Chapel at Cedarville

This morning, Dr. Kevin Jones, Dean of the School of Education and Social Work at Cedarville University, preached on 1 John 2, reminding us to love not only in word but also in deed.

Love Is Not a New Command

John cares deeply for his readers and wants them to know that love is not a new command; it is the mark of an old faith. Christianity isn’t just about following a set of rules; it’s about becoming a new person in Christ, and that happens through love. Love for Jesus changes how we treat people.

When John said that “the darkness is passing away,” he was saying he remembered what life was like before and after Jesus stepped on the scene. Every time he watched Jesus perform a miracle, he saw the darkness fade away and the light begin to shine.

Your Love for People Reveals Whether You Are Walking in the Light

John says that whoever hates his brother is walking in the darkness, no matter how much he claims to be in the light. Saying you love people isn’t enough; you must demonstrate it through your actions.

Cain hated Abel so much that he murdered him. Don’t hate people because they offer the Lord a better sacrifice than you. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit. Don’t hate people because the Lord has given them good gifts and not gifted you in the same way. Jeremiah’s audience hated him because he prophesied God’s words to them. Don’t hate people because they proclaim the Lord’s good truth to you.

Who are you avoiding? Who are you secretly jealous of? Who have you decided never to forgive? How do you treat people who cannot benefit you? How do you show love one to another? Your lip service means nothing; show them you love them!

Love Moves You Towards People Rather Than Away From Them

Jesus constantly moved towards people rather than away from them. He demonstrated His love for us by moving from heaven to earth, where He would dwell with us and eventually die for us. He did this not when we were perfect but when we were still running from Him. Will you love a community that is dead in their sins? Will you move close to the brokenhearted?

John says that whoever loves his brother abides in the light. Love means choosing forgiveness over bitterness, encouragement over tearing down, generosity over selfishness, reconciliation over avoidance, and humility over pride. It means seeing every person as an image-bearer.

Hatred Makes You Stumble in the Darkness

When you choose hatred, you are destroying yourself as well as hurting the other person. Nothing in life is clear when we harbor hate and refuse to love others. You cannot claim to walk in God’s light while deliberately refusing to love those made in God’s image.

If you are a child of God, His love is already in you. Let’s show that love to everyone around us!

Proclaim Christ Boldly as a Joyful Captive of God

Today in chapel, SGA Chaplain Landon Heft continued the SGA series through 2 Corinthians, speaking from 2 Corinthians 2:12–17 about how we must "proclaim Christ boldly as joyful captives of God."

Captives in a Triumphal Procession

Heft began by addressing Paul's choices in Troas. Despite the door being open for Paul to preach, he did not. Heft urged us to receive this as encouragement, not to always enter or avoid open doors, but to know that no matter what decisions we make, God is still sovereign and is using us for His purpose.

Heft also challenged us to think of ourselves as captives of Christ, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14. We should be joyful captives, because there is no better Master in the universe than God. Joyfully serving God as servants is our ultimate calling.

The Aroma of Christ

We are called as captives of Christ to spread His fragrance everywhere. The aroma is pleasing to God. Like how Christ’s sacrifice pleased God, living our lives to reflect Him pleases God as well.

When we show Christ's love to the world, our ultimate job is not to make others be like us or even like Christ. Our goal is to please God with the aroma of His Son's love. Others are only secondary audiences.

How Do We Speak?

Our goal being to delight God, we must be mindful of how we proclaim the Gospel and embody the aroma of Christ. We must speak sincerely. We do not peddle or twist the Gospel, and we do not rely on earthly wisdom but on the wisdom of God. We are commissioned captives, coming from God and speaking before God. Heft emphasized that our aroma may not be loved by everyone, but as captives of Christ, we only need the love of our Master, God.

This morning in chapel, Garrett Kell, Lead Pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church, preached through the book of Jonah and discussed anger at God.

An Angry Prayer

When God showed mercy to the repentant Ninevites, Jonah prayed in anger. The Lord agreed with him that their actions were exceedingly wicked, but He is also exceedingly merciful. That was Jonah’s problem with God — he didn’t like how God acted when it came to forgiveness.

God’s forgiveness never comes without justice. He does not forgive just because He’s nice. All evil will be paid for in full, either in an eternal hell or on the cross, where Christ took the penalty for sinners who would repent and believe.

Sometimes you won’t like how God is running the universe. There are many wonderful things in life, but there are also many sorrows. We should never be angry at God, but we should also tell Him when we are. God understands grief, and He wants us to bring it to Him.

But lamenting before God is not the same as lashing out before God. Jonah was pridefully exploding in fury in the face of God. This was wrong, but God showed Jonah the same mercy and steadfast love that Jonah was so angry about.

An Appointed Providence

Nothing happens by accident in God’s universe. He is sovereign over everything, which He demonstrated by appointing the plant to grow over Jonah to save him from discomfort. When God’s sovereign grace was extended to Jonah, Jonah was happy about it, but he didn’t want it to be extended to those he saw as less worthy. God brought discipline to Jonah to expose his heart.

A grumbling heart protests against God’s providence in your life. Our circumstances force us to wrestle with what we actually think about God. If you’re His child, He is committed to forming Christ in you. This means He uses circumstances to purify your faith as you trust in His understanding.

Jonah needed to die to his desire for control. He needed to surrender to a God who is good and whose ways are above our ways.

By showing Jonah that he liked when God saved him and showed him mercy, God asked Jonah to look deeply at His good character. God sees suffering and draws near. He shows His love not always by keeping you from suffering but by enduring it Himself and walking with you through it. The way to overcome anger at God is to embrace the goodness of God. Your lifeline is to stare at Christ and to see that when the world doesn’t make sense, He who gave us His only Son will also give us all things. When His wisdom is unveiled, we will praise Him for it.

Do not be angry. Look to the mercy of God and allow your heart to be melted by undeserved grace.

God Loves the Lost and He Seeks to Save Them 

Today's chapel speaker was, Pastor Garrett Kell, Lead Pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. He taught from Luke 15 on God's relationship with sinners in light of the parables of the lost sheep, the silver coin, and the prodigal son. 

The Sheep and the Coin 

From the story of the shepherd seeking the lost sheep, Pastor Kell emphasized the vulnerability of sheep and their inability to defend themselves. He reminded us how heaven rejoices more over the salvation of one sinner than 99 righteous people. From the parable of the silver coin, he shares how joyous God is when sinners are saved. Using these two stories, Kell reminded us how God searches for the sinner, and how heaven celebrates when sinners are found. 

The Lost Son's Sin 

Pastor Kell spent the most time on the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–31. By asking for his inheritance early, the young son insults his father and rebels, leaving to live in absolute sin. Kell reminded us, "If you want sin, it's right there ... Satan is always eager and ready to provide a way of temptation into it.” People can see religion and God as "stifling" their fun or way of life. Kell compared parts of his own testimony to the son’s indulgence, warning against the false freedom and masks which sin offers. Sin will corrode your identity and loosen your grip on reality. Eventually, though, you will realize the high cost of sin upon your life. 

The "Gracious Wrecking of God" 

Pastor Kell asked us to consider the perspective of the father, who saw his child fall apart and fall into sin. When the cost of your sins finally brings you to your lowest point, you look for God again. God lets you learn the cost of your sins by allowing you to choose your own fate — Pastor Kell called this "having a big glass of what you want ... and seeing where it leads." Sin steals everything from you, but God's commandments provide joy. 

God Invites Us Back 

After everything, the father invites the son back the same way God invites you back from your sinful pattern of life. God's heart is filled with mercy; He will always invite you home. No amount of guilt will stop God from searching for you. You will always be God's child, whether you are like the younger son, returning from rebellion, or the older son, who never left God but lost sight of the relationship in favor of the reward. God does not give sinners what they deserve, because He is loving and filled with mercy. 

Application 

Pastor Kell teaches about God's relationship with the lost. He reminds us that no matter what, God searches for the lost sheep, coin, and son — God searches for us. 

1. Do you let sin, or guilt over past sin, stop you from coming home to God? 
2. Pastor Kell tells us about the “gracious wrecking of God.” How can your lowest points draw you closer to God? Have your past lows motivated you to return home to Him? 
3. Remember this week that “No matter what you’ve done, the Father loves to give mercy to you.” 

This morning in chapel, Dr. Thomas White, President of Cedarville University, preached through Job 38–42. In this passage, confused at why God was allowing his suffering, Job demanded a legal hearing from God. But he ultimately repented, realizing how small and clueless he was compared to God.

This passage applies to us as well. We may not understand what God is doing, but we can always trust who God is: sovereign, wise, compassionate, and merciful.

God’s Knowledge Is Perfect (Job 38–39)

Job tried to make God seem unjust in order to justify himself. In response, God reminded Job that he wasn’t there when God created the world. Job didn’t know how God controlled the sea or made the sun come up. He couldn’t comprehend death. God went from rain to snow to grass to ice to stars to clouds, reminding Job that he had no idea how any of creation was formed or upheld.

All these things are true of us too. God is God, and we are not. He knows better than us, having ultimate wisdom. How dare we fight against Him and say we want our own way? Instead, we must recognize the compassion, goodness, and mercy of God and lean into the way He has commanded us to live.

God’s Power Is Supreme (Job 40–41)

In these chapters, God reminded Job that he could not rule the universe, save himself, or control the wild beasts. Neither can we — we don’t have infinite knowledge or infinite power like God does.

God’s Goodness Is Personal (Job 42:3–5)

God did not have to respond to Job’s uneducated questions, but He cared enough to mercifully do so anyway. He revealed Himself to Job, demonstrating His goodness and compassion.

God’s knowledge is perfect, so trust His wisdom when you don’t understand. God’s power is supreme, so trust His power when life feels out of control. God’s goodness is personal, so trust His goodness when suffering is unexplained. God is faithful, and we can trust Him.

Embrace Your Freedom

Today in chapel, Dr. Garrett Higbee, President and Founder of Twelve Stones Ministries in Westfield, Indiana, taught from Galatians 5:1–13 about freedom.

Two Counterfeit Freedoms: Legalism and Licentiousness

Dr. Higbee began by defining the two “counterfeit” freedoms Christians fall into.

The first, licentiousness, Dr. Higbee calls “grace taken for granted.” The freedom which the world often subscribes to, licentiousness centers around self-indulgence, lack of accountability, and seeking the best for yourself in the moment. Some Christians disregard walking with God because they know they will be forgiven no matter how they sin, and as a result, licentiousness enslaves them to idols. Functionally, they declare themselves their own God.

The second, legalism, Dr. Higbee describes as “grace earned by works.” Legalism stems from believing that if you try hard enough, you can “earn” love, worthiness, and righteousness. Legalistic Christians focus on checking boxes. Legalism is hard to spot, because it can look like sanctification instead of the bondage it truly is.

Freed for Freedom’s Sake

Freedom is a gift we can never pay back; we can only pay it forward. Our purpose is not to prove ourselves to God after we are freed, but to delight and abide in Christ. Dr. Higbee explained that the “circumcision” addressed in Galatians 5:6 refers to “anything you do outwardly to make yourself feel superior, prove your righteousness, or earn God’s love.” Our efforts to please God must be out of gratitude and love, not a need to “earn” grace or pay God back. Rather than using our freedom to reimburse grace, we are called to enjoy it while serving and guiding others to God’s priceless grace.

Application

Dr. Higbee asked us to examine how we look at our freedom and how we try to “pay” for grace.

1. Do you tend towards licentiousness, legalism, or a healthy view of freedom?
2. Do you feel the need to “pay back” God’s grace through following rules or customs? How can you refocus on paying it forward by loving others?
3. Remember that God loves effort stemming from gratitude. Reflect on what God has given you with no expectation of a return, and practice gratitude instead of gift guilt.

In today’s chapel, Dr. Mike Kwiatkowski, Lead Pastor at Mercy Hill Church, explained three qualities we must cultivate to maintain unity.

Gentleness

Sometimes the word “gentleness” is translated as “meekness,” which is wrongly associated with weakness. Meekness refers to power under control; it means you restrain how you act.

Christ is the ultimate example of this. In Matthew 26:52–54, when Peter drew his sword to defeat Jesus’s enemies, Jesus commanded him to put it back in its place. He knew He had the authority to summon a multitude of angels to destroy the opposition, yet He didn’t. While He had the power, He restrained it so He could bring peace to sinners. We must have the same type of gentleness.

Gentleness stops the fight before it gets started. It cools things down before they are set ablaze. While humility is viewing others as more important than yourself, gentleness is showing that they are more important. Ask yourself, “When I enter into a relationship with someone, does it bring them conflict and division, or does it bring them rest?”

Patience

The word “patience” could perhaps be better translated as “longsuffering.” Longsuffering is being placed in a situation where we suffer for a long time. Patience is perfected in hardships that seem to have no end in sight.

Paul is specifically talking about being patient with difficult, aggravating people. We were these people before we came to Christ. We aggravated God with our sin, doing everything we could to run from Him. Yet He was patient with us because He didn’t want us to die.

Even after salvation, God is still extraordinarily patient with us. We are new creatures with new hearts, yet we stumble many times a day. It’s easier for us to be patient with others when we are aware of the patience God has for us.

Bearing

While patience is the inward attitude toward difficult people, bearing with one another is the outward action. We are called not only to bear with people but also to bear with their sin. God’s Word calls us to truly love others from the heart as we do this. By showing forgiveness, patience, and kindness to them, we hope they will eventually overcome that sin.

The problem is that sometimes they won’t. While we shouldn’t neglect to call people to repentance, we also must realize that no one will be perfected until they get to heaven. There are some sins we will struggle with for our entire lives, and the only way to maintain unity is to bear with one another in love until that day.

You will never enter into a relationship with a perfect person. Every person you meet is a sinner, and so are you. Walking in unity with someone has more to do with your qualities than theirs. By cultivating humility, practicing gentleness, being patient with others, and bearing with them, we maintain the unity that Christ died to give us.

Humility Maintains Unity

In today’s chapel, Dr. Mike Kwiatkowski, lead teaching pastor at Mercy Hill Church in Florida, taught from Ephesians 4:1–3 on the importance of humility for living in unity with other Christians.

Two Parts of Ephesians

Dr. Kwiatkowski first provided context for the book of Ephesians, explaining that the first half of the book addresses the many blessing which make up “The Wealth of the Believer.” The second half of the book of Ephesians addresses “The Walk of the Believer,” which is the life we must live considering all God has given us.

Dr. Kwiatkowski then focused on unity, which is our calling to live in harmony with one another, and how humility helps us live in unity.

Humility is the Opposite of Pride

Dr. Kwiatkowski explained what humility is not. The opposite of humility is pride. A prideful person is easily offended, demands others honor them first, and builds barriers of anger. Their first priority is themself and their comfort.

Humility is Thinking Rightly of Ourselves

In contrast with pride, humility is thinking rightly of ourselves, not too highly or too lowly. We remember we are sinners and not perfect, but we also remember that we have been saved and are new in Christ. When we think rightly of ourselves as only good because of God’s goodness, we show true humility.

Humility is Not Thinking of Ourselves

Humility means putting Christ and His will first in everything, and the other people around us and their lives second. Practically, this looks like approaching church without a consumer mentality, assuming the best motivations of others, and asking what you can do for people and the Kingdom of God, rather than what they can do for you.

Application

Dr. Kwiatkowski summed up humility as thinking of yourself rightly, in the right order, and most importantly, not at all.

1. Do you tend to think of yourself as “more” or “less” than others? How can realizing Christ as the source of all you have received change your thinking?
2. When you walk into church or a social setting, ask yourself what you can contribute to the experience, rather than what you can take from it.
3. Pray this week for God to help you to not think of yourself but to remember the example of Christ in Philippians 2:5–8 instead.

This morning in chapel, Dr. Kevin Ezell, President of the North American Mission Board, talked about intentionally leveraging our lives for God’s glory.

Be Intentional

The Apostle Paul was very intentional with his limited time on Earth. He and his companions engaged cities and made disciples, and new churches were the result. God moved in incredible ways in these cities, but there was also a lot of pushback. Some of the most difficult times were also the times God used Paul the most. Success is found not in an easy life but in a life where God is doing amazing things despite opposition.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” The apostle believed he needed to make the most of his time and seize the opportunities God presented to him.

Expect Challenges

Paul acknowledged that there were enemies making his work more difficult. However, he saw those enemies as a reason to stay, not a reason to leave. In Mark 2, there is a story of a few men who dug through a roof so that a paralytic man could be healed by Jesus. Jesus healed the paralytic when He saw the men’s faith. They were willing to do whatever it took to heal their friend. In the same way, we need to faithfully be willing to do what needs to be done to glorify God, whatever it takes!

Be Faithful and Focused to the Finish

In Acts 20:24, Paul says he considers his life worth nothing to him on its own, only so that he could complete the task God had given him. Your life is not about you; it’s about Christ! Don’t settle for doing only the safe, comfortable things you know you can do. God often calls us to do things greater than our ability to accomplish because only He gets the glory that way.

God can and does use even the weakest, least likely people to completely change lives. Never underestimate what God can do through you. Sincerely consider how you can maximize your ministry, use your gifts, and be all that God wants you to be.

This morning in chapel, Dr. J. R. Gilhooly, Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Cedarville University, preached through 1 John 2.

Family Rules

In this passage, John addresses his readers as “my little children” because they are new in the family of God, and he’s about to give them rules. Every family has specific rules they follow. By watching the way someone acts, you can often tell what family they come from. When John tells us how to act, he’s telling us what it is to be a member of God’s family.

John is clear that he’s not saying this so you can sin. God loves you so much that He doesn’t accept you for exactly how you are. Instead, He takes you and puts you into a family with distinct rules. If someone says they follow God but doesn’t follow the family rules, it’s understandable to question if they actually belong.

Jesus Christ, Our Advocate

However, if you break the rules, it doesn’t mean you are cut off from the family. When a son is told by his father, “That’s not the way we behave in this family,” he never thinks he is no longer a part of the family. He’s just a member who is misrepresenting the family. We obey not so that we belong to the family but because we belong. When we sin, we have an Advocate — Jesus Christ — and He is the propitiation for our sins.

Growing in Maturity

In order to become part of the family, you don’t have to do a lot of difficult, complicated things. God has given a simple command: to believe and obey the Gospel. When you follow that command, you are made into a new person. You then are expected to grow.

Christian maturity is like growing from a child into an adult. You don’t find the same jokes funny anymore. You don’t spend your time the same way. And you grow in your ability to follow Christ.

Don’t think there’s an expectation that you’ll mess up a lot because you’re young. If you’re a Christian, you are to act by your Father’s name, no matter how long you’ve been saved. There’s a pattern already laid out for you to follow, and it’s not burdensome. The command He gives is simple, and the yoke He gives is light. Walk as He walked! This doesn’t mean that every decision you make will feel easy. That’s why God has given you a lot of older brothers and sisters in Christ to help you and counsel you.

So, as you follow the Father who chose you, lean into the other family members He has given you and rest in the knowledge that you belong.