Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary

Morris Gleiser spoke during chapel about the story of Peter and Jesus after Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Gleiser observes how Jesus communicates His patience, calls for priority over other things and people, and clarifies the believer’s purpose. He also observes Peter’s failure to show love for Jesus in his denial, yet how this failure was not final for him.

Scripture Text

John 21:1-17

Main Points or Ideas

• Jesus communicates patience - Peter had denied the Lord three times, and yet Jesus did not abandon him. He reinstated him publicly and in front of the other disciples — making clear that failure is not final. Gleiser applies this directly to students who feel disqualified by repeated failure or habitual sin. The Lord is not through with you. He hates the sin, but he keeps extending mercy and grace, just as a loving father never scorns a toddler who falls while learning to walk.
• Jesus calls for priority - When Jesus asks Peter "do you love me more than these?", the referent is deliberately left open — the fish and boat, the other disciples, or his love for them. The macro point is clear: do you love me more than anything, more than everything, more than everyone? Gleiser warns that believers are worshippers by nature, and an unguarded heart will drift toward idols — a relationship, a dream, technology, sports. The throne of the heart has room for only one king, and Jesus will not share it. The call is to examine what Jesus might point to in your life today and ask, "Do you love me more than that?"
• Jesus clarifies purpose - After every declaration of love from Peter, Jesus responds with the same commission: feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. If you love Jesus, the proof is pouring your life into other people. Whether a student is heading into pastoral ministry, business, medicine, law, or motherhood, the call is the same — make disciples, invest in others, show your love for Christ through your love for his people.

Conclusion

Morris Gleiser closes by inviting students to stand with Peter on the shore and honestly answer the Lord's question. Whether the need is to receive forgiveness and get back up, to clear something off the throne of the heart, or to surrender to a clearer sense of calling — the Lord's question remains: do you really love me?

Dr. Marty Herron spoke during chapel about three well-known poets in history. He looks at Shakespeare and his influence, Job and his struggles with chaos and sorrow, and Fanny Crosby. Dr. Herron observes three tools God uses: crisis, criticism, and conviction. God uses all three to reveal who He is and to draw people back to Him.

Scripture Texts

James 5:7-18; Job 1-2; 19:21; 42

Main Points or Ideas

• Shakespeare: expression in chaos - Shakespeare, the most recognized bard in English history and a contemporary of the King James Bible, did not invent human emotion — he exposed it. His works on ambition (Macbeth), indecision (Hamlet), jealousy (Othello), and broken relationships repeatedly echo the book of Job, whose imagery Shakespeare referenced directly. The take-home question: how is God calling you to shape your generation with the gifts of expression he has given you? Could your voice, writing, or creativity be God's tool to speak truth into someone else's chaos?
• Job: endurance in crisis and criticism - James 5:11 holds up Job as the gold standard of patient endurance. Job faced crisis — losing his wealth, his children, and his health while sitting on a trash heap with a hurting wife — without knowing that heavenly realities far beyond his understanding were at work. He then faced criticism from friends who offered miserable comfort in place of God's presence. Through both, God moved Job from a secondhand concept of God to a deep firsthand conviction, closing the gap between what Job had heard and what he now saw. The take-home question: could your patient endurance in the middle of criticism or correction become someone else's evidence of God's faithfulness?
• Fanny J. Crosby: limitations as launching pads - Blinded at six weeks old by medical malpractice, Fanny Crosby wrote her first poem at age eight — a declaration of contentment in God — and went on to write over eight thousand hymns. By age fifteen she had memorized the first five books of the Old Testament, the Psalms, Proverbs, and the Gospels, and was saved at thirty. The take-home question: what limitation in your life might God be turning into your greatest ministry? Could the struggle you would never choose become the platform God most uses?

Conclusion

Dr. Herron closes by weaving the three bards together: Shakespeare saw chaos on life's shifting stage, Job cried from the depths of suffering, and Fanny sang hope in the darkest night — and all three point to the same God who hovered over the chaos in Genesis 1 and who still speaks in the whirlwind today. Students are invited to steward their own gifts, endure their own storms, and trust that God prevails even now.

Dr. Jim Bennett spoke about having a historical and cultural understanding of the Bible. He looks deeper at an example of eating. He observes the Last Supper of Christ and goes deeper into the historical understanding of how the Jews ate in the time of the Roman Empire and how that had an impact on the story and eventually the Lord’s Supper.

Scripture Texts

John 13:1-30; Luke 14:7-11; Matthew 20:20-28

Main Points or Ideas

• How first-century Romans (and Jews) ate formal meals - Meals were staged social spectacles. Guests reclined on couches arranged in a U-shaped formation called the triclinium — three couches of three, with the host in the position of highest honor (A1). Guests of greater honor sat closest to the host; the best food was also distributed by proximity. Reclining meant lying on the left elbow and eating with the right hand, with feet extended behind — a detail that immediately clarifies why a woman could wash Jesus's feet at a meal without awkwardness, and why Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper painting is entirely historically inaccurate.
• Reading the Last Supper through the triclinium - Placing the seating clues from the Gospels against the triclinium arrangement reveals a vivid picture. Jesus, as host, sat at A1. John — described as leaning on Jesus's breast, a common first-century idiom for sitting beside someone — sat at A2. Peter was not close enough to ask Jesus directly who the betrayer was and had to signal John to ask, placing him somewhere at a distance. Most significantly, Judas must have been in the seat of honor (B1), close enough to receive the morsel and have his hand dipped with Jesus in the dish. The one about to betray him held the place of highest honor at the table.
• The theological payoff: the seat of honor - Bennett argues this seating arrangement is one of the most powerful object lessons in the Bible. Every person at that table was about to betray or abandon the Lord — yet Jesus placed his betrayer in the seat of honor. The Sons of Thunder, who had asked for the highest positions in the kingdom, watched their Lord wash the feet of every guest. The visual argument is clear: nothing you have done, are doing, or are thinking about doing can separate you from the love of Christ. Bennett invites every student to picture themselves in that seat of honor.

Conclusion

Thinking historically about the Bible cultivates humility before a God whose ways are beyond comprehension, builds confidence in a book that stands up to every scrutiny, and — as the Last Supper so richly illustrates — sharpens application in ways that reveal the deep character of God toward those he loves. Bennett closes by encouraging students to keep holding Scripture up like a prism and mining its riches.

Dr. Jim Bennett spoke during chapel about barriers to proper understanding in Scripture. He encourages his listeners to think historically because it cultivates humility, strengthens our faith, and sharpens our application. Dr. Bennett states strongly that believers can be extremely confident in Scripture, that it is true, historical, and able to transform.

Scripture Texts

Galatians 4:4; 1 John 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 11:33-34; Lamentations 3:22-23

Main Points or Ideas

• Thinking historically cultivates humility - Galatians 4:4 says Christ came in "the fullness of time" — the culmination of an unknowable number of related human choices and events stretching back through all of history. Only God, standing outside of time, can see the full "roaring cataract" (C.S. Lewis) of billions of moments that converge at any single point. Job and Habakkuk both pressed God with anguished questions, and both received the same answer: God's ways are too vast and complex to be comprehended by finite minds. Understanding this frees believers from the paralysis of trying to figure God out, replacing bitterness and doubt with the embrace of his promises, his presence, and his faithfulness.
• Thinking historically strengthens faith - The New Testament narrative is built not on mythical lands and legendary settings but on verifiable history: real cities, real names, real journeys. Unlike horoscopes or fortune cookies, Scripture invites scrutiny, and the evidence has consistently confirmed its reliability. If there was no historical Jesus, there is no gospel — and because there was a historical Jesus, the faith rests on solid ground.
• Thinking historically sharpens application - Words are culturally conditioned, and even in the same language meaning shifts across time and generation. Bennett gives examples of how historical and cultural context clarifies difficult passages: the ancient Roman practice of counting the first day as day one resolves the apparent discrepancy between "three days" in the tomb and a Friday crucifixion; understanding the cultural significance of head coverings in the Greco-Roman world opens up Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians in ways a surface reading cannot. Bennett pauses here and promises a Part 2 to illustrate a third, deeper example still to come.

Conclusion

Thinking historically about the Bible cultivates the humility to trust God with what we cannot understand, the confidence to stake our lives on what Scripture affirms, and the precision to apply it accurately. Bennett closes by pointing toward his second session, where he will demonstrate the practical payoff of this approach with a specific passage.

Pastor Gary Walton spoke about the effect of grace. He looks at Titus 2:11-15 and how God’s grace impacts the lives of believers. He looks at the urgency, the redemption, and the purpose of grace. He looks forward to the return of Christ, while resting in His redemption, and he encourages the college students to live purposefully in God’s grace.

Scripture Text

Titus 2:11-15

Main Points or Ideas

• Live with relentless urgency - Grace trains believers to renounce ungodliness and live self-controlled, upright lives in light of Christ's coming. Walton addresses students directly: your twenties are not a waiting room or a free trial — they are a launching pad. The time to pursue Christ, build godly habits, and get in the game is now, not after graduation or after some future milestone. Don't blow your twenties.
• Rest in radical redemption - Verse 14 declares that Christ gave himself to redeem believers from all lawlessness — not some, not just the respectable failures, but all of it. Walton uses the image of a backpack full of rocks to describe the cumulative weight of unconfessed, unredeemed sin, and argues that Jesus not only forgives but repurposes those failures as part of the believer's story for God's glory. Using the story of little Johnny and the duck — a grandmother who saw everything, forgave immediately, and waited for the child to stop letting shame make a slave of him — Walton urges students not to let the enemy keep them sidelined by guilt that Christ has already dealt with. Nothing in a believer's past or present is ever wasted.
• Run with unstoppable purpose - Redeemed people are purified for a purpose: to be zealous for good works. The Greek word for "zealous" carries the idea of passionate, wholehearted, eager devotion. Walton calls students to stop waiting for a title, a degree, or a ministry position before getting on the front line. The present of the church — not just the future — belongs to this generation, and the mission is now.

Conclusion

Pastor Walton closes by pressing the three themes together: live with urgency because the time is short, rest in redemption because nothing is wasted, and run with purpose because you were made for this moment.

Pastor Chad Hol looked at 1 Kings 22 and the story of Micaiah the prophet and the role of God. He sees that God is ruling when the majority of people are wrong, when the truth is rejected, and when the arrow flies at random. He also observes the reality of God’s sovereignty despite man’s sin.

Scripture Text

1 Kings 22:1-38

Main Points or Ideas

• God is ruling even when the majority are wrong (vs. 1-12) - Ahab assembles four hundred prophets who unanimously promise victory — and they are all wrong. Jehoshaphat shows some discernment, but not enough to resist going along. God sits on his throne and does as he pleases regardless of what kings decree or crowds affirm. The application: be careful who you seek advice from, and remember there is a throne above the battlefield of your life.

• God is ruling even when the truth is rejected (vs. 13-28) - Micaiah is warned to parrot the four hundred, but he speaks the truth anyway — and gets slapped and imprisoned for it. He could endure this not because he was confident in the outcome, but because he knew who was ruling. He feared God more than he feared Ahab. Speaking truth may be costly, but a heavenly confidence makes earthly persecution endurable.

• God is ruling even when the arrow flies at random (vs. 29-38) - Ahab disguises himself to avoid the prophesied death. A nameless soldier draws his bow at random. The arrow finds the one gap in Ahab's armor. There are no stray arrows in a sovereign universe. The same God who guided that arrow governs every diagnosis, every closed door, every unexpected loss. It may feel chaotic and unfair — but God never fails, never sleeps, and is never surprised.

• A glimpse behind the scenes: the sovereign God who invites participation (vs. 19-23) - Micaiah's vision reveals God on his throne asking, "Who will entice Ahab?" He already knows the outcome, yet he invites ideas from the heavenly court, listens to their suggestions, and acts upon one. God uses sinful agents sinlessly to accomplish his purposes — as he did with Pharaoh. The profound application: the all-knowing, all-powerful God wants to hear from us. He invites our participation in what he is already going to do. Prayer is not bending God's will — it is aligning with it.

Conclusion

We do not know God's secret will, but we do know his revealed will: he wants sinners saved, believers sanctified, disciples made, and justice done. Hol closes by calling students to pray boldly and specifically into what they already know pleases God — confident that the God who governs arrows and overrules kings is the same God who invites them to participate in his purposes.

Dr. Keith Kobelia observes eight questions about the rapture and answers them with various Scripture passages, making note of where the church and Israel are in relation to these passages. Drawing on decades of academic work — including a ThM thesis on the Day of the Lord and a PhD on 2 Thessalonians 2:3 — he explains why the rapture must be distinguished from the Second Advent and must precede Daniel's seventieth week.

Scripture Texts

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9; John 14:1-3; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 5; Daniel 9:27; Ephesians 3:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Main Points or Ideas

• The rapture and the Second Advent are distinct events - Comparing key passages reveals at least ten contrasts: at the rapture Christ meets believers in the air; at the Second Advent he comes to the earth (Zechariah 14). The rapture removes the church; the Second Advent judges the nations. At the rapture Christ comes for his saints; at the Second Advent he comes with them. These differences are too numerous and contradictory to be describing the same event.
• The millennial kingdom requires a gap between the rapture and the Second Advent - If believers receive glorified bodies at the rapture and unbelievers are judged at the Second Advent (Matthew 25), no one remains in a natural body to populate the millennial kingdom — unless there is a gap during which people come to faith. The pretribulation rapture solves this by providing tribulation converts who enter the kingdom in natural bodies.
• First Thessalonians 4 and 5 describe two distinct events - Paul signals a shift in topic in chapter 5 and notes the Thessalonians already knew about the Day of the Lord — whereas they were ignorant about the rapture (4:13). The pronouns and descriptions in chapter 5 show that believers will not experience the Day of the Lord, arguing for the rapture preceding it.
• The church is promised exemption from the coming wrath - Three passages promise deliverance: 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, and especially Revelation 3:10, where the church at Philadelphia is promised to be kept from "the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world." In context, this refers to the tribulation judgments.
• All tribulation judgments are the wrath of God - Revelation 5–6 shows that the Lamb opens every seal, meaning all the judgment sequences — seals, trumpets, and bowls — are divine wrath from the beginning, not just the final bowls. This rules out mid-tribulation and prewrath views that limit God's wrath to only the final period.
• Daniel's seventieth week is Jewish in character; the church is a mystery - Daniel 9's seventy-week prophecy is directed at Israel, not the church. Since Paul describes the church as a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament (Ephesians 3), the church cannot be the subject of Daniel's seventieth week. This argues that the church will be removed before that period begins.
• The rapture is imminent - John 14, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Thessalonians 4 describe the catching away with no preceding signs or events required. Only the pretribulation view is fully compatible with a truly imminent return, since once Daniel's seventieth week begins, other prophesied events must occur first.
• The church is absent from Revelation 4–18 - After being prominently featured in chapters 2–3, the church is not mentioned in chapters 4–18, reappearing only at the marriage supper of the Lamb (chapter 19). While an argument from silence, the contrast is striking and consistent with the church having been removed before the tribulation begins.

Conclusion

Kobelia closes with four practical reasons to study the rapture: God wants his people to have knowledge of what is coming; this knowledge produces hope; it motivates purity of life (1 John 3:2-3); and it calls believers to faithful service, knowing their labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Dr. Alan Cole spoke about anxiety and how to stay anchored in Scripture. He states that worry is self-centered, not focused on God. He encourages the students to turn it over to God and to leave it there. Paul's commands to the Philippians in Philippians 4:1-7 provide a practical path to the peace of God.

Scripture Text

Philippians 4:1-7

Main Points or Ideas

• Stand Fast in the Lord (v. 1) - Paul opens by affirming his deep affection for the Philippians and commanding them to stand firm in the Lord. The commands that follow in the passage are the means by which standing fast becomes possible.
• Unite for the Lord (vv. 2-3) - Paul calls out two women, Euodia and Syntyche, by name because their conflict had become a public problem. The ability to stand fast in Christ is helped by standing together with others. Broken relationships undermine the mission, and believers must learn to be gentle rather than insisting on their own way or plowing over others.
• Grow for the Lord (vv. 4-7) - Paul commands three qualities. First, rejoice at all times — not as a forced happy feeling, but as a confidence in what God is doing, even in the midst of trials. Shifting focus from the struggle to what God is teaching produces genuine joy. Second, be gentle to all — not demanding rights or running over others, but coming alongside with a shepherd's calm rather than a prophet's fire. Third, be peaceful in all circumstances through prayer. Worry is self-centered — it turns focus inward rather than upward. The remedy is bringing everything to God through prayer (ongoing conversation), supplication (earnest, need-aware asking), and thanksgiving (deliberate gratitude for what God has already done and answered). These are then left at the throne, not picked back up.
• The Peace of God (v. 7) - The result of praying rather than worrying is the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding. Just as a guard is posted to keep something out, this peace stands watch over hearts and minds, shielding them from the fear and worry that would otherwise rush in. People may not be able to explain how a believer walks through difficulty with a quiet soul, but the answer is a great God who receives our requests and gives his peace in return.

Conclusion

The Christian life is a voyage through storms, and the soul needs an anchor. That anchor is found not in avoiding trials but in bringing them to God in prayer — standing firm, rejoicing, staying gentle, and trusting the peace of God to guard what we cannot protect ourselves.

Dan Anderson spoke in chapel about serving God. He observes the story of Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, and his prophecy. He encourages the students to ask God what they need to do in light of what He has done. The only enduring motivation for serving God is gratitude for what God has already accomplished.

Scripture Text

Luke 1:67-75; Romans 12:1; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19

Main Points or Ideas

• God Visited Us - The Greek word for "visit" in verse 68 means to look in on someone specifically to assess their condition and come alongside to help. God did not wait for humanity to find its way back to him — the separation caused by sin was too great. Like a doctor who made house calls when patients were too sick to travel, God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ. This alone is sufficient reason to serve him.

• God Redeemed Us - Redemption means to buy back or pay a ransom to free someone from captivity. No man can ransom another (Psalm 49), but God paid the price only he could pay — not with silver or gold, which perish, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). Our salvation was not an afterthought; it was planned before the foundation of the world. The redemption provided for Israel also extended to every nation, tribe, and tongue.

• God Saved Us to Serve Him - Verse 74 gives the purpose of deliverance: "that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." Believers serve God without fear — because we have been made his children. We serve him in holiness and righteousness — not our own, but Christ's, imputed to us. We serve him alone, not for the approval of others. And we serve him all our days — there is no retirement from serving God.

Conclusion

Romans 12:1 calls believers to present themselves as living sacrifices, and Dan Anderson argues this is simply the "reasonable service" of anyone who has truly received what God has done. To be saved and have nothing to do with God afterward is unreasonable. The only fitting response to being visited, redeemed, and saved is a life of zealous service to him.

Carl Kerby opens with a 1988 Dennis the Menace comic strip — "Endangered Species" — as a creative entry point into three questions about dinosaurs, Noah's ark, and the reliability of radiometric dating. Using the comic as a foil, he argues that popular assumptions about these topics need to be tested against Scripture and observational evidence.

Scripture Text

2 Timothy 3:16; Genesis 1:25, 31; Genesis 6:19–20; Genesis 7:22; Job 40–41

Main Points or Ideas

• Which Animals Were on the Ark? - The comic's first panel assumes Noah saved every animal. Kerby corrects this from Genesis 6–7: only land-dwelling, air-breathing creatures were taken aboard. Sea creatures, fish, and other aquatic animals were not included. The ark's passengers were a specific category, not every species on earth.

• Evidence That Dinosaurs Were on the Ark - Kerby presents three lines of evidence that dinosaurs lived recently alongside humans. First, original soft tissue, blood vessels, collagen, and red blood cells have been found in dinosaur bones — including one Kerby personally excavated — which cannot survive millions of years by any known preservation mechanism. Second, carbon-14 has been detected in dinosaur bones and even diamonds, which should contain no C-14 whatsoever if they were millions of years old. Third, historical, artistic, and cultural evidence — including petroglyphs in Utah, a brass headstone from a 15th-century English bishop featuring long-necked creatures, and a carving at Angkor Wat resembling a stegosaurus — suggests that humans and dinosaurs coexisted.

• The Limits of Radiometric Dating - Using a candle illustration, Kerby distinguishes between observational science (repeatable, testable) and historical science (assumption-dependent). Radiometric dating requires three unprovable assumptions: the initial ratio of isotopes, that the sample has been a closed system, and that decay rates have always been constant. These assumptions cannot be verified and are not the same as direct observation.

• Dinosaurs in Scripture - The word "dinosaur" did not exist until 1841, so it would not appear in a 1611 translation. But the Hebrew word tannin — translated as dragon, leviathan, and serpent — appears over sixty times in Scripture. The behemoth of Job 40 is described as the largest land creature God ever made, with bones like tubes of bronze (a structural feature found in large sauropod dinosaurs), a tail like a cedar tree, and a capacity to drink the River Jordan. Study Bible notes suggesting hippopotamus or elephant do not fit the description.

Conclusion

Kerby closes by calling students to use whatever creative gifts God has given them — as he used a comic strip — to engage the culture with the truth of Scripture. God's patience will not last forever, and the students in the room are the generation positioned to take the Word to the world.