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Jesus fed 5,000 men (plus women and children) with just 2 fish and 5 loaves. What do we learn about miracles from this example? Are miracles still possible today? How should we respond as a church? We answer these questions and learn 5 lessons from the feeding of the 5,000 in Luke 9:10-17.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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Good Friday morning everyone!
I don't know about you, but I'm still riding high from the events earlier this week. Yay Cavs! The 52-year championship curse is over! As exciting as that was, I am even more excited about the Community Worship event this past Tuesday evening when 10 churches packed the house at Crossroads to praise our Lord Jesus.
We are so thankful to our own worship leader, Brandi Walker, and all the other worship leaders from all the churches. They each gave up their time and talents to bring us together to worship as a community of churches. Well done!
I also was completely surprised Tuesday night, when all the pastors were invited to lock arms in solidarity and unity. This is the way it should be - united as a community of churches. We are not in competition with one another.
Light Our City! Our community worship event also kicked off the Light Our City summer events. These same churches will participate together in service projects for our community to show the love of Jesus in practical ways. Right now there are plans for restoration and repair of Prospect Elementary School, a neighborhood grocery giveaway, and a student book bag project. Check out more information at the LightOurCity.com website.
Anna Baptized Sunday! The excitement continues for all of us this Sunday morning, when Anna Scott will be baptized. I had the privilege of meeting with Anna this past Wednesday night to talk to her about her decision to be Christ-follower and to be baptized. She left no doubt at all that this was her decision alone. She knows exactly what she is doing and why she is doing it!
We captured some of her discussion on video and will be sharing that with you before her actual baptism. Anna has also invited several of her friends to come and witness her baptism, so I hope you all will come and celebrate with Anna too.
I was especially thrilled to hear Anna tell me how important the Junior High ministry and her teacher, Cindy Thoman, have been to her commitment. She told us that she was definitely ready to go deeper in understanding the Bible and really appreciates Cindy's weekly lessons. Anna is also very excited to now own her own Bible, thanks to the generosity of folks at Church Requel. As Anna told me Wednesday, she loves being a part of our small church and the opportunities she has enjoyed "to sing and dance to praise Jesus" and to "just love everyone!"
Sunday morning will be a great experience for other reasons too, beyond Anna's baptism. Bessica and Stephanie will join Brandi in leading our worship music. Nancy will return to catch us up on what's happening this summer at Church Requel. Jeff will lead our prayer time. And I'm looking forward to our sermon Sunday morning from Luke 9:10-17, "Master Over Hunger." If you'd like a head start, check on the online sermon notes.
Kids' Travel Guide To The 10 Commandments. We are also thrilled for our KidsMin group as they begin a new series of lessons designed to get the 10 commandments into their hearts. We plan for them to take exciting journeys filled with stories, fun, prayer, and adventure. Along the way, they'll learn that God gives us laws because he loves us.
I love Tamira's creativity. Have you ever considered the 10 commandments to be like a TripTik through the journey of life? (Now that I re-read that sentence I realize that some of our younger folks may wonder what a TripTik is. Google it!)
Community Meal - Saturday July 9th. Our next opportunity to feed the hungry in our own neighborhood is right around the corner. Plan on showing up Saturday night, July 9th, at 4pm. We begin feeding folks at 5pm. We are usually walking out the door by 6:30pm. Thanks Jack and Sheri for leading us!
Church Picnic Sunday July 17th. Our next summer fellowship will be our picnic at North Lake Park after church on Sunday, July 17th. We will all head to the air-conditioned pavilion right next to the northern end of the B&O Bike Trail. Bring food to share with everyone. Church Requel will provide hot dogs & hamburgers, buns, condiments, drinks, plates, cups, napkins and silverware. Come expecting fun and games! And come to be included in our annual church photo! Should be a great day!
I surely am enjoying these summer days and I look forward to spending some of them with you! I hope to see each of you Sunday morning at 11am. Have a GREAT weekend! Love, Pastor Mark
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On Father’s Day we followed the story of a first century dad named Jairus, who sought out Jesus to heal his daughter. Along the way back to his home another woman stopped Jesus and him with her own surprise healing. The example of Jairus teaches us 5 things that great dads do every day for their kids.
Master Over Illness from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
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On this Father’s Day we follow the story of a first century dad named Jairus, who sought out Jesus to heal his daughter. Along the way back to his home another woman stopped Jesus and him with her own surprise healing. The example of Jairus teaches us 5 things that great dads do every day for their kids.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
This is a week of firsts. Do you believe the previously unthinkable is now possible? Are you ready for Believeland to really mean what it says - and not the cynical opposite? Yes - one of Cleveland's 3 major sports franchises is on the cusp of winning a championship! For the first time in 52 years!
I'm excited for all of us, but mostly for Eddie and Brandi. Do you know they almost sold their tickets to last night's game? A year ago they drove up to Quicken Loans Arena and watched game 6 as the Golden State Warriors won the trophy on Cleveland's home court. Brandi told me she didn't think she could take watching a repeat this year. No repeat. Eddie, Brandi, and all of us were treated to some great basketball last night as the Cavs tied it all up! Eddie and Brandi were there in person last night! Do you think they believe yet?
The Cavaliers potential championship is not the only first for us this week. On Tuesday night we will have the opportunity to worship together with nine other churches for a Community Night Of Worship. The picture below is of the worship leaders from all the churches, including our own Brandi Walker.
I am so thrilled that we will be able to experience this together - both as a congregation (small church) and as a community (large church). I know that God has an individual mission for each of His churches here in Mansfield - but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't get together now and again to celebrate our Lord Jesus together. We share so much in common. This will be healthy for us. This will be inspirational for us. And I hope that you will make this event a priority. The community worship event will begin this Tuesday night at Crossroads at 7pm. Do YOU believe?
Father's Day Sunday - We WILL worship together as Church Requel this Sunday morning at 11am and we have lots of great things to look forward to. Brandi, Trish, Missie and Brian will lead our worship singing together for "Good Good Father," "You're Worthy Of My Praise," and "The Stand."
Our children will enjoy a great KidsMin time together (along with some last minute Father's Day creations). The kiddos will give gifts to their dads at the end of our worship together.
Brandi will lead our communion. Roger will lead our prayer time together. Ken Jacob will lead our announcements. I'm pretty sure this is the first time Ken has led in our worship since Christmas Eve. I'm certain this WON'T be his last time leading us!
Yours truly will deliver the sermon from Luke 8:40-56. We'll examine the story of Jairus as he seeks out Jesus to heal his daughter. We don't usually think of this as Jairus' story. Typically we talk about the woman with the issue of blood who stopped Jesus on his way to heal someone else. Do you remember who Jesus was supposed to heal? Jairus' daughter. Sunday we'll look at the story from Jairus' point of view. Along the way we'll learn 5 facts about great dads (and moms and other caregivers.) Would you like a head start? Check out Sunday's online sermon notes.
Baptism Next Sunday! We will fill the baptismal pool for next Sunday's worship time together! Anna Scott (pictured on the left) has made her decision to follow Christ in her life and she would like to be baptized. Isn't that great news? She has invited several of her own friends to be there to watch her baptism and to hear her testimony. What a great opportunity! We certainly all want to be at church next Sunday to hear her story of faith and to support and encourage Anna.
Would you also like to be baptized? We would certainly love to accommodate anyone else who would like to be baptized. For more information, just send me an email.
Membership Class June 25th Canceled. Our final membership class next Saturday has been postponed. A couple of our potential new members could not make it on our scheduled day. So we are talking to each participant to find a new date that will work for everyone. We’ll post the new meeting date and time as soon as we find a schedule that works for everyone.
Neighborhood Meal. Our next opportunity to serve our free neighborhood meal is Saturday, July 9th. We will need volunteers to arrive by 4 pm and plan to serve util 6:30. We would also appreciate your donations of desserts to share. Please help us share God’s love with those around us.
Church Picnic July 17th. Our next summer fellowship will be our picnic at North Lake Park after church on Sunday, July 17th. We will all head to the air-conditioned pavilion right next to the northern end of the B&O Bike Trail. Bring food to share with everyone. Come hungry. Come expecting fun and games! Should be a great day! (The promo pic above right features some photos from last year's picnic.)
Group Photo. It's been a few years since we have captured a group photo together as a congregation. Why don't we plan on getting our picture taken as a church group during the picnic? Just another reason you don't want to miss!
We sure do have a lot of opportunities this summer! Let's make the most of every opportunity! I hope to see you all Sunday morning at 11am. In Christ's love, Pastor Mark
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We are reminded that storms are a fact of life, even for the Christ-follower. Or maybe even more so for the Christian! How do we remain calm and keep faithful? As we examine Luke 8:22-25 we’ll welcome 3 encouragements for a weather-worn faith.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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We are reminded that storms are a fact of life, even for the Christ-follower. Or maybe even more so for the Christian! How do we remain calm and keep faithful? As we examine Luke 8:22-25 we’ll welcome 3 encouragements for a weather-worn faith.
Master Over The Voices from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
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Good Friday morning everyone!
I'm writing to you from my patio, enjoying the beautiful June morning. I'm doing my very best to listen to the birds singing and trying very hard NOT to hear the cacophony of the cicadas drowning out almost everything else. Truth be told I have grown accustomed to the noise. When friends or family visit they ask me how I can stand the racket. Naturally this provides the perfect lead-in...
Sermon This Sunday - "Master Over The Voices"
We'll examine our next passage, Luke 8:26-39, the strange story of when Jesus confronts a man possessed by a "Legion" of demons. Jesus casts out the many demons, who inhabit a herd of pigs, which promptly rush off a cliff into the water. I'm sure there must be so many different sermons that could be written about this passage. I chose to consider the many voices that this poor man must have been listening to in his head.
Sermon writing can be a challenging experience. My homiletics professor challenged us to not only get into the text, but also to come out of the text and into life. (My brother Todd challenges me here all the time too.) Believe it or not the first part - getting into the text - is the easiest part. I love studying the Bible, the words, the history, the context. That's only half the battle. Coming out of the text is the application part. What does this mean in our contemporary world? How can I apply this text to our lives?
In this particular case I had the text - verses 26-39 - and had been studying them for weeks. But nothing naturally came to me about the application in our modern world. Then one evening I had dinner with an old and trusted friend. He told me that he had recently been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Syndrome and had started taking a low dose of Ritalin. He also told me how wonderful it was for him not to hear all the voices in his head telling him all the things that needed to be done.
At that moment I knew I had a sermon. How unusual it must be for a man in his retirement years to learn so late in life that he suffers from ADD! And yet what a relief it was for him. He was genuinely excited to tell me about his self discovery.
For several weeks I had been struggling with this particular Biblical text. The application was immediately apparent to me during the dinner with my friend. We each struggle with various voices from the evil one suggesting one thing or another contrary to the truth of God's love and God's commands. How do we deal with those voices? I love it when God's Word and contemporary life intersect - which actually happens all the time if we simply have "ears to hear." I can't wait to share this talk with you. For those who want a head start, open up your Bible app and click on "Events" OR go to this link.
TONIGHT! Putt-Putt Dairy Bar All American Fellowship and Fun! Wow - that's a mouthful! Tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 show up at Kelly's Miniature Golf, 1280 S. Main Street for food and fellowship with all your Church Requel friends.
If you have never attended this before, believe me when I tell you this is an event for kids of all ages. Obviously if you like to play miniature golf then this event is for you. But what if you're not a putt-putt fan?
You should come tonight if... (1) you like to hang out with your CR friends. (2) you enjoy eating ice cream; (3) you like hamburgers, french fries or other American grill specialties; (4) you like being with other people who are having a good time.
SPECIAL GOOD NEWS - If you buy food or ice cream treats, then your putt-putt is FREE!!! So come tonight and go to the back picnic tables under the tents. Yes there is shade provided too - at no extra cost! If you want to sit on something other than a picnic table, then bring a lawn chair or two too.
Promotion Sunday. We have several children who will be "moving on up" this coming Sunday morning. They are more than ready to be promoted from Nursery / Kindergarten into the KidsMin class taught by Tamira Barnes and her team of creatives. We look forward to hearing from Tamira this Sunday, when she talks to us about what's happening these days in KidsMin!
Worship Team Sunday. Speaking of Tamira, she also will be on the team leading our worship singing on Sunday, along with Jeff, Brandi, Dan and Ian. Together we all will be singing "Hosanna," "Awesome God," "In Christ Alone," and "Break Every Chain." Nancy will share our announcements. Brandi will lead our congregational prayer. Jeff will lead our communion time. Jeff will also be singing a special song made special by Big Daddy Weave entitled, "Overwhelmed." Perfect for our theme on Sunday!
Community Night Of Worship - June 21st. Keep this date on your calendars. It's a Tuesday night - unusual middle of the week date for us. Something special that I want all of us to be able to enjoy together. We'll be gathering with another 7 or 8 churches in our community for one purpose - to worship our Lord Jesus together. Worship leaders from each of the churches will be leading at least one of the worship songs, including our own Brandi Walker. I believe this is a healthy thing for us as a church and as a community. Let's participate fully! Let's start practicing now for the way we will be worshiping in heaven some day! The location for our gathering will be Crossroads Community Church. The worship begins at 7pm, but it would be a good idea to arrive early so we can find all our Church Requel friends and family.
Some personal good news. Finally, Mary Kay and I learned this morning that Jillian and Tim are expecting ... A BOY!!! Jillian posted this photo this morning after Titus found out he will be getting a little brother. If I did the math right in my head, Titus and his little brother will be even closer in age than Todd and me. (I wonder if they will fight as much as we did?)
This means Mary Kay and I will have 9 grandchildren, made up of 6 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. What tremendous blessings!
Congrats Tim, Jillian and Titus!
I would love it if you would continue to pray for Jillian and her pregnancy that all would go well for her.
Love you all much. Hope to see many of you tonight at Kelly's. Hope to see all of you Sunday morning at 11am at Church Requel. Many blessings, Pastor Mark
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We are reminded that storms are a fact of life, even for the Christ-follower. Or maybe even more so for the Christian! How do we remain calm and keep faithful? As we examine Luke 8:22-25 we’ll welcome 3 encouragements for a weather-worn faith.
Master Of The Storms from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
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We are reminded that storms are a fact of life, even for the Christ-follower. Or maybe even more so for the Christian! How do we remain calm and keep faithful? As we examine Luke 8:22-25, we’ll welcome 3 encouragements for a weather-worn faith.
Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play or Download in new window.
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Good Friday morning Church Requel!
I love the early days of June! I'm sitting on my back patio listening to the song of the cicadas. Truly marvelous! I can't help but think of the greatness of God's creation, all of which will sing His praise! Did you know that the cicada noise you're hearing is only from the males? Also interesting that when singing, the male cicadas disconnect their own tympani (the equivalent of our ears) because the noise is too loud for them (and us!) So guys, think of those male cicadas the next time you don't actually hear what you're saying! Ha!
Our Children Lead Worship This Sunday. I always love the first Sunday of every month, because our children worship with us the entire time together. This Sunday they will also lead many aspects of our worship experience.
Leia, Cohen, Elijah, Anna and Lila are joining the praise team. Several of them will also be playing various percussion instruments. Cohen is reading our announcements, Grayden is presenting our Bible reading, and Cohen and Grayden are also working with the tech team. At Church Requel we believe our children are not just the church of tomorrow. They are the church of today!
I'm also excited because I understand that Lila and Bethany will be leading our response song at the end of our worship together. Let's look forward to this mother-daughter duo together!
Sermon This Sunday - Master Over The Storms. I'm really looking forward to sharing this Sunday's talk with you. We begin a 4-week journey through Luke where we ask (and answer) the question: "Who is this Jesus?"
Consider that the disciples ask this question in Luke 8:25. They then answer the question in Luke 9:20. In between we see four different stories of how Jesus is the master.
Those 4 stories will be the focus of our study this month of June. This week we consider the Master of the Storms in 8:22-25. Next week we consider the Master of the Voices in 8:26-39. June 19th (Father's Day) will be the Master over Illness in 8:40-56. Finally, June 26th, will be the Master over Hunger in 9:10-17.
This should be a great time of study together. Want a head start on this week's study? Open your Bible app and click on "Events." Or check out this link at Bible.com.
This Coming Friday - Putt Putt at Kelly's. Our first summer FUN event is coming up THIS Friday, June 10th! We’ll all meet at Kelly’s Dairy Bar and Miniature Golf located at 1280 S. Main Street. This will involve fun for kids of all ages so make sure y’all come! Old fashioned burgers, milkshakes, miniature golf, and lots of fellowship together in the shade! We start at 6:30pm and plan to go until 8:30pm.
This will be a fantastic start to our summer of fun! Did you all receive your handout from last Sunday and post it on your refrigerator? We know some of you couldn't make it over Memorial Day, so we will include the handouts one more time this Sunday. We have a fantastic summer schedule planned. For those who want an electronic version download your own PDF copy here.
Community Night Of Worship. Mark down Tuesday, June 21st at 7pm on your calendar! That’s the night we join with several other churches for a community night of worship, led by local worship leaders including our own Brandi Walker. This event will take place at Crossroads Community Church. Let’s worship together with other brothers and sisters in Christ! Thank you Brandi, for your leadership in this community event!
I think that's enough for this week's email. The cicadas are calling for me to get to work in the gardens outside! Have I mentioned how much I love June!? Hope you all have a great weekend too. And I hope to see each of you Sunday morning at 11am at Church Requel! Blessings! Pastor Mark
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