Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

You Are Free! Free Indeed!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Sometimes I see a picture and it just captures something in my imagination. This past Sunday we took a few pictures of our youth group, the Sequels, during their lesson time. This photo of Tre spoke to me about who we are as a church family.   

Church Requel is a place where you can be yourself - whatever that might be on a given Sunday morning. Maybe you are happy or even a little goofy! That's A-ok with us! The world needs a few more happy-go-lucky, goofy kind of folks. You'll fit right in here!

But maybe you're struggling with guilt or grief or loss. Doesn't matter. You're welcome here at Church Requel. The Bible gives us some pretty good instructions, which I think you all just naturally follow well:

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." - Romans 12:15 NIV

The Message version expands on this just a little, but I think fits us as a congregation so perfectly!

"Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody." Romans 12:15-16 The Message

Amen! While we are on the topic of both rejoicing and mourning, be reminded that Cheryl does a GREAT job of posting our prayer requests and praises each and every week on our Facebook Prayer Chain Group. I highly recommend you make this a weekly stop and be reminded to pray and praise together as a church family.

And just so I don't leave out any other fantastic photos of our young people taken last Sunday, check these out! Thank you Eddie for your enthusiastic leadership!

The Sequels

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Plans For This Sunday Morning. As always, Brandi has done a beautiful job arranging our worship plans for this coming Sunday morning. Thank you Brandi!

Here are the songs we plan to sing: "Open Up The Heavens" by Meredith Andrews; "Freedom" by Hillsong; "The More Of You I See" by Iron Bell Music; "Something Good" by Gateway Worship; "Break Every Chain" by Jesus Culture; and "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton.

I am so very thankful for our worship leaders, who give so much of their time and talent each week to leading our worship and praise time. This week, especially, we should thank all of them! After church Sunday they will all be sticking around for most of the afternoon to prepare for our Friday night March of Prayer event at 6pm. Please be kind and thank them all! You can show your appreciation in two ways: #1 - tell them! #2 - Come to the March of Prayer Friday night at 6pm!

How Very Blessed We Are! Each week when I write to you all, I am reminded once again just how fortunate we are as a church! We are able to do so many wonderful things - marvelous really! - way beyond what should be our means as a small congregation. Yet, I believe God rejoices in His blessings and enjoys our worship - doing it as well as we can. Recently, I've been reading through Exodus and have once more been amazed at how specific God was with Moses in His instructions for building the place of worship! God used the very best materials and the very best of His craftsmen! I think God still wants to do the same today!

This past Tuesday evening I had the privilege of meeting with another church board inside our Church Requel sanctuary. They have been watching our weekly worship streams on Facebook and on YouTube and they seriously wanted to know the details of how we are able to do what we do. What a joy it was to share with them all the different aspects of our worship technology at Church Requel. It has taken us 10 years - one slow and small step at a time - to be able to do what we now do. As you know, we have more people as part of our congregation from other locations as are from Mansfield! Wow! And now other churches are asking us the question: "How?" Thank you Lord for such a privilege!

Our Sermon This Sunday - SHED THOSE SHACKLES! Actually I didn't title it that, but I should have! God has freed us from all that weighs us down, yet many of us still carry around the chains of our former life that weighs us down so much! In our next Romans 8 passage, we learn that God wants to free us from all that!

For those of you who just cannot wait until Sunday, you can read the sermon now right here - http://bible.com/events/48850531

I'm often asked why it is that I write out my sermons and why on earth do I share the text ahead of time? My answer is that I want to share God's good news in any and every way possible. I LOVE the spoken word. I work hard - believe it or not - on even the pronunciation and enunciation of certain syllables. Yet, I also believe that some people are better learners by the written word than the spoken. And some of you (yes, I know who you are!) seem to enjoy following along with the written text while I preach it. I don't care. However it works best for you is what I'm after! God's Word is alive and deserves our very best effort, don't you think?

For those of you who cannot be at Church Requel in person Sunday morning, please do join us online with our worship stream. Leanna Perdue does such an excellent job of including all your comments and prayer requests and praises! She makes sure the volume is just right and even changes the camera angles to keep it fresh. Thank you Leanna! You can watch this Sunday on either our Facebook Page or on our YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/qaz52E8x1b8.

I sure do hope you enjoy a wordy, letter-writing, no-holding-back, emotional kind of pastor! Love you all much! Hope to "see" you all Sunday morning! - Pastor Mark

Church Requel - You Are Beautiful!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I don't know how else to say it, so I'm just going to come out and say it: "Church Requel, you are beautiful!" I could be talking about many things, but in this case I'm referring to last Saturday's Neighborhood Meal. You came out in force and with such happy, joyful attitudes. You invited friends and family. You shared not only the warm, hearty meal of meat loaf and delicious sides, but also the joy of Christ in your hearts. Well done!!! I'm so glad I have the privilege to be your pastor!

Will you be a Church Requel Ambassador? In less than two weeks we will begin the 4th year of the March of Prayer here in Mansfield. Each evening from 6pm to 8pm, most of the Mansfield churches will gather together for prayer and praise. This is a unique opportunity. As far as I know there is no other place on this planet where such unity of prayer and purpose happens! And YOU get to be a part of it! Imagine some day in Heaven you will be able to testify to the very special opportunity we had to participate in the Holy Spirit's moving!!! You don't want to miss out.

2021 March of Prayer

There are two ways you can be a part of this year's March of Prayer. First, make a special effort to be at Church Requel Friday evening, March 4th, when we will be the hosts. You can bring snacks. You can arrive early and give directions to the bathrooms. You can wear a bright, friendly smile. You can be excited for the special evening of music and prayer. This will be our moment to shine so do what you do so well - shine on!

Second, you can be an ambassador representing Church Requel at one or more of the other March of Prayer locations. Starting this weekend we will have sign-up sheets available in the lobby of Church Requel. We are asking you to prayerfully consider attending at least one other March of Prayer location each week, representing your Church Requel family and blessing the host church. We will have locations for each evening. Each one will begin at 6pm.

Want to know more about this year's March of Prayer? Here is a news release from Pastor Paul Lintern. It has all the details! For our online congregation - we will do our very best to make each evening available online so you can tune in at 6pm EST. We will need the cooperation of each host church - some may not want or be able to put up the stream. Also the stream will be on the Godsfield Page on Facebook, so if you have not yet LIKED the Godsfield Page, go do that right now!

Sunday Morning Plans. We will sing a couple new songs this Sunday... at least new to the band: (NEW) "Jesus Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns; "Champion" by Bethel; (NEW) "My Jesus" by Anne Wilson; and "Revival Anthem" by Rend Collective.

Cheryl Buckley from Louisa, Virginia will share our announcements and read our Scripture for Sunday. Jack Buckley (yes - also from Louisa!) will share a special song following our sermon.

Speaking of our sermon, as promised last Sunday, this week will be all about how we can know for sure that we are indeed Christ followers. Our sermon will be based on Romans 8:5-11. If you want a head start, you can find this week's sermon in your Bible app under "Events" or you can click on this link: http://bible.com/events/48846811.

For this of you who cannot attend in person (and there are more and more of you each week!), you can watch the live worship stream online on either our Church Requel Facebook Page or you can watch on YouTube. Here is the YouTube link for this coming Sunday morning: https://youtu.be/5cErS_Ib-Zo.

I can't wait to "see" all of you one way or the other this weekend. I sure hope you feel the same way! Love you all! Pastor Mark

Neighborhood Meal Saturday Evening!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

This is another "Super" big weekend for us! We "kick-off" Saturday night by serving the neighborhood meal. Don is organizing it but he will need many hands to pull it off. Please show up by 4pm. We serve the meal at 5pm. We are usually done by 6pm. (We have discovered the parties the night before to be truly super!!! - though there will be no ice sculptures this time.)

Sunday morning we begin with our worship "in motion!" You'll want to make sure you don't have an "offsides" by arriving late or you'll miss Don and Vanessa, who will start us off.

You are more than welcome to bring all the guests and visitors you would like. We have suspended the rule for too many players on the field. The more the merrier!

Our praise team will begin with a triple option - all by Hillsong: "Man of Sorrows"; "Another In The Fire"; and "This I Believe."

Unlike the other event happening Sunday, there will be no ticket prices for entry into church. Your free-will offering from a compassionate and loving heart will be more than satisfactory. You need not worry about instant replay - you will only have one opportunity to give. If you would like to do so online you can go to Give.ChurchRequel.com.

Brandi will lead our prayer time and Brian will lead our communion time. No red flags will be thrown during these times, but red wine and bread will be welcomed.

Yours Truly will continue to teach from Romans 8, this week focusing on verses 3 and 4. The title to the sermon is "Why I Am Not Condemned." No penalties will be assessed for those who are in Christ Jesus! If you would like an advanced look at the playbook for Sunday morning, check it out here. http://bible.com/events/48843151

There will be no halftime festivities Sunday morning, however our Praise Band will come back on the platform for a second half worship set. It will be "Fierce" (by Jesus Culture), reminding us that "God So Loved" (by We The Kingdom.)

If you can't be at the church Sunday morning, no reason to turn the ball over... You can watch online on Facebook or on YouTube. Here's the YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/9_2xmdWHgaI. Actually watching on YouTube is a real deal - completely FREE with no annoying $5 million 30-second commercials!

So don't "bowl" yourself over cheering for a team you don't really care for anyway. Come root for Jesus along with all your best friends. All the trophies will be tossed to Jesus' feet, Lombardi's included! So don't miss the true super event Sunday morning! Rah!

Your loving and leading cheerleader, Pastor Mark

New Romans 8 Sermon Series Begins Sunday!

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

I write this as I look out my window and like many of you I see nothing but a deep, thick blanket of snow covering everything. Yesterday I shoveled our driveway 4 different times and as I look out this morning, it doesn't look like any shovel has touched it at all. Ouch! My sore back will testify even if the driveway won't!

Yet even the snow cannot dampen my spirit as I think about all of you! I hope you all are still riding high from last Sunday's worship experience with our young people leading the way! They did such a great job! We hope to repeat this every month when there are 5 Sundays in the month.

And even though it was so incredibly cold, I was personally warmed by the seven Church Requelers who provided a warm, nourishing meal last Saturday to those who were hungry in our neighborhood. The temperature outside was only 6 degrees F! Yet as cold as I was, I watched people coming to get something to eat wearing only a hoodie sweatshirt. Thankfully we also brought coats, hats and gloves to give away so everyone could go back home warm inside and out. 

If you didn't get the chance to serve last week (or if it was just too cold for you to venture outside), you'll have another chance to serve a week from tomorrow - on February 12th. This time we will be serving the Neighborhood meal within the basement kitchen of our own church, so everyone can stay warm. If you would like to volunteer, show up at 4pm. We serve at 5pm. We are usually finished with the cleanup by 6pm.

Also many thanks to Don Angel and Chris Thoman, both of whom worked on our lighting at Church Requel. Don ventured up to the top of the ladder in the sanctuary to change out the lens in our platform lighting. We hope this will improve the lighting for our online worshipers on Facebook and YouTube.

Speaking of which, if you cannot make it to our church physically this Sunday morning, you are most welcome to join us online. You can watch us either on our Church Requel Facebook page OR you can also watch on our Church Requel YouTube channel. Here is the link for YouTube: https://youtu.be/1Xfijn2zt-E. If you do watch, please comment and share! Let's get the word out. I love seeing our growth. Last week was the most active online community in a long time!

I'm very excited about this coming Sunday - we will begin a new teaching series from Romans 8. Many of you have told me over the years that this is your favorite chapter. And no wonder! There is so much good and faith-filled lessons to be reminded of in Romans 8. This teaching series will be an excellent lead it to Easter for us!

If you would like a head start on Sunday's sermon, you can find it under "Events" in your Bible app. Or you can easily click on this link: http://bible.com/events/48838821.

Here are the songs we plan to sing during our worship time this Sunday: "Only A God Like You" by Tommy Walker; "How Can It Be" by Lauren Daigle; "Raise A Hallelujah" by Bethel; (NEW) "Freedom" by Hillsong; and "Sing Wherever I Go" by We The Kingdom.

Hope to see you one way or the other Sunday morning! Love you much! Pastor Mark