Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

A Year To Remember!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I am sure looking forward to worshiping with all of you Sunday morning at 11am. Don, Brian and I will be leading our worship singing together with some of our favorite songs!

• "Dwell In The House" by Mark Pierce
• "Let Everything (Praise The Lord" by Pat Barrett
• "Good Grace" by Hillsong United
• "Love The Lord" by Lincoln Brewster" and
• "Christ Our Glory" by Sovereign Grace

We are very pleased to have our good friends, Donald and Vanessa Causley from Devon, England, provide some poignant thoughts, reminders and beautiful music for us this Sunday morning.

We've invited Brian Betts to share our sermon from the Word of God. The title of his sermon is "A Year To Remember." I seen his planned sermon and it is excellent. You really won't want to miss it! For those of you who can't wait, you can read his sermon here: http://bible.com/events/48820101

Brandi will lead our communion time together. I have the privilege of leading our prayer time together.

I really do hope everyone can make it in person Sunday morning. But I do understand the Covid concerns as well as all of you who live too far away to be able to attend in person. We will stream the worship service on our Facebook page as well as on our YouTube channel. The YouTube link for Sunday morning is https://youtu.be/9Jb2GsNfTcI

I pray all of you have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve celebration. I hope to see each of you in 2022! Love you much, Pastor Mark

Christmas Eve Service at 5PM EST Today!

Merry Christmas Eve Friday Church Requel!

I'm writing you all just a short reminder email this Friday morning, because it is Christmas Eve and I'm sure you all have much going on. But I do hope that part of your "going on" will include being at Church Requel - in person or online - at 5pm later today!

Our Christmas Eve choir practiced this past Monday night and we all had a most delightful time! Our choir will open up tonight's special service with "Come Now Is The Time To Worship" by Phillips Craig and Dean, "Silent Night (Christ The Saviour Is Born)" by Shout Praise, and "Born Is The King (It's Christmas)" by Hillsong.

Brian Betts will share the story and sing the song, "O Come All Ye Unfaithful." (Yes, I spelled it right!) Tre, Mason and Jacoby will take turns reading our traditional Luke 2 Scripture reading. Izzy, Paityn and Leia will sing "Hallelujah" by Cloverton.

I have written a new Christmas Eve sermon. (Is it really possible to write something new about Christmas?) It is called, "God Are You There?" For those who like to get a head start, you can read the sermon in your Bible app (look for "Events") or you can click on this link: http://bible.com/events/48817816

Our band will then come up and lead us all in singing traditional Christmas carols together. You know them all: "The First Noel," "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," "Away In A Manger," and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear."

At the end of our worship time together we will turn off the lights and light our Christmas candles while Brandi sings, "O Holy Night." This is one of our most cherished traditions at Church Requel!

If you cannot attend in person, you can watch online! Leanna will be producing our online service on Facebook Live and on YouTube. Here is the YouTube link for tonight: https://youtu.be/5ViIF08dKR4

As I write this newsletter this morning I am reminded that it was exactly nine years ago tonight that we began worshiping together at the Point of Grace. What a special night that was! We were all so grateful to have a place to call home. We had been meeting in our home, then at the conference center, and then in another church on Sunday nights. We all felt that we couldn't go on like that. Many of us showed up at 2pm every Sunday just to set up for a 6pm worship service together. Those were good days, but they were also exhausting days. We were just about at our end. And then God.

So whatever challenges you may be facing right now, stop and celebrate this Christmas. Know that God knows you and loves you and wants to fellowship together with you. Be open to the possibilities. See the opportunities. Pray the dangerous prayers and see what God will do!

Be reminded that there will be no worship service this coming Sunday morning. We hope you and our staff and volunteers will enjoy some precious family time together.

Hope to see you all tonight at 5pm EST! Love you much!
Pastor Mark

Plans For Sunday AND Christmas Eve

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I'm so looking forward to our worship times together this coming week. Christmas Week is a BIG DEAL here at Church Requel! Here is what we have planned for this next Advent week.

Sunday Morning at 11am. Once again we will begin our worship time with the lighting of the Advent Wreath. This Sunday morning Trish Trubachik will light our Peace Candle, while our ladies' trio sings a new song, "Give Me Your Peace" by Gateway Worship. This should be really special so you want to make sure you arrive with plenty of time to spare.

The other songs we plan to sing together Sunday morning include: "Tremble" by Mosaic MCS; "Angels We Have Heard On High"; "Evidence" by Josh Baldwin; and "Glorious Day" by Passion.

Our Scripture reading this week will be from Matthew 2:9-12, the story of the Magi's journey to see Jesus. Cheryl Buckley has agreed to read these verses for us. Our sermon follows. It is titled: "Worship - Our Heart Response." We take a fresh look at the story of the wise men with their 3 gifts. Along the way we will consider what the Bible actually tells us about the Magi and we’ll learn 5 lessons about our worship of Jesus.

Want a head start on our Sunday sermon time? Church Requel sermons can always be found in the Bible app under "Events." You can also use this link - http://bible.com/events/48814548

Jack Buckley will sing our special Christmas song for us. We love it when Jack lends his tenor voice to our worship time! Brian Betts will lead our prayer time. Yours Truly will lead our communion time.

If you will be watching online this Sunday, you can do so by going to Facebook Live or YouTube on Sunday morning. Here is a link to our worship service. https://youtu.be/cQY1-JovaR0

Our Plans For Christmas Eve Candle-lighting. This service is usually our most attended one of the year, so my first advice is to come early and secure your seat! Our Christmas Eve service begins at 5pm this coming Friday.

We begin our worship together by singing Christmas songs together, led by our Church Requel choir. You say you didn't know Church Requel had a choir? Well something tells me that Aaron, Amy, Cindy, Deb, Eric, Kathy, Mark, Olivia, Sisilly and Stephenie might just disagree with you!

Brian Betts has a special story and song to sing for us, entitled: "O Come All Ye UNfaithful" by Sovereign Grace. Pretty special!

Our students, Izzy, Paityn, and Leia will read our traditional Scripture reading, Luke 2:8-20. They will also sing a special song, "Hallelujah" by Cloverton.

Our sermon Christmas Eve is also brand new (is it really possible to have a brand new Christmas sermon?) entitled, "God Are You There?" This will be followed by 4 more Christmas songs led by our Praise Band.

At the end we will light our candles while Brandi sings, "O Holy Night." Wow! That's quite a worship plan for Christmas Eve! Thank you Brandi Walker for planning this for all of us!

Invite family and friends! We know that more people will answer, "YES!" to an invitation to Christmas Eve worship service than any other time of the year. So do be aware of your opportunities this week to invite. As you can see from above, this will be a great chance to involve new people in our church.

No Worship Service for Sunday, December 26th. Remember that we will not be having a worship service a week from Sunday, December 26th. We are putting all our efforts into a fantastic worship experience Christmas Eve and then allowing our staff and volunteers to enjoy their family time over the rest of the weekend.

Special Personal Invite. Tonight, Yours Truly will be playing Christmas carols on my ukulele and singing from 5pm to 7pm at Paul Revere's Family Restaurant in Lexington. If you don't already have plans, come down and enjoy the fried fish (it truly is delicious) and also enjoy the sweet sound of the ukulele playing Christmas tunes. I promise it will be fun!

Hope to see you this weekend!

In Christ's love... as well as my own,
Pastor Mark

Plans For Sunday AND Christmas Eve

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I'm so looking forward to our worship times together this coming week. Christmas Week is a BIG DEAL here at Church Requel! Here is what we have planned for this next Advent week.

Sunday Morning at 11am. Once again we will begin our worship time with the lighting of the Advent Wreath. This Sunday morning Trish Trubachik will light our Peace Candle, while our ladies' trio sings a new song, "Give Me Your Peace" by Gateway Worship. This should be really special so you want to make sure you arrive with plenty of time to spare.

The other songs we plan to sing together Sunday morning include: "Tremble" by Mosaic MCS; "Angels We Have Heard On High"; "Evidence" by Josh Baldwin; and "Glorious Day" by Passion.

Our Scripture reading this week will be from Matthew 2:9-12, the story of the Magi's journey to see Jesus. Cheryl Buckley has agreed to read these verses for us. Our sermon follows. It is titled: "Worship - Our Heart Response. We take a fresh look at the story of the wise men with their 3 gifts. Along the way we will consider what the Bible actually tells us about the Magi and we’ll learn 5 lessons about our worship of Jesus.

Want a head start on our Sunday sermon time? Church Requel sermons can always be found in the Bible app under "Events." You can also use this link - http://bible.com/events/48814548

Jack Buckley will sing our special Christmas song for us. We love it when Jack lends his tenor voice to our worship time! Brian Betts will lead our prayer time. Yours Truly will lead our communion time.

If you will be watching online this Sunday, you can do so by going to Facebook Live or YouTube on Sunday morning. Here is a link to our worship service. https://youtu.be/cQY1-JovaR0

Our Plans For Christmas Eve Candle-lighting. This service is usually our most attended one of the year, so my first advice is to come early and secure your seat! Our Christmas Eve service begins at 5pm this coming Friday.

We begin our worship together by singing Christmas songs together, led by our Church Requel choir. You say you didn't know Church Requel had a choir? Well something tells me that Aaron, Amy, Cindy, Deb, Eric, Kathy, Mark, Olivia, Sisilly and Stephenie might just disagree with you!

Brian Betts has a special story and song to sing for us, entitled: "O Come All Ye UNfaithful" by Sovereign Grace. Pretty special!

Our students, Izzy, Paityn, and Leia will read our traditional Scripture reading, Luke 2:8-20. They will also sing a special song, "Hallelujah" by Cloverton.

Our sermon Christmas Eve is also brand new (is it really possible to have a brand new Christmas sermon?) entitled, "God Are You There?" This will be followed by 4 more Christmas songs led by our Praise Band.

At the end we will light our candles while Brandi sings, "O Holy Night." Wow! That's quite a worship plan for Christmas Eve! Thank you Brandi Walker for planning this for all of us!

Invite family and friends! We know that more people will answer, "YES!" to an invitation to Christmas Eve worship service than any other time of the year. So do be aware of your opportunities this week to invite. As you can see from above, this will be a great chance to involve new people in our church.

No Worship Service for Sunday, December 26th. Remember that we will not be having a worship service a week from Sunday, December 26th. We are putting all our efforts into a fantastic worship experience Christmas Eve and then allowing our staff and volunteers to enjoy their family time over the rest of the weekend.

Special Personal Invite. Tonight, Yours Truly will be playing Christmas carols on my ukulele and singing from 5pm to 7pm at Paul Revere's Family Restaurant in Lexington. If you don't already have plans, come down and enjoy the fried fish (it truly is delicious) and also enjoy the sweet sound of the ukulele playing Christmas tunes. I promise it will be fun!

Hope to see you this weekend!

In Christ's love... as well as my own,
Pastor Mark

Neighborhood Meal Saturday & Baptism Sunday

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

We have a fantastic weekend in store for us! Are you ready?

We begin tomorrow evening by serving a hot, free meal to those in our neighborhood. Don went shopping for all the goodies yesterday so I know it's going to be awesome! Thank you Don! We also will be handing out free coats, hats and gloves. Thank you all for your donations. I'm certain they will all be appreciated!

Show up no later than 4pm. We begin serving at 5pm. Bring your desserts to share. Let's make the night festive! Wear your Christmas clothing. Ugly Christmas sweaters would definitely be in order! Yours truly will be playing the ukulele and singing Christmas carols. Let's throw a Christmas party for our neighborhood and let them share our joy for this season!

Izzy will be baptized Sunday morning!

Worship Plans For Sunday. What an exciting Sunday we have planned! I'm sure that the highlight of the morning will be Izzy Thoman's baptism. Izzy came to me a few weeks ago and we talked about baptism. She told me she really wanted to demonstrate this testimony in her life of the saving grace of Jesus and her intention to follow Him as her Lord for the rest of her life. Her enthusiasm is contagious! No way she wanted to wait until after the Christmas season. Honestly, I can't blame her. Why wait? And what could be more Advent-related that the celebration of a new Christ-follower?

We will open our worship service together with the lighting of the Advent wreath candle. We've asked John Vetter to light the candle this week. Nothing like a little bit of John's enthusiasm to get our worship started, right? (I'm still pumped up by remembering John's own baptism a couple months ago... in a full three-piece suit! YES!)

Here are the songs we plan to sing. I love this worship song set. The 2nd and 3rd songs were selected by Izzy as two of her favorites. Our songs Sunday morning will be: "Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)" by Chris Tomlin; "What A Beautiful Name" by Hillsong; "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury; "River of Life" by Mac Powell; and "Nobody" by Casting Crowns.

Our sermon Sunday morning is entitled, "Decision Making When I've Been Wronged." Our Scripture will come from Matthew 1:18-25, the story of Joseph finding out that his betrothed wife, Mary, was already pregnant. From Joseph's example we will learn four godly responses to when we feel we have been wronged.

Want a preview of the sermon? You can read it in your Bible app under "Events" or you can view it in your browser with this link. http://bible.com/events/48810238

For those of you who cannot be with us in Mansfield Sunday, you can watch the worship service as it happens by going to our Church Requel Facebook page OR by watching on YouTube. Here is the link. https://youtu.be/NJxfvsaE4v8

See the Nativities and listen to Pastor Mark's caroling

1,000 Nativities From Around The World! Here is a great idea for those of you in Mansfield who would like to get a good start on the Christmas season! AND IT'S FREE! The next two Sundays, December 12th and 19th, from 2pm until 3:30pm, you can view 1,000 different Nativities, many from other countries. And while you are viewing, you can listen to Christmas carols performed by one of four different musicians. How festive!

Many of you know that Pastor Paul is a collector of Nativity Sets. In the past, many of them have been displayed at Church Requel. But this year, Paul has invited other collectors to join him and display their sets as well. Honestly, I've never seen so many different displays at one time in my life! And some of them are so unique! It really is quite amazing.

Yours truly has been invited to play and sing from 2:45 pm until 3:30 pm this coming Sunday, December 12th. So if you'd like to hear even more fantastic ukulele Christmas carols, come then! One time/date or another, though, don't miss out on this special opportunity. Your soul will be refreshed!

I continue to marvel how much God is blessing our church and its people! From your serving meals, to your baptisms, to your singing, to your fellowship, I'm simply blown away with love for all of you! Hope to see you this weekend - maybe many times!

Yours in Christ, Pastor Mark

Advent 2021 Is Here!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Advent 2021 is upon us! Hope! Love! Peace! Joy! The Christ Child! Let's not ever lose the wonder of this time in the Christian calendar.

Yet, at the same time let us continue to revel in the glow of Thanksgiving! The concert Sunday was really special. We have taken the entire concert video and created 16 music videos of each of the songs we sang together last Sunday. You'll find each video along with the Thanksgiving Playlist on our Facebook page.

Here is your link to the Thanksgiving Playlist. Enjoy! https://bit.ly/3okv2VS

Sunday Morning Plans. Here are the songs we are planning to sing Sunday morning: "O Come All Ye Faithful" by John Wade; "All Things New" by KXC Worship; "Our God" by Chris Tomlin; "Christ Lives In Me" by Rend Collective; "He Is" by Crowder; and "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton.

Brian will be bringing our sermon Sunday morning. The title of his sermon is "Are You Prepared?" His talk will be a good one! He considers the story of Simeon in Luke 2, who had been looking forward to the birth of the Messiah. From those verses, Brian challenges us to be prepared for Christmas 2021.

Here is Sunday's sermon in the Bible app - http://bible.com/events/48806542

Here is the link for Sunday's worship service on YouTube - https://youtu.be/IZ1wCfIavrY

Neighborhood Meal - December 11th. It will be our pleasure to serve the meal to our neighborhood a week from Saturday evening. In the meantime, it's still possible to bring coats, gloves and winter outside apparel to donate to those who come that evening.

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