"Bringing Dr. Bell to chapel because he usually doesn't come."
(Dr. Bell's name used without permission)
"Bringing Dr. Bell to chapel because he usually doesn't come."
(Dr. Bell's name used without permission)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30
Megan RouthDavid Smith gave today's sermon. He included an opportunity for ministry in his introduction, which is unique but certainly not unwelcome. He commended our reverence for Scripture, and had us look up Mark 4:35-41 when he decided to read it. This displayed his own reverence for Scripture and also challenged us to exercise even more respect for the Bible. Challenges are another slightly unique but certainly not unwelcome thing in chapel; these challenges need not be only occasional.
Smith spoke on the topic, "Does God ever change His plans for us?" He answered the question in the affirmative, saying that what matters is how we respond. As the sermon continued, I came to believe that God's plans for us don't necessarily change, but God's plans for us differ from our plans for ourselves.
The disciples, when they saw Jesus sleeping through the storm in the aforementioned passage from Mark, should have been reassured that it was safe for them to do the same, especially after Jesus gave them a command ("Get in the boat") and a promise ("We're going to the other side.") God had promised to lead them through the storm, and they would have done well to trust His words. Smith brought in Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28. He pointed out that the verse in Romans does not say that all things in themselves are good, but that God makes all things work together for good. This understanding of the verse makes it acceptable to acknowledge bad events in your life as bad and see hope through them.
Just because plans change, Psalm 84, Philippians 4:13, and Hebrews 13:5 are not negated. Smith didn't provide references for these verses, but he did quote them. Again, students take note of this example and MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE. Often, we will not be able to understand fully God's plans for us and the reasoning behind them because, well, God is quite a bit smarter than us. This is why it is important to ask what His plan is instead of making the common mistake of asking Him to bless ours without consulting Him about them first.
MONDAY, AUGUST 28
Megan RouthJohn Durham, pastor of First Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, and frequent chapel speaker, spoke today. He started out by saying that yes, we are here to learn, but more importantly, we are here in college to find out who we are and what God's will is. I'd like to point out that these things aren't mutually exclusive. God can show us who we are and what His will is through our learning, and learning can be a great service to Him.
Durham paraphrased the first 12 chapters of Genesis to point out all the sin man managed to get into early on in history. When he announced that he wanted to read aloud the part of Genesis 12 he intended to preach over, he told us not to open our Bibles because the story was short and he would read it out loud. Surely, however, opening our Bibles and reading it for ourselves is not a bad idea.
The main premise of Durham's sermon is that God called Abraham to live a huge life for Him, and He calls college kids to do the same. Sadly, most of us will reject this life because it involves sacrificing comfort. It's refreshing that Durham did not try to deny that many will reject what God asks of them, or pretend that a sacrifice would be unnecessary.
Durham quoted several familiar Scriptures without giving references for them, but he was quoting Scripture, nonetheless. Learn from this example, ladies and gentlemen: read the Bible, commit it to memory. He also said that God will only act as much as our faith allows Him to act. This may be true in some instances, but God can ultimately do what He wants with our lives whether or not we consent or believe that He can.
"How Great is Our God," a song we sang shortly before the sermon began, was tied into the sermon. Good job, John Durham. It's nice to see the words we sing and the lessons we are taught being connected, and I vote that we have more of this in chapel.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23
Megan RouthEarly on in his message, today's chapel speaker asked us to open our Bibles. This is wonderful. Having seen many speakers over the past two years preach with barely a reference to the Scriptures, it's great to have a sermon start with the Bible. The sermon was over Job, and why it's biblically OK to ask God, "Why?" when bad things happen. The speaker pointed out that God isn't afraid of our questions; after all, it's not like we can ask Him something He doesn't have an answer for (whether or not He chooses to explain Himself to us).
In Chapter 38 of Job, God speaks; the speaker cited this passage as proof that when God wants you to know something, He'll tell you. Also-He always gets the last word.
Next, the reasons why we suffer were expounded upon. First, Satan tests us; he never acts, however, without God's permission. This point included a caution: because we've seen through Job that God may allow Satan to take away everything, we shouldn't serve Him only for His blessings. Secondly, we suffer so we can know God better, as Job claims he has learned in Job 42:5. The speaker declared that knowing God better makes the suffering worth it. Last, sufffering allows us to know ourselves better (Job 42:6). Our true selves come out when we suffer.
The speaker concluded by reminding us that Job's story doesn't end with the suffering; it ends with blessing. Also, all Job had was faith in God; we have the Bible, a book full of accounts of the ways in which God has been faithful throughout time. If Job managed to trust God without such a book, shouldn't we be able to trust Him more easily.
This chapel included alot of Scripture and continual Scripture references, which is great, very great. I hope this trend continues. Also, the sermon avoided taking a turn into an elementary, unsatisfactory explanation of the issue it addressed. Most students, I believe, are appreciative to the speaker for not treating us as though we are children.
MONDAY, AUGUST 21
Megan RouthAh, students, the first chapel of the semester. As you may have noticed, today's chapel didn't actually include a sermon. I'm not sure of the reasons for this, but maybe it's for the best, looking back on the number of first-day speakers whose messages, intended to encourage and inspire students, did the opposite.
Something else most of you probably noticed: Glowing Heart is no more. Rumors surround the reason for their demise: Was Henry Loftin eaten by a dragon? Did all of the members move to Shangri-La? Were they carried away on pirate ships? If you have the real story, send an e-mail my way: dbusnipe@yahoo.com. The Jeff Berry Band played this morning and did a nice job. One thing to note about the song "You Are God Alone": is it really "just the way it is" that God doesn't really need anything from us? This makes it sound as though it is merely by chance that God doesn't need anything we could give Him. God's not needing anything has to do with His unchanging, omnipotent nature, not coincidence.
To no one's surprise, Jeremiah 29:11 was read. This semester Snipe will be keeping two tallies: one of how many times this verse is read in chapel, and the other of how many times someone explains this verse, in context, to students, in conjunction with its reading.
Looking around the (ice)Burg this morning, it was clear that there is simply not enough room for the number of students who currently attend DBU; with enrollment rates increasing, chapel will become even more crowded as time goes on. One would think that this is part of the reason for the building of a new chapel; one would be wrong. $16 million and several years from now, the new chapel will have less seating than the burg, only increasing the problem (this is my understanding of the situation; if you have facts to the contrary, let me know). The logic in building a chapel with less seating while expecting more students eludes me.