Chapel at Cedarville

Chapel Recap: A Life Shaped by the Gospel

In today’s chapel, Sam Allberry opened Romans 12:1–8 and centered the message on a powerful summary of the Gospel: “Christ has welcomed you.”

First, Allberry explained that you respond to the Gospel with consecration. Because of God’s mercy, you are called to offer your whole self to Him. “God doesn’t ask you to bring a sacrifice; He wants you to be one,” he said. This offering is not symbolic or occasional. It is real, total, and practical. It is worship expressed through everyday obedience. As you pursue the Lord, transformation follows. “We long for the Lord to change us,” Allberry said. Through that pursuit, your mind is renewed and your life reshaped.

Second, you respond with humility. The Gospel grounds you in truth about yourself. “It is too easy to overestimate yourself,” Allberry noted. The Gospel brings clarity; it exposes pride while also securing identity. “Don’t answer to a name God doesn’t call you,” he said. You are not defined by performance, comparison, or failure. You are called a child of God because you truly belong to Him.

Finally, you respond with service. God has not only saved you but has also designed you to serve others. Each believer has been given gifts meant to strengthen the body of Christ. “Your Christian community is strengthened when you show up,” Allberry said. Faithfulness is a part of how God builds His people.

Romans 12 reminds you that the Gospel is not just something you believe; it is something you live. Christ has welcomed you, and that welcome shapes everything — how you offer your life, how you see yourself, and how you serve others.

In Psalm 23, we’re described as sheep. Sheep are a liability. They are vulnerable and hopeless on their own. The shepherd is the protector and provider for the sheep. He is everything to them. Jesus is described as that Shepherd for us.

Our Shepherd Satisfies

David writes, “I shall not want.” David is not talking about subjectively feeling like he is safe but objectively knowing that he is safe. When we have Jesus as our Shepherd, it doesn’t mean we will have everything we want; it means we will lack nothing. Jesus’s shepherding of our souls is perfectly calibrated for our needs, and more than anything else, we need to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. To that end of becoming more like our Savior, we lack nothing.

When you have deep desires or physical needs that aren’t met, this doesn’t mean God has stopped caring for you. In times like these, we must learn to say even through tears, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” Jesus has given us every reason to trust Him. If He has laid down His life for you, can there be any way He is lacking in His care for you? He satisfies us because He gives us Himself.

Our Shepherd Restores

Sheep get themselves into trouble in many ways. We, too, are constantly getting ourselves into a spiritual mess. Our souls need to be restored. Jesus does this for us time and time again. He does not abandon you. You may think you’re too much for Jesus, but He is better at restoring than you are at needing to be restored. He is better at saving than you are at sinning. You’re not wearing Him out!

Our Shepherd Accompanies

In v. 4, the tone changes. David recognizes that there are dark places in the world. In moments of profound suffering, we know we are led by our good Shepherd. Notice that we are walking through the valley, not staying there forever. We will emerge from the hard times. There’s hope.

Also notice that David stops talking about God and begins talking to God, addressing Him directly. We can turn to our Shepherd when life is hard. He’s here for us. He is the only shepherd who knows what it’s like to be a sheep. He knows the way through the dark valley because He went through it Himself.

Our Shepherd Befriends

Jesus befriends us, hosts us, and seats us at His table. God shows wonderful hospitality by offering us a full plate with plenty to eat and drink. He invites us into His life and up to His table. He pulls us into His very heart. In the midst of an age when spiritual enemies surround us, Jesus is not embarrassed to be seen with us. He is happy to be publicly known as yours.

In other religions, people pursue goodness and mercy, but with Jesus, goodness and mercy pursue us. Let’s rest in that hope today!

Chapel Recap: Chosen to Proclaim

In today’s chapel, Sophomore Class Chaplain Zeke Klenzman preached from 1 Peter 2:9–10. The truth presented was simple: “God made us to be His people, so proclaim His excellencies and live holy for His glory.”

Klenzman began by emphasizing identity. “God has chosen us as individuals to be a part of His people,” he said, pointing to both 1 Peter 2 and Deuteronomy 7:6. If you believe in Christ, your identity is something you receive. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for His own possession. You are also a recipient of mercy, brought into relationship with God not because of your worth, but because of His grace.

“He has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light,” Klenzman reminded, quoting from 1 Peter. That transformation has a purpose. You are saved not only to belong to God, but to proclaim who He is.

Klenzman then described how to make proclaiming His excellencies practical in everyday moments. Start a conversation with someone who does not know Christ. Reach out and genuinely care about their life. Look for opportunities to share something true about the Gospel, God’s Word, or His character. Faithfulness in small moments reflects a heart that understands its identity.

He also emphasized that proclamation is not only verbal. “Keeping your conduct honorable is the way God’s people mediate God’s presence to a fallen world.” The way you live either reinforces or contradicts what you say about God.

Your identity in Christ shapes your purpose. You are chosen, set apart, and shown mercy so that your life would point others to Him.

You have been brought into the light. Now the call is to live in it and make His glory known.

Chapel Recap: Stay Awake, Stand Firm, Stay Faithful

In today’s chapel, Dr. Thomas White continued his series in Mark, preaching from Mark 13. The main idea he drew from the passage was the call to stay awake, stand firm, and stay faithful, because Jesus is coming again.

Dr. White walked through the chapter in four sections. First, stay faithful against deception (13:1–8). Jesus warns that many will come with false claims and misleading messages. The call is not to panic but to remain grounded in truth. “We don’t trust the world; we trust the Word,” Dr. White said. “The Word will last forever.”

Second, stand firm through tribulation (13:9–23). Following Jesus will bring opposition, difficulty, and even suffering. Faithfulness is proven not in ease, but in perseverance.

Third, stay hopeful by trusting the promise (13:24–31). No matter what unfolds in the world, the return of Christ is certain. “It doesn’t matter what happens,” Dr. White reminded, “Jesus is coming again.”

Finally, stay awake and live ready (13:32–37). Since the timing of Christ’s return is unknown, the call is to live with constant readiness — spiritually alert, actively faithful, and fully engaged in what God has given you to do.

Dr. White gave us clear applications:

• Be hopeful and stay anchored in the certainty of Christ’s return.
• Be discerning and keep the main thing the main thing.
• Be alert and remain spiritually awake.
• Be faithful and continue the work of advancing God’s Kingdom.

Dr. White concluded with a final call to live for God’s glory. “You have the opportunity to use your God-given gifts and your God-given passions for God’s glory for the rest of your life.”

Our phones have caused us to begin losing the battle when it comes to attention. It’s so easy to keep scrolling online. Everywhere we turn, someone is trying to claim our attention, shape our outlook, and capture our affections. As our attention scatters, it becomes harder to pray without restlessness, to look up to the Lord in worship, and to look around to others in love. Even if you think you have a handle on your online habits, they are forming your heart. If you don’t guard your heart, your heart will be invaded.

Give Your Heart (Proverbs 4:20–22)

Rather than fighting this by getting rid of our phones or deleting all our social media, we need to start with something positive. Where will you devote your attention? Who will you give your heart to?

Your heart is your innermost self, the source of your humanity. All your actions flow from it. Your life will be steered by the things your heart is paying attention to.

If we are spiritually dry and lacking in wisdom, it’s because what social media offers has no nutrition. It’s empty calories. Only when you fill your heart with God’s Word will you have something of substance to offer others. We don’t resist junk food by starving but by feeding on something better. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Guard Your Heart (v. 23)

Your heart is like a citadel — once it falls, the city is overrun, and everything is lost. All throughout church history, we hear voice after voice warning us to guard our inner selves and keep our hearts with all watchfulness. If we allow spiritual contaminants into it, it cannot remain clean.

Guide Your Heart (vv. 24–27)

Guiding your heart begins with watching your mouth. Proverbs 10:19a says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking.” Online, we are urged to express ourselves and say many words, but this will surely lead to sin.

When we don’t look at the path we’re walking on, we can easily end up caught in thorn bushes. We’re not really paying attention to where we’re walking, so we aren’t seeing the snares. We’re scrolling our lives away. We don’t have to walk like that.

Starve the algorithm by limiting its access to you. Your phone should serve you, not summon you. If scrolling is always leading you into temptation, cut it off! Fill your heart with God’s Word daily, and find friends who will walk with you. The algorithm wants to isolate you, but if you’ve been ensnared by online sins, you need people to help you get on the right path.

The only way to pull your heart away from cheap beauty is to fill it with better beauty: Scripture, Christ’s people, nature, art, old books, and worship are examples. Stop swimming in the polluted shallows and drink deeply from the living water of Jesus!

Chapel Recap: Walking the Path of Wisdom

In today’s chapel, Trevin Wax taught from Proverbs 4:10–19 to address a question that shapes everyday life: How do we know the will of God?

“We often base our identity in the choices we make,” Wax said. But Scripture invites a different approach. Instead of obsessing over getting every decision exactly right, you are called to pursue wisdom before you pursue answers (vv. 10–13). Wisdom anchors your life in God’s truth, shaping how you think, live, and choose. “When you face big decisions, know you don’t have to face them alone,” he reminded. God is present, guiding His people through His Word and His providence.

Wax offered a freeing perspective: “God’s providence is bigger than your choices.” This doesn’t minimize responsibility, but it removes the crushing pressure to control every outcome. Wax then mentions the call to believers based on that wisdom: “Go after the good and trust God with the results.”

Next, Wax warned to stay off sin’s path before it steers your steps (vv. 14–17). Avoiding sin early is far easier than trying to escape it later. Wisdom recognizes danger before it becomes destruction.

Finally, he contrasted two paths: one that brightens and one that blinds (vv. 18–19). “The beauty of wisdom is that you see reality more clearly,” Wax said. The way of wisdom is not a single leap but a step-by-step journey where each faithful step leads to greater clarity and light.

Proverbs 4 reminds us that knowing God’s will is less about finding a hidden answer and more about walking a faithful path. Pursue wisdom, avoid sin, and trust that as we walk with God, He will lead us exactly where we need to go.

Wax ended his message with a simple, but compelling question: What path are you walking today?

This morning in chapel, Andrea Griffith shared her powerful testimony of breaking free from sin and bitterness.

Griffith was raised in a very Christian environment. She looked like a good follower of Jesus on the outside, but she was a totally different person away from her family and church. When she ended up pregnant, desperate to keep her secret, she got an abortion, even though she knew it was wrong. Because of this, Griffith despised herself and went even further down the path of death.

Looking back on this time, Griffith says, “There’s a lot in Scripture where God is telling us, ‘Don’t.’ And so many times, we think that He’s trying to keep something good from us, but every time God is saying, ‘Don’t,’ He’s saying, ‘Don’t hurt yourself.’” She explains that He made us and therefore knows better than anyone else what will keep us from flourishing.

Lordship

After college, Andrea became a travelling singer with a Christian group and met true believers who looked so different from her. God opened her eyes to the depth of her sin. For the first time, she saw her heart the way a holy God had seen it the whole time, and she grieved. Although Griffith had called Jesus her Lord for years, she had never obeyed Him or turned from her sin until that day. She realized she needed to submit to Jesus’s authority. Afterward, her life totally changed, and she couldn’t get enough of reading God’s Word.

Confession

Griffith met and fell in love with a young man named Trent. As their relationship became serious, she realized she needed to confess her past sins to him. To confess is to say the same thing God says about our sin. When we confess, God floods our lives with His mercy. He loves to put the broken things back together.

Freedom

Although she had been saved, Griffith realized she was bitter at herself because of her past. She struggled with accepting God’s forgiveness. In the story of Lazarus, he was alive but bound with grave clothes that smelled of death. Jesus didn’t want him to stay bound. Jesus says the same of us: “Unbind them and let them go.” Rather than staring at our sin, we need to grab the grace that God offers us.

Gospel

The Gospel says something about our past: that our sin has been paid for. It also says something about our present: that we are being transformed into God’s image. Finally, it says something about our future: that we will spend eternity with God. Isaiah 61 talks about how God wants to exchange our ashes and mourning for beauty and healing. This is His heart for you. There is a God who came to redeem you, and He doesn’t want you to stay in your sin. If you’re wrapped up in sin, there is hope. Talk to someone. Bring your secret into the light. It is so worth it.

Chapel Recap: Worship That Flows From God’s Work

In today’s chapel, Dr. Jon Wood preached from Exodus 35–39, highlighting how the construction of the tabernacle reveals the heart of true worship.

Dr. Wood emphasized that the work described in these chapters begins with something even more important than labor — relationship. “Worship the Lord by resting in relationship with Him before laboring for Him,” Dr. Wood said. Before the people of Israel began building the tabernacle, they were reminded that God had already acted on their behalf. “Before you get to work, recognize that God has already done the work.” The same truth applies today: God is already at work through the finished work of Christ. “God is showing up in your life through the work of Christ that is already finished to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in your life.”

Dr. Wood pointed to four marks of true worship revealed in the passage. First, true worship is God-centered, keeping the Lord as the highest priority. Second, it involves wholehearted and meticulous obedience to God’s Word. The people followed God’s instructions carefully, demonstrating that genuine worship responds to God’s revealed will. Third, true worship reflects heart change and inner renewal among God’s people. Worship is not merely external activity but internal transformation. Fourth, worship includes the devotion of our giftedness, as individuals offered their skills, resources, and abilities for the work God had called them to do.

Dr. Wood also addressed an important question: What should you do after you sin? First, fix your eyes on Christ and preach the Gospel to yourself. The Savior who rescued you from sin is the same Savior who continues to hold you until He perfects you in His presence. Second, genuinely repent, turning away from sin with humility and honesty. Third, step back from your agenda and relearn God’s agenda, recognizing that faithful obedience to God’s Word must guide every step.

Exodus 35–39 ultimately reminds us that worship begins not with what we do for God but with what God has already done for us. Rest in His finished work, respond in obedience, and offer your life as an act of worship to the God who is with you, for you, and sending you.

Chapel Recap: Surrender to the King

In today’s chapel, Dr. Thomas White continued his series in Mark, walking through Mark 11:27–12:44 with a clear declaration: Jesus is the King. The central theme of Dr. White’s message is this: surrender your life to the King who gave His life.

Dr. White began by highlighting that the King holds total authority (11:27–12:12). Religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority, but their challenge only exposed their refusal to submit. Jesus’ parable of the tenants makes the truth plain: The Son has rightful authority, and rejecting Him carries serious consequences. “Submit your life to the King who holds all the authority,” Dr. White urged. “He gave His life to ransom you — to free you.” The proper response to a King like this is humility. “Humble yourself before He humbles you. Walk in humility and repentance — remain teachable.”

Next, Dr. White showed that the King defines what belongs to Him (12:13–27). When asked about paying taxes, Jesus pointed beyond politics to identity. You bear God’s image, which means your life ultimately belongs to Him. Regardless of status or background, every person has value because they are made in the image of God — and that image implies ownership.

Then, Dr. White revealed that the King calls for love that holds nothing back (12:28–37). Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength leaves no room for partial allegiance. Surrender is not fragmented; it is wholehearted.

Finally, Dr. White worked through Mark 12:38–44, in which the King exposes what surrender really looks like. The scribes sought recognition, but the widow quietly gave everything she had. True surrender is not measured by appearance but by trust and sacrifice.

Jesus is not merely a teacher to admire — He is the King to whom you must surrender. He gave His life to ransom you. The only fitting response is wholehearted devotion, humble repentance, and complete allegiance to the King who reigns.

God wants to use pure people for His mission. We seek purity to be ready to participate in that mission. In Genesis 39, Joseph provides an excellent example of how we should respond to the temptation of sexual sin.

Remember

When Potiphar’s wife asked Joseph to lie with him, Joseph responded by remembering that this was not just a sin against her or against Potiphar but primarily against God. Potiphar’s wife was likely beautiful and could probably get away with this sin, which could have made it easier for Joseph to give in. But in the moment of temptation, he remembered that God was present. Even if nobody else knew or saw, God would. His heavenly Father was watching.

Refuse

Joseph also responded by refusing. Notice that this was not just a one-time occurrence. It happened day after day. Joseph had to engage in a long, entrenched battle against temptation. Purity is not easy, but it is simple. It is accomplished by saying no to sin by the power of the Holy Spirit in you.

Run

When the biggest moment of temptation came, Joseph responded by turning and running immediately. He didn’t even stay to get his coat. There are times in life when you must stand firm and other times when you must run. The Bible commands us to flee sexual immorality. This principle applies to many other temptations besides sexual sin. Don’t place yourself in a situation where it would be easy to sin in any way.

Too often, we presume upon our purity. When temptations arise, we stay far longer than we should. This can lead to great devastation. Instead, we must get out of there. It doesn’t matter if it’s inconvenient or awkward or if we will be made fun of or thought less of. There is no price too great to pay for purity.

Respond

Because Joseph remembered, refused, and ran, he was put in prison. He likely knew there would be serious consequences, but he still chose to accept a life of serious suffering rather than giving in to sin.

Remember that you are never too far gone. There is appropriate remorse for your sin, but you must turn from guilt to the Gospel. There is no condemnation for those in Christ.

Also remember that you can’t do this on your own. Don’t believe you can achieve purity by simply trying harder. You need help. We all do. Repent and ask God to make you a pure person. Fill your mind with God’s Word. Talk to somebody if you need to. Satan loves when you keep your sin in the dark. Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”