Bethel Campus Ministries

What if your life was put on the scale next to the gospel—would it measure up? This message begins with the disappointment of meeting a Christian hero whose life didn’t match his words, then turns to Paul’s challenge in Ephesians 4 to “live a life worthy of your calling.” Using the image of an ancient scale, students are invited to honestly examine where their faith and their everyday lives don’t line up—how they treat roommates, what their weekends look like, what fills their minds and search histories, and how they see themselves. But this isn’t about shame or trying harder. Because of the cross, grace meets us where we fall short and empowers us to pursue a life that reflects the weight, beauty, and hope of the gospel.

Nick and Sara answer questions you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

When life feels overwhelming and faith feels thin, where do you find real strength? In Ephesians 3:14–21, Paul prays that we would be strengthened from the inside out—not by better circumstances, but by the power of God’s Spirit. This message invites students to root their identity in Christ’s deep, unshakable love and to trust that God is able to do far more in our lives, on our campus, and through us than we could ever imagine.

Nick and Jo answer questions that you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

With a simple but striking illustration, this sermon invites us into the vision of Ephesians: a church no longer sounding like scattered, individual voices, but united in one beautiful voice because it knows the key. Drawing from Ephesians 1:1-14, Paul’s sweeping doxology, we’re reminded that the church’s mission is not built on agendas, power, or comfort—but on the faithful, unfolding story of the gospel. The call is clear and challenging: will we accept the mission to bring unity to all things under Christ, and live in a way that makes heaven meet earth for a watching and often hostile world?

Nick and Jo answer questions that you submitted after Monday's Chapel.

What if you’re standing on something priceless—and treating it like a garage-sale item? This week's message walks through Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 and delivers a sobering question: Do we actually know what we have in Christ? Paul prays that believers would wake up to three realities—our hope, our blessing, and our power—but today the focus lands squarely on the last one. Through Scripture, story, and a modern-day testimony of resurrection power, this message boldly proclaims that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. The question is no longer is the power there?—it’s do we believe it, and how would we live if we did?

The final message of this series challenges the Bethel community to consider what it truly means to be “all in” with Jesus by reflecting on Christ’s final words on the cross. Framed by President Ross Allen’s call to “double down on Jesus”—or rather, to “go all in”—this message centers on how Jesus’ life and death were marked by complete surrender to the Father. By exploring the deep biblical connection between breath and spirit (ruach/pneuma), the message highlights how Jesus entrusted His very life back to God and, in doing so, made possible the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within believers today. This final message confronts the danger of half-hearted faith and invites listeners to live fully surrendered lives, empowered not by their own strength but by the active, present Spirit of God. Ultimately, the message proclaims the gospel as a call to wholehearted devotion, because our Savior was—and is—completely all in.

In this bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo examine John 19:30, “I am thirsty” and “It is finished”, exploring how Jesus fulfills our deepest needs. They also discuss His divine knowledge, growth in wisdom, and questions about women among His disciples.

This message invites our community to linger on the profound truth that Jesus is both fully human and fully God, seen vividly in his words from the cross: “I am thirsty” and “It is finished”. In a deeply human moment, Jesus reveals that he truly entered our physical and emotional reality. His humanity assures us that God understands our suffering, that it is not sinful to admit our need, and that even our pain can be used for kingdom purposes. Yet this moment of weakness becomes the doorway to divine victory, as Jesus immediately follows with the most powerful declaration of his divinity: “It is finished.” With these words, Jesus proclaims that God is in control, that the work of salvation is complete, and that suffering does not have the final word. Together, these two statements reveal a Savior who fully understands us and fully redeems us—calling us to trust him in our pain, believe in his victory, and hold fast to hope, knowing that it is never over until God says it is.

What does it mean that Jesus is fully human and fully God? This podcast episode will start with some fun explorations of this question such as “Did Jesus make his bed?” but will turn to some more higher stakes questions such as “Does Jesus really understand my anxiety?”  Ultimately this discussion will point our community to the gift of Jesus’ humanity and the gift of His divinity and perhaps paint a new picture of who our Messiah is in light of both.

In the Week 6 Bonus Episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo explore Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” They discuss Jesus as fully God and fully man, whether the Father abandoned Him, and how to respond when we feel forsaken—or when those feelings return later.

This week we re-join our Lent series by focusing on the fourth word from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, giving voice to the deep anguish and spiritual disorientation that many experience in seasons of suffering. Rather than minimizing doubt or pain, the message affirms that feeling abandoned by God is a profoundly human experience—one that even Jesus entered into fully. The message offers hope that moments of perceived forsakenness can become places of deeper trust, anchoring us in the truth that God’s silence is not the same as His absence.

This week on Chapel Live! Jo and Steph discuss the moments in their lives when God felt distant or even gone. After sharing some real and honest stories the dynamic duo will invite students to engage with what to do when God feels far? How do we wrestle with a lack of faith and how long do we have to wait for God to show up? Ultimately what can we learn from the fact that Jesus lament’s from the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

A Christmas message in March! Guest Pastor Dan Johnson, Bethel graduate and The Connection Pastor at Plymouth Covenant Church, will bring an inspiring message about how interruptions in life can lead to missional living. Using the Luke 1-2 narrative where God interrupts the life of Mary and Joseph with the arrival of Jesus, Dan will share how Jesus is willing to interrupt your life as well, to draw you to the calling He has for your life and career.

As we celebrate this year’s Karlson Scholar, Karen Swallow Prior will draw on insights from her latest book You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful to remind us that our work and daily lives are not separate from God’s purpose for us, but integral to it. Rather than equating calling with passion or prestige, she encourages us to see vocation theologically—as a calling from God to pursue what is true, good, and beautiful in every context of life and work, whether paid or unpaid. Prior’s message challenges us to reorient our understanding of success and fulfillment, showing that our identity before God and our faithful service in ordinary work reflect His image and shape our contribution to the world.

In this week's bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo kick things off with how Jo celebrated her birthday before turning to a remarkable moment at the cross — the honor Jesus bestows on Mary and John. What does it look like to hear your calling clearly, and what can we learn from two people who loved Jesus becoming family in an instant? Plus, how do we imitate Christ's care for others even in our own moments of suffering?

Message three reflects on the third word from the cross, where Jesus, even in the depths of His suffering, pauses to care for His mother by entrusting her to the beloved disciple. In a moment marked by unimaginable pain, Jesus models a love that looks beyond self and toward the needs of others, reminding us that compassion is not cancelled by hardship. The message invites the community to see this exchange not as a small detail, but as a powerful picture of sacrificial love and responsibility—showing that caring for loved ones is a sacred calling, even when life is overwhelming. As followers of Jesus, we are challenged to embody this same self-giving love, choosing to see, protect, and provide for others not only when it is convenient, but especially when it is costly.

“Love until it hurts and then love some more.” (Mother Theresa) Do you believe that? Is it biblical? As followers of Jesus how much pain are we called to endure while we serve? Is there ever a time where too much is too much? When doesn’t serving others become abusive to our own health and well-being? How do we balance serving others with a worldview that promotes healthy self-care? If any of these questions seem appealing to you, join us this week for Chapel Live as Nick and Jo explore what Jesus meant when he spoke to his mother from the cross, “Woman, behold your son.”

In this week's bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo sit down with Professor Dr. John Dunne to explore one of theology's most profound questions: paradise. What does the Bible actually say about Heaven and Hell? What's yet to come on Judgement Day? And should our motivation as Christians be driven by excitement for Heaven, or fear of Hell?

Message two turns from Jesus words and explores the radical faith of the criminal on the cross and challenges us to ask: Do we have the faith of a criminal? Often misunderstood as a last-minute, deathbed decision, his faith was deeply relational, born from proximity to Jesus, watching His grace, humility, and peace even amid suffering and mockery. The criminal understood his own sin, acknowledged his need for a Savior, and courageously turned to Jesus in a personal, honest conversation, trusting Him despite his circumstances. Through this story, we see that true faith is more than intellectual agreement—it requires being in the game with Jesus, engaging with Him personally, and allowing Him to meet us in our brokenness. This week challenges our community to move from head knowledge to a relational faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Our world has strong and often conflicting narratives about heaven and hell, and as followers of Jesus, we are called to understand and clearly communicate what we believe—especially because these questions matter deeply to those around us. Heaven and hell are not only future, eternal realities, but present ones that shape how we live, love, and witness today. In this Chapel Live, Jo and Nick will have a transparent, Scripture-centered conversation about what the Bible teaches regarding heaven and hell, and what it means for believers to participate in bringing the reality of God’s kingdom into our world now.

In the first bonus episode of Chapel Live, Nick and Jo respond to questions submitted during Monday’s chapel. They discuss Jesus’ words in Luke 23:34, forgiveness and reconciliation, loving those who oppose us, Stephen’s final prayer in Acts 7, and what it all means for Christians today. Plus…who tried to kill Nick?

Message one invites listeners to linger with the first words Jesus spoke from the cross—“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”—and to see how moments of pain, fear, and crisis reveal our truest selves. Beginning with a relatable reflection on how unfiltered reactions emerge under pressure, the message draws a powerful parallel to Jesus’ response in His darkest hour. Rather than anger or retaliation, Jesus responds with prayer, forgiveness, love for His enemies, and deep compassion. By slowing down over each word—Father, forgive, them, for—the sermon challenges us to examine our own defaults: our dependence on God in moments of crisis, whether we are marked by forgiveness, how we treat those outside our “circle of grace,” and if we extend empathy even when we feel wronged. Ultimately, the message calls the community to be shaped by the same prayerful, forgiving, enemy-loving compassion that defined Jesus on the cross, trusting that these rhythms can transform both our faith and our everyday reactions.

In this opening “Chapel Live” Nick and Jo unpack Jesus’ first words on the cross. They will discuss who Jesus was praying to and for and what that meant in the context of his death. They will then discuss the practical implications of what it looks like to live a life modeled after these words and if it’s realistic to do so in today’s culture. Nick and Jo will both share real life stories of times it was tough to forgive and how the timeless words of Jesus have shaped their lives.