Good News Of Great Joy

Good News Greetings!

We talk about the very first Christmas greeting card sent from Heaven! Hallmark has nothing to compare! We consider each aspect of the fantastic, wonderful, incredible, best possible good news we have ever received. Open your Bibles to Luke 2:8-15 and prepare your heart to receive good news from God!

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download this PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Why Christians Should Not Worry

Don’t Worry Be Happy! Another word for happy is blessed. It’s hard to experience real Christmas blessings when suffering from Christmas stress and worry. Jesus gave us 8 really good reasons not to worry in Luke 12:22-34. Prepare to hear a “worry-free” sermon!

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download this PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon notes.

Five Present Presents

God grants us five Christmas presents from that first Christmas. In Sunday's sermon we discover 5 godly gifts from Gabriel and Mary's exchange in Luke 1.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download this PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Nobody's A Nobody With God

It’s easy to feel like we’re nothing special. Especially at Christmas time. While many love being engaged with family, many others feel disconnected. Even if you are a nobody to the world, you are a somebody to God! Last evening we looked at the first Christmas through the eyes of Anna in Luke 2, where we learn the twin lessons of purpose and peace.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Waiting Is An Action Verb

Instant gratification can be our enemy. We learn that when we wait upon God, we will learn patience and come to know Him and the reward of His promises so much better. Through our godly waiting we can even bless others! Join me in this audio version of Sunday's talk as we consider the story of righteous and devout Simeon, who was rewarded for waiting.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

My Response To The King

Our response to the babe born in the manger requires more than the belief that the prophesied King Jesus was actually born. If Jesus really is the King of kings, we should respond in obedience to the commands he taught. In this audio version of Sunday's sermon I examine the unrighteous believer of Herod the Great and share 4 Christmas lessons from Herod's story.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Doubts and Faith

As humans, we're right about some things and wrong about others. The key is to be right about the right things. Our Christian faith is one of those tricky things that is easy to be wrong about. Knowing the facts of our Christian faith isn't the same thing as possessing a Christian faith.

In this first Christmas teaching of 2014, I consider the life of Zechariah from Luke 1. Like him we can also be righteous doubters.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

#089: An Amazing Redemption

This is my year-end podcast and includes two different talks - the Christmas Eve sermon, “An Amazing Plan” and my last talk of the year, “An Amazing Redemption.” We talk about God’s purpose for our lives, how He turns our messiness into His holiness. I also share the fun story of how Mary Kay and I found out we were going to be grandparents again.

During the podcast I mention my daughters' new podcast, SisterLit. Check it out here.

Music for this week's podcast is "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" by the New Glenn Miller Orchestra.

#088: An Amazing Exchange

I talk about Super Bowl week for pastors and share some of my favorite Christmas media traditions.

In the sermon, we consider the greatest Christmas gift exchange ever - between us and God. We give Him our worries, our hurts, and our griefs. He, in exchange, gives us His peace, His healing, and His joy.

Music for this week's podcast is "Twas The Night Before Christmas" by Dave Koz.

#087: An Amazing Encounter

Mark talks about this past week at home and Church Requel: taking Gene to Cleveland Clinic, celebrating with Jillian, getting ready for Christmas, making a movie with the kiddos at CR. We listen to the Barnes family sing "Jesus What A Wonderful Child."

We also listen to this weekend's sermon, the 2nd in the Christmas series. Christmas happened because of a world of mistakes. We are all mistake ridden. That's exactly why Jesus came as a baby in a manger. In this message from Pastor Mark Pierce, we learn 4 things Jesus wants us to know about our mistakes and how it affects our relationship with Him.

#086: The Christmas Concert

We enjoyed a Christmas concert Friday night with Jeff Anderson. Mark interviews Jeff and then replays some of Jeff's concert talk along with one song, "O Holy Night." We wrap up the podcast with Sunday's sermon, "An Amazing Announcement."

You can follow Jeff on his website, jeffandersononline.com, his Twitter feed, @jeffaofficial, or his Facebook page, facebook.com/jeffandersononline.

#083: 3 More Ways To Deal With Difficult People

How do you handle the difficult crazy makers in your life? In this week's podcast, I explain the difference between forgiveness and trust. We consider 3 more Biblical responses. Refuse to play their game. Refuse to cave in. Always take the high ground.

We also catch you up on all the Church Requel news of the week, including a description of how the Christmas concert with Jeff Anderson came about. Lots going on these days at CR! Here's a link to Jeff's website. Here's a link to his Facebook page concert invitation.

This week's podcast music is "I Want Crazy" by Hunter Hayes.

#039: Holiday Edition

This week's podcast is the Holiday Edition. I've taken the best parts of the Christmas and New Year's talks and put them together in this special edition. Catch up with me as I tell you some of the great stories from the last two weeks.

Music for this week's podcast is "Lucy and Linus."

#038: Countdown

In this week's podcast we are counting day the final days toward our move to our new location... oh and the last weekend before Christmas!!!  I talk about all the things going on at Church Requel, the cleaning party last Wednesday, the kids singing last Sunday, the new sign being installed this week, plans for our last Sunday at Ontario Christian Fellowship this coming Sunday, and our very first service on Christmas Eve in our new location at St. Luke's Point of Grace.  If you want to be a Church Requel insider, then you will want to hear this week's podcast!

The last 25 minutes is the talk from this past Sunday night.  Want to see more pictures of the kids singing? Check out this Facebook album.  Here's a link to the video we played right before the talk. It's called "The Christmas Scale." It provided me the inspiration for the talk, "Don't Miss The Joy." You can read the sermon notes here.

Music for this week's podcast is "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

The Productive and Effective 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.

The Word Became Flesh

Join Pastor Mark from Church Requel in this Christmas Eve 2011 message from John 1:14.

Immaculate Consent

We learn how to turn surprise into surrender by studying Mary's dialog with the angel. Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel as we study Luke 1:34-38.

Unwrap the Gift of Christmas

How do we UNWRAP the gift of Christmas? Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel for this day after Christmas sermon.

Breath of Heaven

We remember God's great gift to us, when the Breath of Heaven becomes the breath of a baby boy. Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel for this Christmas 2010 message.

Christmas in a Nutshell: God With Man

The angels were the messengers who delivered the message of Immanuel, God with us. Now, we who are Christ followers have that same privilege: to share the message of Immanuel with those around us. Join Pastor Mark Pierce of Church Requel for this Christmas 2009 message.