Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Nursery Floors Flooded

Dear Church Requel family,

Sorry for this midweek emergency message...

With the major thunderstorm we experienced in the last hour, the nursery in our church basement has flooded. Our office is fine and the conference room is fine. Water came in through the window wells of the nursery apparently in the west wall of the church. First time we've had this problem since we've moved here 3 1/2 years ago. Pastor Paul just sent me these photos.

We have two old shopvacs at the church. If someone has access to another shopvac and/or the time to use the ones we have, we could really use the help in getting the water removed from our recently renovated nursery. This will be a labor intensive task. Pastor Paul is there working on it tonight trying to remove the water from the carpeting.

Thanks so much, Pastor Mark

Guest Praise Band Video Promo

We created a little invite video we are sharing with family and friends over on Facebook. We have a guest praise band coming and plan to share a potluck meal afterward. Cool!

Guest Praise Team and Potluck! from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Kaitlynn's Baptism

There may be no greater privilege for a pastor than to bapize a new believer in Christ. Last Sunday after church, Kaitlynn asked me how she might be saved. After talking together for a while, Kaitlynn prayed to Christ asking Him to forgive her of her sins and promising to the best of her ability to follow Jesus for the rest of her life. Yesterday she gave public witness to this decision by being baptized. Here is her 3-minute baptism video.

 

Dan's Testimony & Baptism [Video]

Dan Logan was baptized at Church Requel last Sunday, May 18th, 2014. Here is his testimony and baptism video.

Dan Logan's Testimony & Baptism from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Jeff Anderson To Perform CR Christmas Concert!

We are thrilled to announce that grammy-nominated artist, Jeff Anderson, will perform a Christmas concert on the Church Requel platform on Friday, December 6th. The concert will begin at 7pm. There is no charge for admission. We will collect a love offering for Jeff at the concert.

The evening will consist of a mixture of woship & Christmas songs. We want to have a special night where people can take a break from all the busyness that comes with the Holidays. Wouldn't it be wonderful to just focus on the reason behind Christmas right from the start?

Jeff is a Grammy nominated artist from Columbus, Ohio. He was previously the worship pastor at Vineyard Columbus before following the calling to tour full time. Formerly on Gotee Records, Jeff Anderson previously charted with the contemporary Christian hit, Open My Eyes from his album Seamless. You can learn more about Jeff and listen to his music at http://www.jeffandersononline.com. 

Stressbusters - New Sermon Series This Summer at CR

This summer at Church Requel, we’re going to look at our seven greatest sources of stress. They are all found in Psalm 23. The antidotes are also found in Psalm 23, the most beloved psalm of the Bible. It tells us what God is really like. The more we understand God, the easier it will be for us to trust Him!

May 26th - God’s Antidote to Worry. Worry is unhelpful, unreasonable and unhealthy. The antidote is to believe God will take care of me. God is the Shepherd who provides, protects, guides and corrects. We’ll learn 3 ways to make God the good Shepherd of our lives.

June 2nd - God’s Antidote to Busyness. Are you always in a hurry? Is your “To Do” list always unrealistically long? God is interested in your rest and relaxation. He wants you to live a whole, balanced and complete life. We’ll learn the prescription for pressured people - to R.E.L.A.X.

June 9th - God’s Antidote to Damaged Emotions. We all need to have our souls restored sometimes. We get hurt. Life’s tough. God wants to take out our emotional garbage. He wants to restore our souls. How? We’ll learn to make 3 changes about our guilt, grief and grudges.

June 16th - God’s Antidote to Indecision. Life is a series of choices. Success is a matter of making wise decisions. We make decisions and then our decisions make us! How do we know God’s will? We’ll learn 4 things we must do to let God guide us in the right path.

June 23rd - God’s Antidote for Dark Valleys. All sunshine and no rain makes a desert. It’s the dark valleys of our lives that give us depth and maturity. Even in our darkest days, God is there. We’ll learn 5 facts about the dark valleys and then what to do when we’re in those valleys.

June 30th - God’s Antidote to Your Hurt. Relationships are our greatest blessing and joy, but also the greatest source of stress in our lives. How should we respond when we are hurt by someone we love? We’ll learn what not to do, and then how God overflows us with healing.

July 7th - God’s Antidote to Fearing the Future. Do you never enjoy today because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow? We’ll learn to gain the confidence that God is watching over us, that His grace is working in us, and that Heaven is waiting for us.

Church Requel Begins 40 Days In The Word Campaign

Church Requel kicks off its 40 Days In The Word campaign this weekend. What is 40 Days In The Word? 40 Days is a spiritual growth campaign. We are passionate about continually growing as individuals and as a congregation. When we say "campaign, " we mean a time of unified focus in the weekend sermons, small group curriculum, and interactive elements (such as the web) to help you learn and grow. This 40 Days campaign  will show you how to not just hear the Word, but to be a doer of the Word as well.

Sermon Series. Every week for the next seven weeks Pastor Steve and I will be teaching about why the Bible is so important to our lives as Christ-followers.  This sermon series, originally written by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in January, has been taught so far in 2012 in thousands of churches all over the world! We'll kick off this Sunday talking about why it's so important for us to build our lives on the Bible.  Over the next six weeks, we'll talk about why we can trust the Bible, how to study the Bible, and how to integrate the Bible into our daily lives.

Daily Devotions. The reason we call this a campaign is because it is so much more than just 7 weekend messages. Beginning next Monday, September 24th, we hope that every person at Church Requel will begin a daily devotional.  Each day for 40 days a different pastor will lead us in our private study of God's Word. Those with internet access can go to 40daysintheword.com and sign in for free here. You can also sign up for daily emails or text messages reminding you to participate each day for 40 days.  For our parishioners without internet access, we will be providing an audio CD each week.

Pastoring Children Brings Me Great Joy

I've been going through a metamorphosis.  I've never considered myself to be a children's teacher.  On the other hand almost all of my adult life, I've been an adult teacher of one kind or another.  Before I became a full-time pastor, I taught adult Sunday School - usually young married couples - for two decades. Then I taught a larger group of men on Saturday mornings.  When I made the decision to become a church planter 3 years ago I was sure that the group I would most attract would be adults.

I'm so glad that God is not impressed with my resume. This year He has been bringing children to Church Requel. For sure, there usually are adults connected with them somehow. Without any question the fastest growing demographic in our small church are elementary age children.  And I'm thrilled!

This past weekend we invited our children to read the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. One of our parishioners, Diana, took some great photos and posted them up on Facebook last night. (I'm pretty sure you need to have a Facebook account to see them.  We hope to have them on our public website soon. UPDATE: The photos are now also on our public website here.)  The picture above is one of those pictures from Sunday night, when I had the privilege to talk with our kids afterward.

That brief conversation has stuck with me.  I asked the kids what they learned from the story.  Little Cohen with all the pre-Kindergarten wisdom he could muster said, "God is bigger than anybody!" Anna wondered if it really was appropriate to talk about such violent stories in church as she pointed to the verse where David cut off Goliath's head.

When I was a kid, I took for granted being in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  Sunday School was an automatic. Then there was Bible Quizzing and Awana.  While I've never thought much about it before, all of those experiences have a lot more to do with me now being a pastor than any of my seminary training.

When I then think of today's kids, including my own grandchildren, I'm wondering what the next generation of Christians will grow up to become.  Seated in my small congregation could be one of the next great pastors.  Perhaps Church Requel is not so much about my ministry as it is about the next generation's ministry.  Another way of thinking about it is this: Maybe my ministry is about training them for their ministry.

I know this is true for all of my congregation, adults included.  All year, though, I've been reminded about the brutal honesty of children.  They have the same questions about God and the spiritual life as everyone else, but they haven't yet been trained to ask only polite and acceptable questions.  This is the time to reach them.  This is the moment to answer questions - while they're asking!

I don't know exactly what God is calling me to do about this.  I do know this - I need to do more for our kids than what we're doing now.  I also know one other thing.  This is not something that I can just assign to someone else and check off "children's ministry" from the list.  I know I can't accomplish it alone.  We will need a team.  But that team will have to include me.  

I want the kids who grow up at Church Requel to know that they had access to their pastor.  I want them to grow up knowing that their faith was as important as more important than soccer and music lessons.  I want there to be a time in my weekly schedule when I can interact with our children, teaching them, modeling the Christian life to them, sharing life with them, knowing them.  

This is the real change.  The big change is not what God has been doing to bring children to CR.  The big change is the what God has been doing in my heart to love our children and see them for who they are - individual souls with their own need of our Lord and Savior.  The big change in me is that I no longer see our children as the church of tomorrow, but as the church of today!

Baptism Sunday at Church Requel [Photos]

We celebrated Baptism Sunday last weekend at Church Requel.  We baptized Diana, Mike and Lisa. This coming Sunday we will welcome them into membership at CR.  Fortunately Marci used Diana's camera to grab some great shots.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I have a million word photo album to point you to!  Seriously, we just posted 35 photos up on the CR Website.  Click here to view the whole Baptism Sunday album. (Make sure that "Baptism Sunday" is the current album in the top left corner of the page.)  Here are a few of my favorites. (Click on any of these to see the larger version.)

I wanted to make sure that the children knew what was about to happen with the baptisms.  So I came up with a children's sermon called, "Clean or Dirty?"  I had a glass that was covered with dirty and was filled with dirty water.  When I poured out the dirty water and filled it with clean water, the glass was still dirty and no child wanted a drink.  I explained that when we come to faith in Christ, Jesus washes us - cleans us up.  It's not just a matter of our good deeds (the clean water), it's also the entire person being born anew (the clean glass).  After I was done washing the glass and then filling it with clean water, I asked the children who wanted a drink.  Above you can see the enthusiastic response.

Diana was more than just a little bit nervous.  I was so proud of her.  She took the step of faith and obedience we call baptism despite her fears.  The whole time she never looked around.  She kept her eyes focused on me and her heart focused on Jesus.  

Video Stories For Baptisms

Later today I have the privilege of helping two more people tell their stories of how they came to faith in Christ. On July 1st Church Requel will baptize at least 3 folks who want to publicly affirm their new Christian lives. Though it is not a requirement for baptism, I have found that many people like to record their video story to be shown to our congregation before their baptism. These baptism services are some of our most popular worship services at Church Requel. Here are 4 reasons why baptism video stories work so well for us.

1. People love to hear the real stories of real people told in their own words. Pastors, you may be eloquent, but let's face it: our congregations hear from us all the time. There's something powerful about the authentic story coming from the story teller's own lips.
2. People love to tell their own stories. The story people know best is their own. Give them the chance to tell their story and most of the time they will take you up on it.
3. Video recording works well. Once people get over the presence of the cameras and microphones, they relax and just talk. The advantage to them is that they don't have to talk in front of a lot of people. And they always have the chance for a redo if they don't say want they want to the first time. The advantage to the pastor is the magic of editing - you can cut to the time frame you have available. And knowing the length of these video stories really helps when planning the service.
4. Video stories fit well in the spirit of 21st century baptisms. The whole idea behind historic baptisms was to publicly affirm a person's decision to follow Christ. Showing a video interview puts words and pictures and story behind the baptism. After we show the video story, the person who told his story walks out to the baptismal in the front of our church. There is even more meaning attached to the baptism for those watching; they feel like they really know the person being baptized.

Here is one example of a baptism we had last year. Frank Rutkowski came to faith in Christ during a home visit I shared with him in January 2011. He told his story on video one week later and was baptized a week after that. Sadly Frank passed away six months later, but his story is preserved for his family and friends. Frank also gave me permission to share his story with anyone who could be helped by it before his death. Below are two videos. The first is Frank's video story. The second is his and Theresa 's baptism at Church Requel.

Frank's Story from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Frank and Theresa's Baptism from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Audio Podcast: Productive Christ Follower

This week's Church Requel podcast is loaded with great listening content for you. 

• K-Mart Christmas in May - Rankin Paynter demonstrates Christ-like behavior when he buys out $200,000 of a local K-Mart store (3:16)
• Facebook Accountability - The initial public offering took place last Friday.  Two weeks ago I made my predictions public on this podcast.  Let's check in and see how well those prognastications turned out. (9:09)
• Last Tuesday my friend Len Edgerly, the voice behind the popular The Kindle Chronicles podcast stopped in Mansfield for a visit with me.  We both came armed with microphones.  I talked to Len about the labor of love involved each week in producing TKC. (15:37)
• Mad Men and Christianity - what does the wildly popular AMC television show have to do with Christianity, you ask?  This past Saturday the Mansfield News Journal published my Viewpoint article in which I answer this question.  My daughter Jillian reads this piece for you. (35:51)
• Rotten Banana Christianity - listen to the funny responses of the kids at Church Requel last night when they were offered rotten bananas during the Children's sermon. (44:35)
• Church Requel Sunday night sermon: "The Effective and Productive Christ Follower." (53:30) We learn the what, 2 whys and the how of becoming a fruitful servant for Christ.

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

Here are the links for the things we talked about on this week's podcast:

• Len Edgerly's The Kindle Chronicles Show Notes - click here.
• Len's Facebook page, The Reading Edge - click here.
• Donate a Kindle to the Troops - click here.

This Weekend at CR: Rotten Banana Christians!

Good Friday morning to you!  What a beautiful day here on the Pierce patio.  As my dad has so many times reminded me: "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the bees are making honey."  I'm told by the weather app on my phone that this whole weekend promises to be sunny and warm - sure signs that summer is on its way to Mansfield.  Whatever other plans you have for this weekend, I hope you'll spend your Sunday evening with us at Church Requel.

I have some special plans for our worship Sunday evening!  We will talk about what it means to be a productive Christ-follower.  That's the way we talk as adults.  For the kids (and for most of us kid-thinking adults) I thought another title might be more appropriate: "Rotten Banana Christians!"  For our kids' sermon I have a pretty disgusting object lesson in mind (pictured on the right.)  I'm guessing that no one will leave Church Requel without a changed perspective of "being fruitful!"

I'm also excited for our praise music Sunday night.  As your pastor I know just how many of you are struggling.  No one other than God Himself knows about all your trials.  I take my role as your pastor seriously, praying for all of you often.  I thought that Sunday night we could all use some encouraging music. So I have worked hard to come up with a worship set that will praise God and at the same time will encourage you. Plan to come early so you won't miss a minute!

Here are some other CR events or opportunities you might want to know about:

• Sneak peak at Sunday evening's sermon notes on YouVersion!
• Wednesday night, May 23rd, women's Bible study on the book of James.  At Mary Kay's house 6:30pm.  Only two more sessions, ladies!
• The CR Podcast from this past Monday.  Listen as we talk about the Ivy League janitor, same-sex marriage and politics in the pulpit, house church, and the Mom's Day sermon from last weekend.
• The video sermon from 2 weekends ago - "Love Is More Than A Feeling."  Do you remember the 6 lessons we learned from the parable of The Good Samaritan? Let's all thank Dave Johnson for his video editing work!

I love you all much!  Praying for each of you!  Hope to see you all Sunday at 6pm!

Pastor Mark

Audio Podcast: Influential MOMs

In this week's Church Requel podcast, I talk about

1. The Ivy League Janitor
2. Same Sex Marriage and the Pulpit
3. House Church
4. Re-Using a Used Sermon
5. Influential Moms

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

Here are the show notes and links:

The Ivy League Janitor story on The Daily http://bit.ly/IQ5dAL.

Black Churches Conflicted in USA Today http://usat.ly/KhFxj1.

Approach about Faith Questioned Romney http://usat.ly/KeM9fu.

This Weekend at CR: MOM's Day!

Good Friday morning everyone! TGIF! It's an amazing, beautiful day here in sunny Mansfield, Ohio.  I hope you have fantastic plans for this weekend.  Personally, I'm running in the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) 5k Run/Walk tomorrow morning.  Getting some exercise, donating to a great cause, and earning a new t-shirt... how does it get any better than that?  If you don't already have Saturday morning plans (9am), come out to the fairgrounds and cheer on this slow body.  Or cheer on our own Jana Edwards as she will probably lap me!  

Our children will all be in town at one time or another this weekend to support their mom!  Not only is Mary Kay the catalyst behind the NAMI 5k, but Sunday being Mother's Day, she will be the most honored person of our family's weekend plans. At one time - back when I was a naive and inexperienced husband - I tried to explain to her that the title to the day was "Mother's" Day and not "Wife's" Day, thinking that our kids were solely in charge of the honoring responsibilities.  I'm happy to report that our relationship has survived that hapless era of our marriage.  Guys, if your wife is also the mother to your children, don't miss this opportunity to say how awesome she really is!

One of the best ways to do this is to BRING ALL MOMS to Church Requel on Sunday evening!  We have gone all out to honor all of our moms.  We have a very special worship service planned this weekend. We have praise music - led by Tim and Jillian Vincent - specially selected by our CR moms as their favorites! We'll enjoy a funny and poignant visit from the Skit Guys.  Every mom walking in the door will receive a flower.  We also have some special gifts set aside for some of our most special moms.  And I've written a Mother's Day sermon that will remind our M.O.M.s to Model, Obseve and Motivate their children.  Sunday night's 6pm worship service will be one of our most special ever!

Before I wrap up this Friday morning message I want to pass along a "thank you" encouragement to Patty, who is my Friday morning waitress at Paul Revere's Family Restaurant.  She watches me write many of these messages while keeping my coffee cup filled AND she's on our email list.  Recently she enjoyed a vacation to Florida (she also obviously took all our warm weather with her!)  She told me that she looks forward to her weekly, Friday-morning email from Church Requel.  Last week I was late in getting the email out.  Patty told me she checked her email down in Florida several times throughout the day wondering when the email would arrive.  Thanks Patty for letting me know that there are folks who look forward to this weekly message from Church Requel!

Or maybe you are more of a Church Requel Podcast fan.  Jana Edwards (yes - the aforementioned runner who will most likely finish the run well ahead of me tomorrow morning) texted me that she loved last weekend's podcast and found another great use for it.  She was at a conference in Kentucky this week with her brother.  He was keeping her awake with his snoring so she took out the headphones and listened to the CR podcast to drown him out!  If nothing else we are good for white noise!!!

How about you? Do you like knowing what's happening at Church Requel?  I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.  Thanks for supporting Church Requel.  Hope to see you Sunday night at CR!

With great affection, Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Love Is More Than A Feeling

We learn six lessons from Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan: (1) The gold standard of Christianity; (2) Loving people required to live the good life; (3) There are no loopholes; (4) Loving people doesn't come from obligation but from compassion; (5) Compassion trumps our schedule and plans; (6) Our kindness to others is God's plan to confront evil.  Join me in this 5th sermon from The God Life series. This CR talk was recorded on May 6th.  Thanks so much to Dave Johnson for his video editing work.

 

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Download 120506OUTSIDE - the outside of our printed program
• Download 120506INSIDE - the inside of our printed program
  
• Download 120506 Love More TEACHING NOTES - sermon manuscript
  
• Download 120506 Love More NOTES SLIDES - manuscript plus graphics, used by tech team
  
• Download 120506 Planning Sheet - our worship order of service with good theme ideas
  

All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog.  Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week?  Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices.  You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast.

Audio Podcast: Love Is More Than A Feeling

In this week's Church Requel podcast Mark talks about:

1. churches being sensitive to single people.  Less than half of the U.S. Population is married now.  How should that change the way we lead our churches? 
2. The Wildcat roller coaster is closing at Cedar Point. It started running in 1970, the same year Mark and his brother, Todd, went to Cedar Point for the first time. 
3. What's really the difference between leadership and fellowship?  Mark considers that maybe the two are not as different as some people think. 
4. Facebook's Initial Public Offering is less than two weeks away.  Will it be a good investment?  Mark puts his investment cap back on and looks at the numbers.  
5. Cutting Room Floor segment - what do you do when you have a topic that could contain so much material... say, "The Good Samaritan" parable?
6. Church Requel's Sermon from May 6th: "Love Is More Than A Feeling." We consider six lessons we learn about loving other people from The Good Samaritan story. 
7. Mark's wrap-up after church Sunday evening.

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Weekend at CR: Love Is More Than A Feeling

Hi everyone!  Pastor Mark here with your "What's Happening" blog post for this weekend at Church Requel.  Hope this Friday finds you in an upbeat TGIF mood!  Do you have big plans for this weekend? Mary Kay and I are planning to get an early start on Cinco de Mayo with a Mexican dinner celebration with my Dad up in Wadsworth.

Whatever your plans for the weekend, I hope they will include Sunday night at Church Requel.  I have a good talk lined up for you: "Love Is More Than A Feeling."  We will study Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan and learn 6 lessons for how we can put our love for other people into action.  If you can't wait until Sunday night - or you'd like a sneak peek - click here for the YouVersion Bible App LIVE event.

Our Sunday evening worship will be greatly enhanced under the leadership of Brandi Walker.  She will be leading us in singing Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing) and Above All.  She will also be singing a special called "Sticking With You" by Addison Road.  Very cool - Requel-like - song! 

I also have a fun sermon planned for the kiddos in our church, which I'm calling "Race of Your Life."  We'll have some fun with toy race cars and - along the way - learn something about treating other people with love and kindness.

Jessica Pierce will be reading our Scripture from Luke 10.  Steve Thoman will be leading our communion and prayer time.  Jennifer Carrick has some exciting plans - including snacks and crafts - for our preschool children. Sounds like the entire evening will be great for kids of all ages!

Women's Bible Study Wednesday at 6:30pm. This study from the epistle of James includes a great video teaching from Beth Moore.  Topics in this study include: joy, hardship, faith, reversal of fortunes for rich and poor, wisdom, gifts from above, single-mindedness, the dangers of the tongue, humility, and prayer. If you are a woman at Church Requel, you won't want to miss this chance to meet and know new friends and learn important, faith-building lessons.  The group meets every other Wednesday at 6:30pm at Mary Kay's home. (It happens to be the same place where I hang out!)

New Members Class June 9th.  Several of you have mentioned that you would like to join the church.  We are letting you know about this June 9th class so that you can make sure you keep this Saturday free.  We'll start at 8:30am and will finish by 2:30pm.  A continental breakfast and lunch will be included.  If you come to the class you are not obligated to become a member.  This is the best way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Church Requel!  There is no cost to attend.  So far we have Mike and Lisa, Diana, and Marilyn signed up.  Email me if you would like to reserve your seat.

Church Requel Podcast Every Monday!  Do you know about this?  Every Monday morning I put together the Church Requel podcast.  What's a podcast?  It's an audio program that you can download from the Internet.  It's like a radio show. This past week I included an excerpt from a NAMI talk given by Mary Kay, some of my thoughts on Apple and Facebook, and then a discussion on creativity and relevance when giving a talk.  I also included the audio sermon from last Sunday night. Here's a link to the podcast feed.  Listen to the podcast here.  

This is a great way to become a Church Requel insider. It's like sitting down and having a conversation with me every week. I love podcasts! I listen in the car when I'm driving and when I exercise.  There's never any hurry or time constraints because I'm usually doing something else at the same time.  

I have put together an email list of people who want to know when the podcast is actually up and ready to go every week.  If you would like to also receive this Monday message, send me an email.  You also will have the chance to comment and share your comments with others who are on the podcast mailing list!

Keep Praying for Dick, Lincoln and Diana.  Dick Jourdan was admitted to the hospital this past Monday evening.  He experienced a heart attack.  The doctors inserted a stint that alleived the current danger.  He was released today (Friday) but will have to go back in 4 weeks for triple bypass surgery.   Also keep your prayers going for Lincoln Bohnke.  He is still growing, surpassing the 4 pound mark on Thursday.  He also was moved out of the incubator and into the crib.  You can leave a message of encouragement for Dan and Katie on their Caring Bridge site.  Finally, let's keep praying for Diana. This was her first week without her dad.  

Love you all much!  Pastor Mark

Video Sermon: Keeping My Eyes On The Ball

In this Church Requel video sermon from April 29th, we learn perseverance lessons from the parable of the Sower and the Seeds... and from baseball!  Much appreciation to Dave Johnson for his editing labors!

Keeping My Eyes On The Ball from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Here are the resources to support this week's sermon.  You may want to download the weekend program and follow along.  Or perhaps you'd like to have a copy of my notes.  If you are a pastor or ministry leader of another church, you are most welcome to use these resources in any way that could build the kingdom of Christ.  We're on the same team!  Download any of the following:

• Download 120429OUTSIDE - the outside of our weekly printed program
• Download 120429INSIDE - the inside or our weekly printed program
  
• YouVersion Sermon Notes - the notes published for the Bible app
• Download 120429 Eyes on Ball TEACHING NOTES - my sermon manuscript I used in pulpit.
  
• Download 120429 Eyes on Ball NOTES SLIDES - the same manuscript, but with graphics in the margins.  This is the document used by our tech team.
  
• Download 120429 Planning Sheet - our order of service for April 29th.  Pastors and worship planners may find good ideas to support the theme of perseverance.
  

All of the Church Requel sermons are available either in the CR Video Library or the CR Audio Library or you can listen on the Church Requel Audio Blog.  Would you like to subscribe to the weekly audio podcast and receive the sermon each week?  Subscribe here for iTunes or here for all other mp3 devices.  You can also subscribe to the weekly video podcast.

Audio Podcast: Keeping My Eyes On The Ball

In this week's Church Requel audio podcast, Pastor Mark talks about

1. The NAMI Ohio Conference this past weekend with Mary Kay
2. Apple's quarterly earnings - what can we learn about reality and perception?
3. Facebook Loneliness - Online Social Networking is only one tool for connection
4. Cutting Room Floor - Using creativity, relevance, and ending twist for presentations
5. Sermon: "Keeping My Eyes On The Ball" - learning perseverance lessons from the Sower and the Seed AND baseball.

Listen to this week's Church Requel Podcast:

Subscribe to this audio podcast!  It's available every week on iTunes or for any other mp3 player.

This Weekend at CR: Sower and the Seed - Baseball Style

Good morning everyone!  Mark Pierce here with your weekly Church Requel "What's Happening" blog post.  I hope this message finds you doing well and looking forward to a wonderful weekend.  Whatever your plans for Saturday and Sunday, I hope you'll end your Sunday with us.

We will continue our current sermon series, The God Life, with part 4: "Keeping My Eye On The Ball." Our primary Bible text will be the parable of the Sower and the Seeds, found in Luke 8:11-15.  I've had so much enjoyment preparing your talk for Sunday night.  We'll look at this most famous of Jesus' parables through a baseball lens.  It is baseball season after all.  (And it's still early enough in the season that there's still hope for the Indians!)  I have a humorous video lined up to introduce our talk. We'll also pull a song out of the 1995 archives as we listen to Geoff Moore and the Distance sing "Home Run."  

Our Sympathies To Diana. Dwight Miller, Diana Devolder's father, passed away Thursday morning.  We extend our condolences to Diana and her family.  Calling hours will be Sunday at Wappner in Ontario from 1pm - 3pm.  The funeral service, also at Wappner, will be held Monday morning at 10:30.  More info, including Dwight's obituary, may be found here.

New Members Class June 9th.  Several of you have mentioned that you would like to join the church.  We are letting you know about this June 9th class so that you can make sure you keep this Saturday free.  We'll start at 8:30am and will finish by 2:30pm.  A continental breakfast and lunch will be included.  If you come to the class you are not obligated to become a member.  This is the best way to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Church Requel!  There is no cost to attend.  Email me if you would like to reserve your seat.

Church Requel Podcast Every Monday!  Do you know about this?  Every Monday morning I put together the Church Requel podcast.  What's a podcast?  It's an audio program that you can download from the Internet.  It's like a radio show.  Every week I talk about the things going on at Church Requel.  Then we include the audio sermon from the Sunday night before. Here's a link to the podcast feed.  Listen to the podcast here.  

This is a great way to become a Church Requel insider. It's like sitting down and having a conversation with me every week. I love podcasts! I listen in the car when I'm driving and when I exercise.  There's never any hurry or time constraints because I'm usually doing something else at the same time.  

I'm putting together an email list of people who want to know when the podcast is actually up and ready to go every week.  If you would like to receive this Monday message, send me an email.  You also will have the chance to comment and share your comments with others who are on the podcast mailing list!

That will do it for this week.  Keep your prayers going for Dick Jourdan and Lincoln Bohnke.  Also pray for Diana.  This will be a tough weekend for her.  

Love you all much!  Pastor Mark