Chapel at Cedarville

Chapel Recap: A Faith Toward a Great Hope!

Today in chapel, SGA Chaplain Ethan Foster continued his series, “God’s Glory Going Global,” by walking through Genesis 15, a foundational moment in God’s covenant with Abram.

Foster explained that Genesis 15 contains two major covenant promises from God. First, the promise of a people (vv. 1–6): God assured Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, a promise that Abram received in faith. Second, the promise of a land (vv. 7–21): God sealed His covenant with a traditional ceremony, declaring that Abram’s descendants would one day inherit the land.

Foster then explored the nature of Abram’s faith. Abram’s trust in God was directed toward his Seed — the promised offspring through whom God would bless the nations. Pointing to Galatians 3:16, Foster reminded us that Abram’s Seed is Christ. “It is through Christ that we take righteousness through faith,” he said. “You are counted as righteous because of what Jesus has done for you.”

From here, Foster introduced two modes of Christian faith: faith backward and faith forward.

Having faith backward, he explained, looks to Christ’s first coming. Like Abram believing in God’s promised Seed, believers look back to Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Through faith in Him, we are counted as righteous not because of our efforts but because of His. “Rest in His righteousness,” Foster urged.

Having faith forward, however, looks ahead to Christ’s second coming. Just as Abram trusted God for promises not yet fulfilled, we can set our hope on Jesus’ return. “We must imitate Abram’s forward-looking faith,” Foster said, “and believe Jesus is coming back.” Referencing 1 John 3:2–3, he encouraged us to savor the second coming.

Foster summarized the areas of faith in this way: “Turn your faith out toward Christ, backward for salvation, and forward for great hope.” The God who kept His covenant with Abram is the same God who keeps His promises to us, calling His people to live with a steady faith rooted in what Christ has done and what He will surely do.

Often, we are very good at holding grudges against people. But God has called us to extend forgiveness. In the context of the Gospel, forgiveness is the gift of God’s grace received through faith in Jesus. Psalm 103:12 declares that Christ removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. We, too, are called to forgive others. This means consciously deciding to pardon and release our offenders, canceling their debt and letting go of any resentment or desire for revenge. When we forgive someone else, we absorb the debt they owed.

Forgiveness Is the Essence of a Relationship

The only reason we can have a relationship with God is because of the forgiveness Christ has extended to us. Our ability to have relationships with others must be grounded in that same need for forgiveness.

What Forgiveness Is Not

Sometimes when we seek God’s forgiveness, we are asking Him to simply excuse us. But forgiveness is not condoning wrongdoing, mitigating it, or accepting excuses for it. Sin is very serious, and we need to realize that.

Forgiveness is also not removing consequences. When we were forgiven by God for all our sins, the consequences did not disappear. Instead, they were taken on by Jesus when He bore our debt.

The Example of Joseph

The story of Joseph is a good example of forgiveness. This man was terribly wronged by his brothers. Upon being reunited with them, he was confronted with a choice: would he dispense forgiveness? Genesis 45:15 records his decision: “And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.”

Later, in chapter 50, the brothers began to doubt his forgiveness. With reassuring words, Joseph comforted them, explaining that he had no choice but to forgive — God was his brothers’ judge, and he had no right to put himself in God’s place.

We are prone to doubting God’s forgiveness, too. But Christ was blameless and innocent even more than Joseph, and when we see what He was willing to do for us on the cross, we can fully embrace His forgiveness.

Forgiveness Is Essential for Sanctification

In Matthew 18:21–35, Peter probably thought he was being generous when he asked Jesus if he must exercise forgiveness seven times toward someone who had wronged him. But Jesus suggested that forgiveness is unlimited. He went on to tell a story to illustrate that divine mercy should change our hearts so that we forgive others.

When we forgive those who have wronged us, we are able to walk more closely with God. When we refuse to forgive, we distance ourselves from the Father. We should forgive because we want to restore relationships with others, because we are commanded to, because we fear the Lord, and because we have received extravagant grace through Christ. Let’s extend to others what we have received! What impact is Christ’s forgiveness having on you?

Chapel Recap: The Gift of Godly Wisdom

Today in chapel, Dr. Will Smallwood spoke on the importance of seeking true wisdom from James 1:5, reminding us that “wisdom is for all humanity at every stage of life.” His message centered on one simple but powerful truth: God is the source of wisdom, and He freely gives it to those who ask.

Dr. Smallwood began by defining wisdom not as intelligence or experience but as a life shaped by reverence for God. Quoting Proverbs, he explained, “The heart of wisdom is fear of the LORD.” This fear, he said, is not terror or dread, but “a continual, humble, and faithful submission to Yahweh which compels one to hate evil and turn away from sin.” True wisdom begins when we recognize who God is and respond with obedience.

To be wise, Dr. Smallwood emphasized, is to know God personally and walk in relationship with Him. Wisdom is not just hearing the Word of God; it’s doing it. Genuine wisdom transforms both the heart and the hands.

Dr. Smallwood then turned to James’s command to pray for wisdom. “Wisdom is given as a gift from God,” he said, “and God is a giving God. He wants to give you wisdom.” When believers ask in faith, God responds generously. This promise is an encouragement to everyone facing confusion, uncertainty, or difficult decisions.

“If God says it, we believe it,” Dr. Smallwood reminded us, “This promise is a steadfast reminder that we should do what He tells us to do — ask for wisdom.” God’s guidance is not limited to pastors, parents, or leaders; it is available to every believer who seeks Him with humility and faith.

In chapel this morning, Jason Wing began by sharing his testimony of his time at Cedarville University. He and his roommate lived for themselves rather than God, indulging in their own sinful desires. One day after they graduated, Wing’s roommate died unexpectedly in a tragic car accident. At the funeral, Wing was hit by the reality that one day he, too, would be gone. He now saw where the path of sin, pleasure, and worldliness ends: with death.

You will die one day. You can’t control when. The only thing you can control is what you choose to do with your life. What will it be about? In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul writes to a church with lots of sin and worldliness in their past. He says that God is why we’re here. We exist for Him.

We’re Here as God’s Creation

Everything that is made has a Maker, and Makers always make things with a purpose. If you believe there is no Maker and that we came about by random chance, this leads to the conclusion that your life is an accident with no meaning or purpose. Yet when you look around, you can see intentionality everywhere. You can see the Maker. Everything, including people, has been created by God.

We’re Here for God’s Purposes

It is tempting to make life all about our own dreams, ambitions, desires, and comforts. But if you truly look into your own heart, who you will find is a great sinner who is not worth living for. Jesus is the great Savior who can rescue you, and your life finds purpose in Him.

In Ephesians 2:10, we are told we are God’s masterpiece, designed for good works. He has things for you to do. In fact, He planned out all your days before you were ever even born. You were not an accident. Your life has meaning. There is a God who designed you, cares for you, and loves you.

We’re Here through God’s Son

All things are from the Father, and they come through the Son. This means the Father is the architect and source of all things, while the Son is the agent and creator. We exist through Him, and we will find real life only through Him. If you are looking somewhere else for life, realize that you are looking in broken cisterns that hold no water. Jesus is the living water!

You have one lifetime — one chance to steward the breaths God has given you on the earth. John Piper gave a sermon about how we should not waste our lives prioritizing comfort and doing nothing for God. One day you will stand before Him and give an account of what you did. If you want your life to count, you don’t need to master lots of amazing things. You just need to be gripped by a few very simple, glorious, majestic, unchanging truths and be willing to lay down your life for them. Live for Jesus and make Him known!

In Exodus 15:22 through chapter 17, we find the Israelites grumbling much like we do today. These chapters of Scripture contrast characteristics of ungrateful people with the faithfulness of the Lord.

Grumblers Are Forgetful

The Israelites grumbled because they had nothing to drink, even though God had just demonstrated His control over water by parting the Red Sea! Yet, we should be fair to the Israelites. They were not asking for luxury — only the bare necessities. Yet out of the bitterness, God made something sweet. Later, when there was no water again in chapter 17, they resorted to complaining once more. They forgot that the God who can control the water can handle their current predicament.

Grumblers Have a Warped View of the World

In chapter 16, the Israelites’ forgetfulness and hunger led to a warped view of the world. They forgot God but remembered the place of their enslavement! They trusted Pharaoh as a better provider than God. Their view was so twisted by what they lacked that they believed they had only been delivered to death. But God did not leave them in their hunger; He brought them bread and meat.

Grumblers Don’t Follow Instructions

God delivered the Israelites to a life of listening, trust, and obedience. His commands for them were not burdensome — He told them to gather food they had not earned and to rest on the seventh day! Still, they refused to obey. They tried to keep manna for the morning when He had forbidden this. As a result, their food stank and was filled with worms, demonstrating what disobedience does.

Grumblers Don’t Know How To Keep Time

The Israelites tried to gather food on the Sabbath when they were called to rest. They trusted in themselves to provide and refused to relinquish their illusion of control. They did not listen to the way the Maker of time had instructed them to keep time. We need to realize that we are utterly dependent on the Lord.

Grumblers Are Experts at Testing God

Israel has been testing God this whole time. The Lord is absolutely fit to test us, but we are not fit to test Him. We are dust, and who is dust to question the Lord? The Lord had actually been testing Israel all along, and these tests had revealed that they were a group of grumblers. All of their complaints arose from their lack of trust in God.

Good News for the Grumbler

After all that grumbling and doubting, we would think God would leave the Israelites to fend for themselves. Instead, we find a loving, patient God who hears, instructs, and even fights for His people.

Do you see a grumbler in yourself? God knows all our needs, and He meets our grumblings with grace. Jesus has given Himself to us to quench our thirsts and satisfy our hunger.

Grumbling is the sound of unbelief, but gratitude is the sound of faith. Let’s stop our complaining and thank the Lord today!

Chapel Recap: Where God Guides, He Provides

Today in chapel, SGA Chaplain Ethan Foster continued his Genesis series with a message titled “God’s Glory Going Global.” Drawing from Genesis 12, Ethan explored God’s call to Abram, Abram’s obedience, and God’s faithfulness.

Foster began by diving into Genesis 12:1–3, where God calls Abram to leave his country and go to a land He would show him. God establishes the Abrahamic Covenant in these verses, which includes four key promises: a people, a land, a nation, and a blessing. Through these promises, Foster explained, God revealed His plan to bless the whole world through Abram’s faith and obedience.

Next, in verses 4–9, Foster highlighted Abram’s immediate response: obedience. “God was guiding Abram by faith,” he said. Abram didn’t know where he was going, but he trusted the One who was leading him. This kind of faith — trusting God even when the path is unclear — is what glorifies God most. “God calls His people to go even where they don’t know,” Ethan reminded the audience, “because where God guides, He provides.”

The final section, verses 10–20, reveals God’s faithfulness. Even when Abram had immense fear in Egypt, God remained true to His promises, blessing Abram and protecting him from Pharaoh’s power. Ethan emphasized that “what God has promised to us, He will do.” God’s covenant faithfulness does not depend on human perfection but on His unchanging character.

From Abram’s story, Ethan drew a clear application for believers today: God calls His people to faith and dependence that glorify Him. We are invited to trust His guidance and seek His direction through His Word and prayer. Faith that glorifies God is faith that clings to Him even when we can’t see the outcome.

“Where God guides, He provides,” Ethan repeated in closing. God’s call may lead us into the unknown, but His faithfulness guarantees we’ll never walk alone.

Just as a nuclear bomb causes great destruction through one tiny particle, our tongues have incredibly destructive power. In James 3:5–12, we are called to be marked by a transformed tongue through Christ’s power.

The Problem of the Tongue

The tongue causes outward destruction when you speak hurtful words to friends, family members, and classmates. It creates worlds of unrighteousness. Words can take you places and create images that seem so real. If every word you have spoken was laid out today for you to see, what worlds would they create? Would your words get justification or condemnation?

The tongue also causes inward contamination, bringing guilt, shame, brokenness, and lasting pain. We gossip, spreading unfavorable information about someone else. We slander, making a false statement about someone else to hurt their reputation (for example, assigning motives to why someone did what they did). We lie in moments when we want to exaggerate or omit the truth. We boast, ridicule, and use sarcasm or empty flattery. We do all these things to try to make ourselves look better and to make others look worse. But what we’re actually doing is heaping guilt on ourselves and thinking poorly of the holiness of God.

The Prognosis of the Tongue

There is no human solution to fix the tongue — just trying harder will not work. This is because the tongue speaks from what the heart wants, and our hearts are depraved. Hope cannot be found in us, but in Christ.

The Promise Greater than the Tongue

In verses 9–12, James lovingly calls out the Christians to whom he’s writing. He wants them to consider that what they say about Christ does not match what they say to each other. This is also true of us. We sing worship songs in church or chapel and then walk out and gossip, lie, or speak harshly to people made in God’s image. We have spoken the words of life in one place, but then we spread the words of destruction somewhere else. This shouldn’t be true of Christians. Change only comes from a changed heart. Our hope is in the Savior who bore our sin on the cross, exhausted God’s wrath toward it, and rose from the dead to defeat it.

The Practice for the Changed Tongue

We must stop, recognize the power of our tongues, and actively work to get rid of the destructive words. In order to speak words that honor God in the moment when we’re confronted with an opportunity to sin, we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves daily. Remind yourself that you and your tongue have been crucified and brought to new life with Christ. Transformed tongues can be used to bless others. These are real promises for us. May we speak from a changed heart, encouraging and loving one another because of what Christ has done for us!

In today's chapel message, Chris Cross began by sharing his testimony. Cross grew up in a difficult family environment, and he spent the first 20 years of his life searching for approval in relationships, athletics, alcohol, and anything else that he thought might fill his need for love. In his first year of college, God blessed him with a roommate, Brian, who loved Jesus and wanted Cross to have a relationship with Him, too. Because of Brian’s faithfulness, he accepted Christ his sophomore year.

We are all looking for identity, purpose, and value, and it’s easy to try to find that identity in things that don’t matter. We need to realize that our identity rests not in our past mistakes or in our present circumstances but in our relationship with Jesus and our daily walk with Him.

What do you want to be known as? In 1 Corinthians 4:1–5, we find that we are to be known as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Both of these roles are ones of humility and responsibility.

A Biblical Servant

We should consider who we are serving and how we are serving. The Bible tells us we should be serving Christ.

Life can be hard. Cross and his family experienced hardship through his wife’s cancer diagnosis. When we face terrible things like that, it’s easy to have a bad attitude, but no matter our current situation, we need to remember that we are serving Christ, not ourselves.

A biblical servant seeks to serve and looks for opportunities to do so. He or she doesn’t wait for recognition or a title and is faithful even in the small things. We should humbly do things we don’t like to do, even if there’s nothing in it for us.

A Biblical Steward

As stewards, we are to manage what is God’s, recognizing that we are not entitled to what we have; we are entrusted with it. A steward takes what he or she is given from God — money, relationships, and everything else — manages it, hones it, and gives it back to God. We are to use our gifts to draw ourselves and others to Christ. The measuring stick for the steward is faithfulness, not perfection.

We are approval addicts, constantly worrying about what others will think of us and believing that people would hate us if they knew who we really are. We need to realize that our identity lies not in our past mistakes; it’s in Jesus and what He did to change our lives. In verses 3–4, Paul says that God’s judgment of him is all that matters, not other people’s judgment or even his judgment of himself. In verse 5, he goes on to say that God will disclose the purposes of our hearts, from Him will we receive our commendation. That’s what truly counts.

In Mark 6:1–29, we are challenged to be faithful in the face of unbelief.

Scorned in the Synagogue (1–6)

Upon coming home to Nazareth, Jesus found the people of His hometown skeptical. They insulted him and wanted nothing to do with Him, and Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. We, too, will face the unbelief of our family and friends, and we must decide to be faithful despite it.

We also must evaluate whether we ourselves are too familiar with the Gospel. Often, when we read passages about amazing miracles, we have heard it so many times that we tune it out — we need to be amazed at what the Bible says! The Creator of the universe humbled Himself to come down to earth, experience rejection, and die for us. This is astounding, and yet we’re more interested in watching the next Instagram reel than in getting to know Him better! If we continue in this pattern, we will not be changed by the Gospel in the way that we should be.

Sent to Serve (7–13)

Jesus sent out His disciples even though He knew they would mess up. Jesus is just looking for willing vessels. You don’t need to have all the answers or a special degree. Be willing to be sent to serve others. When you’re able to do something amazing, don’t get prideful, and when you’re confronted with hostility, don’t let it bother you. They reject you because they reject Christ. Be faithful in the face of unbelief.

Slain for Speaking Truth (14–29)

John the Baptist was killed because he spoke out against Herod’s unlawful actions. He condemned Herod’s sinful behavior even though Herod was not a Jew or a Christian. In the same way, it is okay for us to speak out against things that are wrong in our secular society.

Herod’s heart was full of unbelief. He heard the Gospel gladly, and his conscience was pricked. He seemed close to the Kingdom, but he refused to accept the truth of the Gospel. He did not respond to the conviction in his conscience when he had the chance, causing it to become so calloused that his heart hardened. In Luke, we are told that Herod eventually met Jesus. But standing face to face with the Savior, he was lost for all eternity.

Application

• Have you counted the cost of discipleship? If you speak truth, you could lose your life.

• Are you too familiar with the Gospel? Be sensitive and respond when the Lord pricks your conscience.

• Will you be a Herod or a John? Herod wore rich robes, ate large meals, and lived in a palace. He had everything in this life, but nothing in the next. John wore strange clothes, ate grasshoppers, and was imprisoned. He had nothing in this life except for a clean conscience, but in the next, he had everything.

Let us be amazed by the Gospel, and may Jesus never be amazed at our unbelief!

Chapel Recap: Grace That Leads to Glory

Today in chapel, Sophomore Class Chaplain Zeke Klenzman taught from Ephesians 2, focusing his message on the call to recognize God’s grace for His glory and praise. Additionally, Klenzman wanted to answer two key questions: How and why does God enable us to take part in His mission?

Klenzman began by reminding the audience of where we were before Christ. We were spiritually dead and walking in sin, following the influence of three destructive forces: the world, Satan, and our own sinful desires. “Our God is rich in mercy and loves us with a great love,” Zeke said, quoting Paul’s words to the Ephesians. It is precisely in our helpless state that God intervened, not because of anything we did but because of who He is.

From there, Klenzman unpacked what God has done for us through Jesus. Though we were dead, God made us alive with Christ, raised us with Him from the grave, and seated us in heavenly places far above all powers and authorities. “It’s too easy to forget where we were, who God is, and what He has done,” Klenzman reminded listeners. “God has looked upon our sinful, hopeless state and has saved us through the blood of His Son, giving us every blessing in Christ and preparing for us good works to walk in.”

In verses 7–10, Paul explains that this salvation is for God’s glory and praise, demonstrating His immeasurable riches of grace. Because it is a gift, there’s no room for boasting. Everything about our salvation points back to God’s mercy, not our merit.

Klenzman then challenged us to respond to these truths by remembering God’s grace. When we regularly remind ourselves of what Christ has done, it produces humility, peace, freedom, joy, hope, and trust. “Remembering God’s grace gives you the confidence to draw near to God’s throne of grace with boldness,” Klenzman said, “not because you’ve earned it but because you don’t have to.”

He then closed with a profound reminder of our relationship to the Father through Christ: “Christ's intimate, loving relationship with the Father is now your intimate, loving relationship with the Father.”

We are saved by grace for God’s glory to join His mission in the world. Grace not only rescues us but sends us.