you again this Sunday morning at 11am. Blessings aplenty to each of you, Pastor Mark
| |
|
Recent Comments