Chapel at Cedarville

In John 13:34–35, we receive a new commandment, a new community, and a new commission.

A New Commandment

Jesus calls us to love one another selflessly and sacrificially, considering others’ interests more than our own. This is the way Jesus loved us.

This love is more of an action than an emotion. It’s not based on the work we can do for God but on the work God has done for us. We are called to love others not because they are a benefit to us but because we want to be a benefit to them, even when they may be a burden. If we love like this, we will form a new community.

A New Community

Jesus focuses not just on how we love but on who we love. We are to love “one another.” This phrase doesn’t describe a vague love for humanity in general, but a specific love for a specific people group. It’s a committed, covenantal love rooted and grounded in the life and work of Christ. To love one another in this way can only be applied in the context of a local church community.

This will not always be easy, because the church is made up of an ethnically diverse, economically diverse, and generationally diverse group of people. Jesus is not focused on uniformity but on unity amongst diversity. Rather than sameness, He desires oneness in Him.

This is the way Christ, who is very different from us, has loved us. He who is worthy chose to love the unworthy. He who is holy has loved the unholy. He who is love came to love those who were only good at loving themselves.

A New Commission

Jesus uses our committed membership in a local church and our love for fellow believers as an evangelism strategy. People will see us loving one another and come to Christ.

This means that we must be loving each other all the time throughout our daily lives. Sundays are not a performance for unbelievers; they prepare us to display the Gospel to unbelievers throughout the rest of the week. Unbelievers will not see believers on Sundays, but they will see them at many other times. They will wonder because our relationships are sacrificial rather than transactional. Do your neighbors who don’t know Jesus see you loving other Christians?

Jesus doesn’t just tolerate you; He treasures you. He did not come to die for you after you stopped being selfish and selective with your friendships. He came while you were still sinning and loving yourself. When you put your faith in Him, you’re filled with a Holy Spirit who gives you the ability to love.

You are made from love, for love. Will you commit to love those Christ has already committed to love?

Chapel Recap: Abiding Bears Fruit

Aaron Cavin, Senior Pastor of Life Community Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, and SEND Network City Missionary in Boston, challenged us to rethink how mission and faithfulness are sustained by drawing from Jesus’ words in John 15:1–5. At the core of Cavin’s message was that the call to move outward in mission is built on growing deep in the inward life of Christ. Mission begins with abiding.

Cavin began by asking two foundational questions: What does it mean to abide in Christ? and How does abiding fuel mission? In John 15, Jesus describes Himself as the true vine and His followers as branches. Life, strength, and fruitfulness all flow from remaining connected to Him.

From this passage, Cavin highlighted three implications of abiding in Christ. First, to abide is to attach to Jesus fully and intentionally. Second, abiding means to depend on His power, recognizing that apart from Christ we cannot produce fruit. Third, abiding requires surrendering to His discipline. Jesus speaks of pruning not as punishment but as loving care that removes what hinders growth. To abide well, we must be open to God shaping and refining us.

Cavin then turned to how abiding in Christ fuels a life of mission. True fruitfulness, he explained, comes from reordered priorities. First, abiding prioritizes intimacy over busyness. Productivity without closeness to Christ eventually leads to exhaustion instead of impact. Second, abiding prioritizes maturity over success. God is more concerned with who we are becoming than what we are accomplishing. Third, abiding prioritizes faithfulness over significance. The goal of the Christian life is not to be impressive but to remain faithful to Christ wherever He has placed us.

“The fruit comes from the overflow of abiding,” Cavin said. When believers remain connected to Jesus, obedience and mission flow naturally from that relationship rather than from pressure or performance.

In conclusion, Cavin’s message was a call and toward staying connected to Christ, trusting His power, and allowing Him to produce fruit in and through our lives. True mission begins with abiding deeper.

In Psalm 96, we are called to sing to God and worship Him.

Relational Worship

This is not a distant or mechanical worship; it’s relational. There’s nothing wrong with singing about the Lord, but there’s something very special and personal about singing to Him. We must beware of a spiritual life that talks about God only in the third person and fails to talk to Him.

Constant Worship

We don’t always want to worship or feel like doing it. When this happens, we tend to view worship as a chore. Actually, it’s more like breathing. It’s not supposed to characterize us only on special occasions. It’s supposed to infuse every moment of our daily lives.

God’s Superiority

The text offers help to those of us who struggle. We are pointed to God’s superiority. He is to be feared above all gods, because they are nothing and He is everything. Idolatry promises us the world, but it leaves us empty every time, never satisfying us. Only God can truly satisfy.

God’s Majesty

We are also pointed to God’s majesty. Consider some of the ways people attempt to describe God’s glory in the Old Testament. When Isaiah tries in Isaiah 6:1, he ends up talking about the hem of God’s robe. After seeing the Lord, the only thing he can do is describe the bottom of His garment! In Exodus 24:9–10, several men see God’s majesty, and all they can talk about is the pavement under His feet. The majestic presence of the living God is so glorious and unapproachable that all we can do is look down!

Share the Song

We are not only to prize God but also to promote Him. After worshiping Him, we must then bear witness to the nations. The song of praise to God was never intended to be a solo. Worship is meant to be shared.

We can do this wherever we live and whatever we do for a living. Not everyone has to go around the globe to reach the nations. They are coming to our cities! For some of us, reaching the nations simply means reaching our neighbors.

Psalm 96 points to the redemptive crescendo of human history described in Revelation 5. We need to bear witness until all of God’s creation sings His praise. Oh that worship and witness would hold hands until the cacophony of nations is transformed into a choir of the redeemed!

Today in chapel, Dr. Thomas White continued his sermon series in the Gospel of Mark, covering chapter seven. The main idea was, “Transformation comes from a new heart, not new habits.” Dr. White addressed the legalism seen in the Pharisees and other religious leaders in the passage and compared it to the legalism found in our own hearts.

Hypocritical Religious Works (7:1–13)

First, Dr. White walked through how the laws that the religious leaders were opposing the laws given by God. They were placing their manmade laws level with Scripture and sometimes even above it. Jesus called them out on their sin, bringing to light the hypocrisy and judgement that these leaders had brought into their faith.

Dr. White says that “we are to be people of the Book. We are not to look to the traditions of man to follow God.” He encouraged listeners to think about their personal preferences versus biblical mandates and what their heart posture is about both.

The Heart of the Problem (7:14–23)

Dr. White called to attention the heart posture of this legalism, addressing how sin runs deep in our lives. According to Jeremiah 17:9, all hearts are deceitful and evil, and this is the root of all of our shortcomings. There is nothing that we can do to fix ourselves; no mandates, spiritual disciplines, or hard work can cure our sick hearts.

However, placing our trust in Christ frees us from our sinful ways. Dr. White encouraged listeners to dwell on the words of Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Jesus is the only true solution to our sin nature.

The Healing of the Savior (7:24–27)

The final section of the sermon addressed the healing power of Christ against legalism and calloused hearts. Dr. White pointed out that Jesus commended the faith of the woman in verses 24–30 — this was significant because she was the only Gentile present. The religious leaders were not happy about this, which further revealed their heart posture and how hardened they had become due to their strict legalism.

To close, Dr. White further emphasized how Jesus’ forgiveness is the only way for us to be saved from our evil hearts. No number of rules will save us; we need the cleansing blood of Christ to cover our sins and create clean hearts within us.

Sometimes, it seems like we wake up to a new problem or challenge every day. We become anxious about our circumstances, forgetting everything Jesus has done for us in the past. But in Mark 6:30–56, we see that Jesus is enough.

Satisfying Our Hunger

Have you ever waited in excited expectation of something, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t go your way? In verses 30–44, the disciples were likely looking forward to spending time alone with Jesus, but their plan was ruined when a large crowd of people followed them.

When they asked Jesus to send these people away, they had good intentions, understanding that there genuinely wasn’t enough for everybody to eat. In response, Jesus told them to feed them all — a seemingly impossible task. Have you ever believed that you just can’t possibly do something God has called you to do?

The disciples found five loaves and two fish. In John’s version of the story, we are told that they belonged to a young boy. He didn’t have enough, but he had something. He brought his meager resources and set them before Jesus, who did great things with them because He is enough. He does the same with the small contributions we have to offer Him.

The feast with Jesus left everyone satisfied. At the end, Jesus left twelve baskets full: perhaps one for each disciple, to remind them that He is enough.

Calming Our Fears

When Jesus told His disciples to get in the boat, they obeyed and went in the direction He instructed. When we obey Him, we can face difficulty. Yet, He still calls us to obey.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, they were terrified. What Jesus communicated in verse 50 was, “Take heart; I Am.” This was a reference to Exodus 3. Jesus comforted them with His name and His character.

In John’s version of the story, we find that Peter stepped out of the boat to join Jesus on the waves. How many of us would do that? Would we be so afraid to fail that we wouldn’t even try? We have no need to fear that. Your failures do not define you; your relationship with Jesus does. Get back up and keep following Him!

Healing Our Brokenness

Although the disciples had been headed to Bethsaida, they ended up in Gennesaret instead. Sometimes, we think we’re headed to one place when Christ is really going to take us somewhere else. When He redirected their path, they hadn’t failed. They’d gone exactly where He wanted them to go.

When they got out of the boat, He went around healing the sick. When people even touched the fringe of His garment, they were made well. This is what Jesus does for us.

Jesus’s compassion is enough to satisfy our hunger. His power is enough to calm our fears. And His mercy is enough to heal our brokenness. Let us lean into Him, remembering that He truly is enough!

This morning in chapel, Dr. William Lile delivered a message on the value of human life and the importance of protecting unborn babies.

Lile explained how the abortion pill works and how there are dangers not only to the baby but also to the mother. He also talked about the amazing progesterone pill that has been created to reverse its effects. Lile said, “We are successful about 63 percent of the time when it comes to reversing the effect of the abortion pill.” He added that they now have over a thousand doctors trained in this science.

“This is the best example of being redeemed,” Lile said. “We are literally buying back the life of the baby.” Lile explained how we were all on a path towards eternal separation from God. When we experience a change of heart and look for help, we are redeemed and brought back to God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God is the Creator of life, and He has created each person in His image (Genesis 1:26). We bear His image from the moment of conception. Abortion is an attack on the image of God. This is a spiritual battle.

God not only creates the baby’s life; He is also the reason why the child’s cells “know” what to do as he or she grows. Lile called this “the miracle of an Almighty Creator God.” He pointed to Psalm 139:13–14, which says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

In Proverbs 6, we find a list of six things the Lord hates. The third one is “hands that shed innocent blood.” That is exactly what those who perform abortions are doing. In the Gospel, we find hope that it is possible for hearts, lives, and behaviors to be changed. In His plan for redemption, God designed Jesus to come to Earth as an embryo in the womb. That is the significance of defending the unborn.

Lile points to the love that God has for these babies — love so great that He died for them. If God loves them so much, we, too, are biblically ordained to be their protectors. If you are interested in learning more about Lile’s work, check out ProLifeDoc.org for more information! As Lile says, “A patient is a person, no matter how small.”