Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary

Dr. Ernie Schmidt anchors his message in Romans 8:28 — "all things work together for good to those who love God" — and then illustrates that promise through a series of biblical narratives: Israel in the wilderness, Job, the man born blind, Lazarus, and Paul and Silas in Philippi. His aim is to show students that God's trials always serve a purpose, and that purpose is always good.

Scripture Texts

Romans 8:25-28; Deuteronomy 8:2-3; Job 1-2; John 9:1-3; John 11:1-6; Acts 16:19-31

Main Points or Ideas

• Trials teach us to know God's Word - Deuteronomy 8 records Moses reminding Israel that God led them through forty years of wilderness, allowing hunger and providing manna — unknown food, deliberately given — so they would learn that man does not live by bread alone but by every word from God's mouth. God makes his people hungry in order to create a hunger for himself and his Word. When trials come, the first place to run is Scripture.
• Trials teach us to know God personally - Job was the most godly man on earth when Satan challenged his motives before God: "Does Job serve God for nothing?" God permitted Satan to strip Job of his possessions and children, then his health. Job did not know the heavenly drama behind his suffering, but he worshiped through it — "the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." When Job's friends falsely accused him and he began to look at himself rather than God, God responded with sixty questions from the whirlwind that restored his vision. The goal of Job's suffering was a deeper, firsthand knowledge of God — and God restored him twofold.
• Trials show God to the world - Jesus's disciples assumed the man born blind was being punished for sin. Jesus corrected them: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned — but that the works of God should be revealed in him." Lazarus was allowed to die so the Son of God could be glorified through resurrection. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in Philippi — not because they did anything wrong — but at midnight they prayed and sang hymns, the prisoners listened, an earthquake opened every door, and the jailer came to faith along with his entire household. God permits suffering so that he can display himself through those who trust him.

Conclusion

Not everything that happens to believers is good — but all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Schmidt urges students to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the middle of difficult seasons, trust that God always has their best interest in view, and remember that the God who worked through Job, through Paul and Silas, and through the blind man is working in their lives right now.

Dr. Dennis Wilkening opens by talking about his Harley Pan America that he brought into chapel. He uses motorcycle safety statistics as the entry point for a message on dating.

He argues that the same way most motorcycle accidents result from ignoring basic riding principles — speed, no helmet, no endorsement — most dating disasters result from ignoring what Scripture plainly says. He presents three riding principles that map directly to biblical wisdom about relationships.

Scripture TextsHebrews 12:1-2; Matthew 13:17; Psalm 84:11; Proverbs 4:23; Jeremiah 17:9

Main Points or Ideas

• You go where your eyes go - In motorcycling, target fixation means the bike automatically steers toward whatever the rider's eyes fix on — including hazards. The same is true spiritually. Hebrews 12:2 calls believers to keep their eyes on Jesus; when Peter took his eyes off Christ and fixed them on the wind and waves, he sank. Wilkening urges students not to arrive at Bible college with their primary goal being to find a boyfriend or girlfriend. If your eyes are fixed on a person rather than on Christ, your dating life will end up a mangled wreck. Instead of concentrating on finding the right one, become the right one — cultivate a dynamic relationship with the Lord so that if God brings the right person, you are who you need to be for them.
• Don't trust your feelings - Countersteering is a motorcycle paradox: to turn left, you momentarily push the right handlebar, which leans the bike into the corner. It feels wrong, but it's the only way to navigate the corner safely. Spiritually, Matthew 13:17 reveals the same principle — feelings are the caboose, not the engine. Thoughts come first, then actions, then feelings. Students who spend all their time thinking and texting about someone will inevitably develop deep feelings for that person, and by the time others can see the relationship is a bad idea, the feelings are so engaged that wise counsel bounces off. Commit to following the Word of God before feelings get engaged, because once they do, it will be very hard to make a wise decision.
• Slow down - In motorcycling, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast" — slowing down in a corner gives maximum traction and a clean exit, setting up the straightaway. Rushing a corner costs traction and causes crashes. Wilkening commends students for a slower start to the year — building friendships rather than immediately pairing off. Psalm 84:11 promises that no good thing will God withhold from those who walk uprightly; if a relationship is God's will, he is not going to let it slip away because a student waited. Friendship first: grow socially, emotionally, and spiritually in genuine, selfless friendship before pursuing romance.

Conclusion

Keep your eyes on Jesus, trust the Word over your feelings, and slow down. Dr. Wilkening reminds students that once they are in a relationship, they are no longer solo riders. What they do affects the person riding with them. Build the fundamentals now, and God can be trusted to do only good in his timing.

Dr. Marty Herron opens by connecting Dr. Seuss's final book — Oh, the Places You'll Go — to the reality that the quality of a student's life is largely shaped by the decisions they make. With a church fair coming the next day, he focuses specifically on one of the most important early decisions students will make: choosing a local church to commit to for the school year.

Scripture Text

Ephesians 4:12-16

Main Points or Ideas

• What to look for: the DNA of a healthy church - Drawing from Ephesians 4 and Paul's pastoral letters to Timothy at Ephesus, Herron argues that students should seek a church with healthy DNA — not just any church that resembles their home church, but one that is genuinely growing and functioning the way Scripture describes. He identifies three components of that DNA. The D is doctrine — sound, healthy theology that gives stability and equips believers to recognize counterfeits. The N is nature — the church's polity and traditions that shape how it functions and does business (pastor-led, deacon-managed, congregationally-supported in the Baptist framework). The A is atmosphere — the spirit of the congregation, which is sensed within minutes: lowliness, meekness, long-suffering, kindness, and love.
• Five pro tips for choosing a church - Herron offers five practical handles for church selection. First, explore the options — don't settle on the first church visited, and use the church fair as a starting point rather than a final decision. Second, seek wise counsel — talk to parents, home pastors, and godly mentors, because church selection is a spiritual decision, not merely a personal preference. Third, find a need and fill it — ask not what the church can do for you but what you can do for the church. Fourth, choose prayerfully — don't base the decision on convenience, friendship, music style, or building size. Fifth, commit and serve wholeheartedly — once a church is chosen, build relationships, be faithful, volunteer, and treat the church as the ministry laboratory it is meant to be.

Conclusion

Dr. Herron closes with the image of Captain James Cook navigating uncharted Pacific waters — always asking where he was, where he was going, and how the pieces fit together. Students are on their own navigation journey, and the church they choose will become their spiritual home, ministry laboratory, and one of the greatest influences on their lives during these college years. Choose wisely.

Dr. Jim Tillotson opens with his personal testimony of growing up in a Christian home, attending Christian school, memorizing Scripture, and yet not being saved until age nineteen at a Christian college. He argues that every year at least one student at Faith Baptist Bible College is in that same position — and this message exists to make sure no one goes through the semester uncertain about their eternal destiny.

Scripture Texts

Hebrews 9:24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Ezekiel 18:21-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Main Points or Ideas

• This appointment will be kept - Hebrews 9:27 declares it is appointed for men to die once. Death has no cure and no respecter of persons — college students, newlyweds, and the healthy all die unexpectedly. There is no thirty-minute warning, no second chance after death, and no loophole. The person who plans to get right with God before they die is banking on an opportunity that may never come.
• A judgment will happen - Every person will stand before God in judgment, but there are two distinct judgments. Believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, where not their sins but their works will be tested by fire — gold, silver, and precious stones endure; wood, hay, and straw do not. Unbelievers will stand before the Great White Throne, where anyone not found in the Book of Life is cast into the lake of fire. Tillotson paints a vivid picture of the horror of hell — drawn from Scripture's own descriptions — and presses the point that Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible, and that lost people all around us are headed there.
• The good news: substitutionary atonement - Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28). He took our place. When God forgives, he buries sin in the depths of the sea and removes it as far as the east is from the west — complete and total forgiveness, never to be remembered again (Ezekiel 18:21-22). For those already saved but carrying guilt, 1 Corinthians 6:11 is the word: "Such were some of you — but you are washed, sanctified, and justified." God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; his plea is simply, "Repent and live."
• Salvation is a personal choice - Getting saved requires three things: knowing you are a sinner and being sorry, believing Jesus died and rose again, and repenting — being done doing it your way. The third is where most people stall. Tillotson closes by distinguishing true saving faith from the devil's acknowledgment of the facts, and calls each student to make it personal: this cannot be your parents' God or your pastor's God. It must be yours.

Conclusion

Dr. Jim challenges believers to ask whether they are building gold, silver, and precious stones — or wood, hay, and straw — and invites anyone unsure of their salvation to talk to student life that day. He closes with the urgency of the gospel: every person in the room will influence people for eternity, and how they choose to live this semester matters far more than they know.

Dr. Jim Tillotson follows up the previous day's message on working together with a direct, pastoral address on moral purity. He opens by noting that sexual sin — pornography, premarital sex, and adultery — is the common cold of Christian colleges and churches, and that Samson, Solomon, and David all fell to it. His aim is both to warn and to offer genuine hope for those who are willing to confess and seek help.

Scripture Text

Proverbs 5:1-14; Proverbs 28:13-14; James 5:16; Matthew 5:27-28

Main Points or Ideas

• Sweet pain (Proverbs 5:1-6) - Sexual sin is alluring at first — honey on the lips, smooth as oil — but ends in bitterness, destruction, and death. The Book of Proverbs consistently calls believers to look down the road at where a path leads before taking it. Satan never lets the person being enticed think about consequences. Pornography is uniquely dangerous because it is free, invisible to others for a long time, and deeply addictive — but it destroys the ability to relate normally to a future spouse and always surfaces eventually, causing devastating pain to everyone involved.
• A terrible cost (Proverbs 5:7-14) - Four consequences await those who ignore this warning: dishonor (a ruined reputation and the disillusionment of those who trusted you, illustrated by Philip Yancey's public confession of an eight-year affair); vulnerability to cruel exploitation (blackmail and manipulation); financial ruin; and the physical and relational consequences of sexually transmitted disease. The bitter cry of verse 12 — "How I have hated instruction and my heart despised correction" — is the testimony of those who heard truth and chose to harden their hearts against it.
• The path to victory: confess and forsake - Proverbs 28:13 promises that covering sin leads to no prosperity, but confessing and forsaking it brings mercy. Victory over sexual sin is rarely achieved alone — James 5:16 calls believers to confess to one another and pray for one another so they may be healed. Tillotson urges students to put filters on their devices, to tell their parents, and to seek help from student life — assuring them that confession will not result in dismissal but in care. What you uncover, God will cover; what you hide, God will uncover, and it will be painful.

Conclusion

Dr. Jim closes by urging students not to let the beginning of the school year pass without getting right in this area. God forgives and restores — but the time to act is now, while hearts are still soft, before the hardening of verse 14 sets in and ruin becomes the only outcome.

Title

Working Together

Introduction

Dr. Jim Tillotson opens the new school year with the campus theme — "Together: At Home and At Church" — drawn from Philippians 1:27-28. He argues that living worthy of the gospel and striving together in unity are not separate commands but two sides of the same coin, and challenges both returning upperclassmen and incoming freshmen to make both a priority from day one.

Scripture Texts

Philippians 1:27-28; Philippians 2:1-4; Ephesians 4:1-3; John 13:34-35

Main Points or Ideas

• Live worthy of the gospel (v. 27a) - The Greek word for "conduct" in verse 27 is the word for being a good citizen — the kind of devoted, reputation-protecting loyalty that citizens of the Roman colony of Philippi gave to Rome. Paul calls believers to that same wholehearted devotion to Christ. Tillotson presses the point practically: spiritual hypocrisy — hiding sin while appearing faithful in chapel and class — discredits the gospel and gives unbelievers no reason to believe. Don't get good at hiding sin; get good at confessing it. He extends an open-door offer to any student struggling with pornography, alcohol, or moral impurity to seek help without fear of dismissal within the first two weeks of the semester.

• Stand fast in one spirit (v. 27b) - The image is of standing steadfastly on a hill, holding ground against everyone trying to knock you off — standing for God and against Satan, for what is right and against sin. Unity among believers is critical to God; discord is one of the things he hates most (Proverbs 6). Satan will attack the unity of a Christian college just as he does a church or a marriage, and students must decide from the beginning to defend it. Different isn't bad — it's just different. Roommate tensions, temperature disagreements, and schedule conflicts are early training grounds for the greater unity the gospel demands.

• Strive together for the gospel (v. 27c) - The word "striving together" comes from a Greek athletic compound — competing in a contest as a team. Tillotson illustrates this with five marks of a good teammate: encourage those around you; make "us" more important than "me"; recognize that every position is important; do what is best for the team; and listen to the coach. The point of all this unity is not community for its own sake — it is so the gospel can go forward. Eternity looks different when believers truly work together.

Conclusion

Dr. Jim closes by calling students to resist Satan's inevitable attacks on campus unity this year — to work things out with roommates, confess hidden sin, and strive together so the gospel can advance. If they do not learn to work together now, marriage and ministry will be much harder. The stakes are eternal.

Dr. Jim Tillotson delivers the final chapel message of the school year, framing his message around "last words" — what Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, and Peter all emphasized at the end: don't forget what God has done, and don't stop pursuing Christ. He uses 1 Corinthians 3 as the scaffold for three final challenges to the student body before they leave for summer.

Scripture Texts

1 Corinthians 3; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 15:57-58; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Main Points or Ideas

• Don't settle for carnal Christianity (vv. 1-4) - Paul could not address the Corinthians as spiritual because envy, strife, and divisions marked them as carnal — still on milk rather than solid food. Dr. Jim warns that carnality corrupts morals, poisons personal relationships, produces spiritual doubt, and destroys the prayer life. Whatever a student is battling — pornography, unresolved sin, divided loyalties — this is the moment to deal with it. Waiting makes it harder. God cares more about godliness than giftedness.

• Invest in eternity (vv. 10-17) - The foundation is Christ, but what each person builds on that foundation will be tested by fire at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). Every Christian builds with something — wood, hay, and stubble, or gold, silver, and precious stones. The materials are determined by motives, conduct, and service. Tillotson challenges students to consider what will remain when the fire comes: a life of pouring into people, pointing them to Christ, and living for God's glory produces the gold that endures.

• Stay connected to the Word (vv. 18-23) - In a culture that will pressure students from every direction, the anchor is the Word of God. Dr. Jim cites the testimony of Bob Roberts — who wept in his office describing how his devotional life has been transformed in the shadow of terminal cancer — as a picture of what it looks like to be fully tethered to Christ. The call from 1 Corinthians 15:58 applies: be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because your labor in him is not in vain.

Conclusion

Dr. Jim closes by expressing his conviction that the students in the room will have a significant impact on the world — if they keep their focus where God intends. He urges them to go where the Word takes them, be mirrors not sponges, and make sure Christ remains the central part of whatever comes next.

Bob Roberts continues his walk through the Sermon on the Mount by zeroing in on Matthew 6:19-34, connecting Jesus's teaching on treasure, the single eye, and serving two masters to the command not to worry. He argues that worry is not neutral — it reveals divided allegiance — and that Jesus addresses anxiety not with guilt but with two concrete, creation-based illustrations of the Father's care.

Scripture Texts

Matthew 6:19-34; 1 Thessalonians 3:7-10

Main Points or Ideas

• Worry reveals divided allegiance - Jesus's teaching on treasure and two masters sets the stage: you cannot serve God and wealth, and worry is the visible flag of misplaced trust. Roberts defines worry from the Greek merimnao as a mind divided or torn apart — a soul preoccupied with future uncertainties in a way that reveals it is not fully under the reign of King Jesus. Just as worry strangled the word in the parable of the thorns (Matthew 13:22), it slowly suffocates the soul and cripples the ability to draw near to God.

• Consider the birds (vv. 26-27) - Jesus does not meet worry with lecture but with a theological experiment: go look at the birds. They do not sow, reap, or store, yet the Father feeds them. Using the ancient rabbinical technique of moving from light to heavy, Roberts unpacks this: if God tends to sparrows so carefully that not one falls without the Father's notice, and if the very hairs of your head are numbered, then you — who are of far greater value than birds — are held in that same detailed, personal care.

• Consider the wildflowers (vv. 28-30) - Solomon's legendary glory does not surpass the beauty God freely gives to field flowers that neither labor nor spin. If the Father adorns the grass of the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow — with beauty that outshines the wealthiest king in history, how much more will he clothe his children? Roberts connects this personally to his cancer journey: God has not always said yes to healing, but he has given grace-gifts along the way that affirm his care, and the student who wants to fight worry must learn to watch for those gifts with open eyes.

• A call to growing faith - Roberts closes by identifying the crowd as "O ye of little faith" — not a condemnation, but a corrective. Faith is real but underdeveloped, sporadic, gapped like an unfinished Tetris board. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 3, he notes that Paul rejoiced over believers' faith while simultaneously praying night and day to perfect what was lacking in it. Roberts invites students to join the honest club of little faith, ask God for more, and keep leaning into the Father's care as the only cure for a divided, anxious soul.

Conclusion

The antidote to worry is not willpower but growing faith — faith that looks at circumstances through God rather than at God through circumstances. Roberts calls students to listen to the birds, look at the wildflowers, remember the provision they have already seen, and trust that the same Father who clothes the field and feeds the sparrow has them securely in his care.

Bob Roberts opens by sharing that he is living with stage four terminal cancer and has been living in the Sermon on the Mount for the past year and a half. He introduces three foundational axioms about the Sermon on the Mount before zeroing in on Matthew 5:13-16, arguing that the central theme of salt and light is influence — and that the most powerful influence comes not from strength but from weakness made radiant by God's grace.

Scripture Text

Matthew 5:13-16; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; John 9:5

Main Points or Ideas

• Salt: God's covenant agents of healing in a broken world - Roberts unpacks salt through three lenses. Culturally, salt was precious, life-sustaining, and the basis of the Roman soldier's pay — it represented what was valuable and necessary. Covenantally, Leviticus 2:13 linked salt with God's covenant offerings, so a Jewish audience would hear Jesus calling them to represent God's faithful covenant presence in the world. Typologically, Elisha's purification of the spring with salt (2 Kings 2) points to believers as God's agents of healing — not with physical power, but carrying the eternal gospel hope that is the only remedy for a broken world.

• Light: Christians as moving intersections of heaven and earth - Roberts traces the word "Christ" back through Christos (Greek), Messiah (Hebrew), and anointed one — the one smeared with oil, signifying where heaven meets earth. If Christians are "little Christs," they are roving intersections of heaven and earth wherever they go. Jesus said he is the light of the world while in it, and then told his disciples they are the light. The call of verse 16 — to let light shine so others glorify the Father — means being mirrors that reflect glory upward, not sponges that absorb it.

• Weakness is the vehicle for God's influence - Roberts draws on his own cancer diagnosis, terminal prognosis, and unexpected extension of life to illustrate 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Paul's thorn was not an obstacle to ministry but the very vehicle for it — and Roberts finds the same to be true of cancer. A twenty-minute Facebook video about suffering and faith reached seventy thousand people. His podcast, Dead Man Talking, became the voice of a woman dying of brain cancer who could no longer speak. The very weapon the enemy intended for destruction became the means of God's glory. Every person in the room has weaknesses, and those weaknesses may be exactly what God wants to use.

ConclusionRoberts closes by calling students to stop trying to eradicate their weaknesses and instead consider that God may want to do his most significant work through them — not to make them famous, but to make King Jesus famous. The goal is to be a mirror, directing every gaze back to the Father in heaven.

Treg Spicer opens with the language of sports — knockouts, tapping out, and throwing in the towel — to introduce the real concern behind his message: not that students will quit this semester, but that they will throw in the towel spiritually once they leave campus for the summer and no one is watching. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 4, he presents four commitments that, if neglected, will lead to losing heart.

Scripture Text

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Main Points or Ideas

• Continue in the Word of God (vv. 2, 16) - Paul's inward man is renewed day by day, and that renewal comes through the Word. Spicer warns that the Bible easily becomes a tool for grades rather than a source of personal nourishment. Students must make the Word a priority, keep it personal — asking when God last spoke to them through it — and remember its power. Screen time that far outpaces Bible reading reveals misaligned priorities. The Word guides, keeps from sin, and equips the servant of God for every good work.

• Carry on the Commission (vv. 3-6) - The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, and students are heading into workplaces where most of their coworkers do not know Christ. Spicer challenges them to be intentional — sharing the gospel in conversation, serving faithfully so the light of Christ shines through their work ethic, and not being a sponge all summer but being squeezed, taking what they have learned and giving it out.

• Be Controlled by the Spirit of God (v. 7) - The treasure of the gospel is in jars of clay so that the power is clearly God's and not ours. Spicer uses Samson and the long list of fallen ministers to illustrate what happens when the Spirit is quenched rather than obeyed. Yielding to the Spirit's leading — even in small, socially costly moments — is what distinguishes a consistent walk from one that collapses under pressure.

• Consider the Eternal (vv. 16-18) - Paul calls his sufferings — beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment — light and momentary. Spicer shares the unexpected death of his father and the weight of ministry attacks to show what this costs in real life. But fixing eyes on the eternal weight of glory rather than on temporary affliction is the only way to keep from quitting when circumstances are hardest.

Conclusion

Spicer closes by urging students not to tap out this summer — not from the Word, not from the mission, not from the Spirit's control, and not from an eternal perspective. The calling they have received is worth finishing, and the God who gave it will sustain them through it.