Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Do You Have A Grade "A" Heart?

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

My oldest grandson is now in 8th grade. Wow! How could that be possible? I know it's hard to believe - especially for our younger CRers, but I was once in 8th grade too. And I remember it like it was just yesterday! Really! Loved Music and English. Science and Math... not so much.

My dad was actually pretty cool about the fact that I wasn't ever going to be a rocket scientist. After all, Todd came along and I'm pretty sure he got all the good math and science genes. Dad never gave me any grief about my grades. He would just ask me if I did my best. If I could honestly say yes, then everything was ok by him.

Dad DID care very much about my attitude in school.

I don't know how they report student's progress now. I should probably ask my 8th grade grandson. They probably send grades via Internet to the parents. Grayden will probably just say, "Grandpa - they got an app for that!"

Back in the day we received 4 report cards a year. Report card day was a day of nervous anticipation. In 1970 the teachers could give out the report cards to the students and have a reasonable expectation they would actually be delivered. 

I sweated out that whole long day of my first period report card in 8th grade.

Eighth grade must have been different back then. I remember once sitting in the cafeteria during study hall, when I got bonked in the head with a spit ball. Of course I had to retaliate. Just as I was arching back my arm to deliver the wettest wad I'd ever thrown, out of the corner of my eye I spied the principal of the school looking down on me from his inside second story window. I checked my swing and pretended like I was just stretching out my arm. No good. 

Click. Click. Click.

The principal was tapping on his window. Everyone looked up. He pointed to me. Everyone looked at me. He then wagged his finger for me to come up to his office.

The principal's office. That is not a good thing in 1970 8th-grade world. At best one could hope for a thoughtful discussion of the error of one's ways. At worst would be a not-so-thoughtful whack.

I did not receive my best hope.

The principal pulled out his 5-foot wooden paddle from his closet. There were holes in the paddle to cut down on the wind resistance. His appliance of corporal punishment was lacquered and shiny, as if he had been polishing it all day just for me. I remember having to control my bladder as he told me to assume the position. Those were the days when a kid could get a whack for almost throwing a spitball.

What would my dad think of this? Would he sue the school if he found out? Nope. The standing order of the day was a repeat performance at home if Dad found out. I remember making sure he didn't find out in 1970. (He reads this newsletter so I suppose he'll find out now. The secret finally revealed in 2017.)

Report card day came around and attitude mattered to Dad. Would there be a reference to my spit-balling, whack-inducing episode? I remember seeing the report card and immediately seeing no "comments." That was good. Then I remember seeing my grades. All As and Bs. That was very good. Maybe I was going to luck out!

Then I glanced at the attitude column. Next to the "B" in Math, I received a "7" in attitude. A "7"? I didn't even know there was a "7"! "1" stood for exceptional attitude. "2" meant I had an average attitude. I needed "1's". I could get away with "2's." "3" meant I had little interest & effort. "4" was the worst, I had thought, meaning that I had poor class participation. I had never received a "4." Those "3's" were brutal enough.

I glanced down to find the key to the attitude score. What was a "7"? Then I read the words that would mean the longest walk home ever. "Disturbs class." O man, was I ever in for it.

Dad probably doesn't remember the talk we had that night. But I remember it like it was yesterday. He reminded me of the importance of giving everything my very best. He told me how much he thought I could achieve in life if I simply believed enough in myself to accomplish it. He told me that no one would ever remember my grades, but my attitude would follow me everywhere. Then he said the words that he only said to me once in all my life.

He was disappointed in me.

That was it. No more punishment. He walked away. Just "disappointment." I remember it until now because I would have preferred a whipping to hearing his disappointment in me. It wasn't like he even said it harshly or meanly. There might have even been a tear in his eye. I know for sure there were in mine.

Dad taught me a lesson I have never forgotten. The heart of the matter is that the heart matters. It's what's inside that counts!

I'm pretty sure that's what Jesus was thinking when he watched the widow drop in her two coins to the offering basket. She gave more than all the others because she gave all she had.

When we get to Heaven someday and have the chance to sit down with our Heavenly Father, will we be able to say we did our best? Will we have a good attitude about life when things don't go the way we want? When we're exhausted with duty? When we're discouraged with lackluster results? When our own kiddos don't have the attitude we think they should?

Sunday we're going to talk about 7 ways the heart matters. We'll conclude with one of my favorite Psalms. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) Want a head start? The online sermon notes are here.

Children Lead Our Worship Sunday! The first Sunday of each month means that our children sit through the worship service with us. What a great opportunity to teach them about the meaning of church family... not to mention about how to sit still. And to teach the adults the meaning of patience and acceptance and love. 

As always our children will be leading too! Grayden and Cohen will serve with their dad, Jonathan, in the tech booth. Leia, Sicily and Anna will join Cindy and Brandi in leading our singing. Also, Sicily and Anna have been working on a flute duet to perform for you during our offertory. 

Finally, I've prepared a special children's sermon that we'll enjoy together before the main sermon of the day. I'll invite the kiddos up front with me and we'll talk about last week's subject of following the right friends. As always we'll get their take on it. Kids do say the darnedest things!

Neighborhood Meal Oct. 14th. On the second Saturday evening in October, we'll be serving up free, hot meals to those in our neighborhood downtown. We usually see between 70 and 100 folks from around our church come in for the meal. Thanks so much Sheri for leading the way for us!

We all need to help Sheri too! Plan to show up at the church by 4pm. We need lots of volunteers. We begin serving the meal at 5pm. We usually finish - all cleaned up and walking out the door - by 6:30pm. We also give brownie points to anyone bringing brownies, or any other dessert to share!

Housewarming and Bonfire October 21st. Eddie and Brandi are inviting all of us to their new home to share the joy of their new home! Lots of their family and church family will be showing up. We'll enjoy a fun bonfire in their back yard and have a great time of fellowship. Show up anytime between 5pm and 9pm. We'll be sharing their new address at the church (and not online, right?)

That's it boys and girls. Lot of personal inside stories today. Hope you liked it. And I hope to see most of you Sunday morning at 11am. Love you much!  Pastor Mark

Follow Me Follow Christ

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Who do you follow? I've been thinking a lot about that question this week. Have you noticed that we've become a culture of followers? Followers on Twitter. Followers on Facebook. Followers on Instagram. Followers on Snapchat. Celebrity followers. Sport teams followers. Music group followers. It seems like we're all following someone these days.

Closer to home - we have people we follow too. People close to us. Our partner. Our spouse. Our boyfriend or girlfriend. Our boss. Our neighbor.

So here's what I've been thinking about this week. What is our criteria for the people we follow? Do we have any? Is it their political views? Their willingness to shock us? Their love life? Why do we follow the people we follow?

And closer to home - do we have a criteria for the people we follow, who are close to us? Any criteria for who can be our partner? Our spouse? Our boyfriend or girlfriend? 

I love the Apostle Paul's attitude about this follow-ship. He was writing a letter to the folks at Corinth First Church, and they had their follow-ship all screwed up. They were following people who were eating and drinking within the church, while others went without anything. They were following people who were taking other church folks to court. They were even following people who were sexually active - not just within the church family, but within their own family! They were one messed up church.

Just like us!

What? You mean all this goes on within our church? I didn't say that. I am saying we have folks who follow folks who do this kind of thing all the time. On Twitter. On Facebook. And sometimes even within our own personal lives, with the people we choose as partners and mates.

Paul writes ten whole chapters to the folks at First Corinth Church and then comes to this stunning conclusion in 11:1: "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ."

That's the criteria for follow-ship. Follow people who are following Christ. If someone isn't following Christ, then you shouldn't be following them! Who know's where they end up? Why be willing to risk following someone when you don't know where they're going. Talk about bad life GPS! You'll be turning off when you should be on the straight and narrow!

Here's the other side of that equation - you also need to be able to say the same thing as Paul: "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." Now I know what you're already thinking. 'Hey, I'm not Paul. I'm not as good as him.' Really? Not as good as the guy who wrote, "Of all sinners I am the chief?"

The issue is not our perfection, but our intention. The best of us get it wrong sometimes. We make stupid mistakes. We take U-turns. But if our intention is to follow Christ, we course correct and get back to following Jesus again. People close to us see our example - even in the mistakes. They see that Christianity is very human in its application. They see that if you can do it, so can they!

So who are you following? Why? And who is following you? Will you get to heaven someday and have someone come up to you and say, "Thanks for the example! I needed some direction for awhile, so I followed behind you. Thanks for walking the Jesus Way!"

Sunday morning we'll talk more about this idea of "Follow Up" as we look at Luke 20:45-47. Want a head start? Here are the online sermon notes.

Featured Artist Sunday - Sunday our worship team has chosen music by Matthew West, an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and author. Nice pick, team! I'm looking forward to "following" Brandi, Trish, and Missie as they lead us in singing songs by Matthew West.

West is well known for communicating stories through song. He has released five studio albums, was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, and won the 2013 American Music Award for Best Contemporary Inspirational Artist. In addition to his solo career, Mathew West has worked as a songwriter for many Christian musicians and groups.

Some of the songs we will be singing include "Hello My Name Is," "The Motions," "Broken Things," "Do Something," and "Only Grace." 

We Need Game Buzzers. Anyone reading this have game buzzers like is used on Jeopardy? We are preparing for a special Sunday event on October 8th and could really use the game buzzer equipment. If you have them or have access to them, please let me know or Brandi know. Thanks!

Neighborhood Meal - October 14th. We're back serving meals on Saturday nights again! Yay! You might wonder why we ever stopped. And then why we are starting up again.

Here's what happened. Another group began to serve Saturday night meals very close to where we are located. It really didn't make sense for both of us to do it at the same time in the same place. So we began to look for another time that would be better for us without duplicating each other on Saturday night. In the meantime, the support for the other meal service dried up and they are no longer serving. So - we're back in business. 

Thank you for your willingness to serve. I know after a few months' break, you'll all be ready to get back at it again! You know the drill. Show up to volunteer by 4pm. We begin serving meals at 5pm. We usually are finished cleaning up and walking out the door by 6:30 pm. If you want a gold star, bring a dessert to share with you when you come.

Housewarming - Bonfire - S'mores - October 21st. Eddie and Brandi want to invite all the church folks and many of their friends and family over for a special evening on Saturday, October 21st. There will be a bonfire in their back yard, s'mores and lots of great fellowship. More info to come. For now, pencil this in on your calendar for Saturday evening, Oct. 21st.

I sure am looking forward to seeing many of you Sunday morning. Keep praying for one another. We have many who are hurting and need your prayer support. Love you much! Pastor Mark

Are You In Awe Of Our Awesome God?

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I think I'm still on Cloud 9 this morning. Not too surprising - you might think - after watching our Cleveland Indians win 22 in a row in extra innings. Well, yeah, that was pretty exciting too. But what I'm really on Cloud 9 about is from watching our largest praise team ever sing praises to our awesome God! He really is a chain breaker!

Here is my question for us this Sunday: 

How often are you awed by our awesome God?

Humans have this awesome ability to become accustomed to almost anything - including our awesome God! Because God does not interject Himself into our daily lives without our invitation, it is very easy to become focused upon our daily routines. Even worship can become routine.

Sunday we'll consider a most unusual passage to arrive at this conclusion. We've been studying Luke 20 and watching Jesus make theological mincemeat out of the religious leaders of his day. Last week we watched the Pharisees challenge Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar. "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." The answer was so good that "astonished by his answer, they became silent."

We would say he dropped the mic on them!

So now the other religious leadership party - the Sadducees - want their turn. If you listen closely you can almost hear their unspoken sneers. 'Amateurs. Move out of the way. Give us our chance to trip up Jesus.'  So what deep theological question do they ask Jesus about?

"Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"

Really? That's what they wanted to know? Of all the things they could have asked Jesus about - they wanted the answer to septuplicate marriage? (It's a word. Look it up!) This passage is the gold standard for any Sunday School teacher teaching Junior High boys.

The Sadducees were not really serious, of course. Not only did they not know of any septenary marriages (trust me, if men ever did come up with the idea it would have been one man and seven women, not the other way round), these Sadducees didn't even believe in the resurrection - a much more plausible idea than the possibility of the seventh brother ever actually marrying the 6-time brother-cide widow.

Can you picture it? My other six brothers all died when they married her and you want me to do it too? Although in all fairness this couldn't have been any picnic for the poor woman either. We probably don't read verse 32 the way the woman felt it. "FINALLY, the woman died too." It had to be a relief. Maybe there were step-brothers waiting around the corner?

I become a little sidetracked. I'll probably do that Sunday morning too. I just can't read this passage without feeling a little silly. These religious leaders come into the very Presence of the second person of the Trinity, and they ask about seven brothers and a bride. Of all the dumb questions. I'm so glad that we never do that.

Or do we?

What I love about this passage isn't the question asked about bride-a-cide to the seven brothers, but the fact that Jesus actually answers their question. And then some! No marriage in Heaven. There are those worthy of being in Heaven (which I suppose means there are those unworthy? And won't be there?) People in Heaven can no longer die. (That's quite a thought. In the same way mortals can no longer live forever, immortals can no longer die.) They will be like the angels. (What ARE angels like?) They are God's children. Why? Because they are children of the resurrection.

Children of the resurrection? Consider that right now you are a child of your mother. You were born, but you don't remember it. (Some people say they remember it. My daughter Jennifer is one of them. I'm holding onto a skeptical wonderment about that, but her recollections are most specific!) But then the children of God will also be children of the resurrection - the mother of the un-die-able.

I don't know about you, but when I consider all the things that Jesus talks about in this passage... I am filled with awe. It stops me in my tracks. It's almost as if Jesus is saying to them (and to us), you want to ask me the most in-ane questions - let me direct you to the most in-awe questions!

Life as we know it now will not be like life as we will know it then. 10,000 years into our new Heaven experience we'll remember these 70 or so years with as much "did it really happen" wonders as our recollections of our nine months in the womb. (Jennifer tells me she can remember that too.)

10,000 years into that Heaven experience we will still be as un-die-able as the first. 10,000 years will be like a moment compared with the eternity we will enjoy with Jesus.

I love how this passage ends. Last week ended with "they become silent." But not everyone. The Sadducees didn't become silent. They wanted their turn. But verse 40 ends it. "And no one dared to ask him any more questions." 

But I don't think that's the way Jesus wants it to be. I think he welcomes our questions. I think he wants us to dare. We have an awesome life ahead of us - forever and ever and then forever more. I think Jesus can't wait to share it with us. He dares us to ask questions so we might be awed by the possibilities of the answers that could be possible.

What about you? Are you in awe of our awesome God?

More Sunday. I promise. - Pastor Mark

Indians Game Tonight!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

The day we scheduled all the way back in May has finally arrived! Tonight 40 of us will go up to watch the Cleveland Indians play the Baltimore Orioles. How could we have picked it any better? The 84-56 Indians have won a franchise record 15 games in a row! They are hot hot hot! On top of everything else tonight is Sugardale Dollar Dog night and on top of that we will watch fireworks after the game! Wow! We believe in getting a lot for our money!

Some advice for those venturing north tonight. While the team is hot, the weather is not! (I'm a poet and didn't even know it.) The 7:10 pm start of the game should see a cool 62 degrees and drop into the 50s during the rest of the game. Experienced fans also know that the cool breezes blow in off of Lake Erie making the weather feel even colder. So dress accordingly.

Plan to arrive early - the stadium will be full. Gate C will open as early as 4:30 pm. All other gates will open around 6pm. Small bags (e.g. purses) and soft-sided coolers will be inspected before they are permitted into the ballpark. No bags exceeding the maximum size of 16x16x8 inches are allowed into the Ballpark. No horns, air horns, bugles, cowbells, bats or any other type of noisemakers are permitted at Progressive Field.

Finally - you may want to carpool up to save on parking expenses. Depending on how far you want to walk to the stadium, plan on paying up to $20 for parking. Here is a map of all the parking lots around Progressive Field and the estimated cost of parking.

Ok - that's enough of my pastor-parenting. Go and have a good time. I'll see many of you up there tonight!

Irma Heading For Tamira. Our mutual good friend, Tamira Barnes, posted this picture to her Facebook Feed this week. As many of you know, Tamira and Jeff moved to Florida earlier this year. We miss them all so terribly much. They are preparing as best they can for the hurricane bearing down on them and expected this Sunday.

Tamira wrote about her Irma-prepped piano, "She's been with me through every phase of my life ... happy and sad times ... yes .. if Irma comes and wipes her out ... she can be replaced... but it's the sentimentality of her ... so many fond memories around this piano with so many people ... tears are flowing."

Tamira, we all are praying for your safety!

As I read many of your comments to Tamira, I was especially touched by the parents who wrote that their children - greatly influenced by the gentle pastoring of Tamira over the past 3 years - are praying for her each evening before they go to bed.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. It does seem like our country is experiencing one disaster on top of another. Last week we announced the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund at Church Requel. We raised $150 our first week. We plan to leave the fund available for contributions for the rest of September. Thank you for your generosity.

Sunday's Worship Experience. Brandi, Missie and Trish will lead us in singing some congregational favorites: "Man of Sorrows," "Jesus," "No Longer Slaves," and "You Are Good." Nancy will read our Bible reading of Luke 20:19-26.

Our sermon Sunday is titled, "Politics and Wisdom." Our country is divided over political issues - perhaps more than at anytime since the Civil War. Health Care Insurance. Gun Control. Border Wall. Climate Change. Dreamers. Gender Identity. Even within the church we can react with hostility to brothers and sisters who disagree with us.

Is it possible that there is a wicked craftiness behind the scenes that could be responsible for our divisiveness? How should we as Christians respond - especially when we feel our cause to be so right? Sunday we'll learn political wisdom from Jesus as we see how he responded to the division surrounding him. We'll also tie in some practical advice found in 1 Peter 2:13-17.

Our children will return to their Missionary and Kid's Min classrooms this Sunday. Thank-you Cindy and Karen for your love and dedication to teach Christ's gospel to our children.

Love you all much! Hope to see you soon! Pastor Mark

Houston Hurricane Relief

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

This week our country has experienced a "once every thousand years" disaster. That's the way Hurricane Harvey has been described. Last October I was present in South Carolina when Hurricane Matthew hit. It was horrible. Knowing what that was like, I can't imagine what it must be like for our brothers and sisters in Houston this week. Imagine a hurricane that makes landfall  and then goes back out to the water to reload and then hit again. And then again. And then sticks around for a few days to make sure everything and everyone is good and flooded!

The American Red Cross is working around the clock along the Gulf Coast to help the thousands of people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey. At Church Requel, we want to support the American Red Cross in their relief efforts. You may make donations in one of two ways. First - you may donate directly to the American Red Cross with this link. Second - you may designate a gift to the Houston Hurricane Relief with any donation to Church Requel, and we will make sure it gets forwarded to the American Red Cross. If you use the give.ChurchRequel.org link, make sure to click the "Houston Hurricane Relief" dropbox. If you use an envelope at a Church Requel worship event, be sure to designate on the outside of the envelope how much you wish to donate to the American Red Cross. We will keep this funding option available to you throughout the month of September. 

Worship This Sunday! Leia and Paityn will join their mom, Brandi, and their Grandma, Cindy, on the CR platform this coming Sunday morning! You'll love the worship set - all songs we know and love to sing: "Blessed Be Your Name," "Good Good Father," "10,000 Reasons," and "Open Up The Heavens."

We will also have a special children's sermon this Sunday all centered around Proverbs 12:24: "Work hard and you will be a leader; be lazy and you will end up a slave." Appropriate for Labor Day weekend, don't you think? If you have a child at home that you would appreciate seeing a tad bit more labor from, you'll want to make sure they make it to Church Requel this Sunday!

Sermon on Luke 20:9-18. I'm calling this one, "Advantage God." This is the week for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, so I thought a tennis theme would be appropriate. In tennis we work to score the advantage so that the next winning point might be ours. Do we play the game of life the same way, with God as our tennis ball? In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus warns us not to attempt to smash an ace against others using His gospel message or we ourselves may be crushed by it! This Sunday we'll consider 3 ways we might try to take advantage of our relationship to God.

Indians Game In One Week! Our last Summer 2017 activity is only one week away! It's hard to believe that we started selling tickets back in June and now it's already September. Believe it or not we sold our entire group of 40 tickets!!! There are some Sundays when that would be a majority of our church! So we plan on having a good time next Friday as we watch the Indians play while we eat $1 hot dogs. And don't forget the amazing fireworks at the end! Should be so much fun! Can't wait!

Love you all much! Hope to see you Sunday morning! Pastor Mark