The Shepherd's Pulpit

How are you going forward? In today's chapel message, Dr. Ballard takes us to Hebrews 11 to show how important to see that faith is what is real. We are to remember the essence of faith, the examples of faith, and the essential nature of faith.

How is the Lord moving right now? In today's chapel message Tony Levesque took us to Acts 11:19-26 to show the ways that God can move. God can sometimes uses our worst situations to move in powerful ways. God often times uses the church. God sometimes chooses the least likely person. One of the most powerful ways God can move is to change a person's heart.

How can we fight sin? In today's chapel message, Curtis Bailey took us to 1 John 2:1-6 to show how we can fight sin through Christ alone. Jesus is our advocate, He is righteous, and He is our propitiation.

Are you willing to trust who Jesus is? In today's chapel message, Dr. Howell discussed the three greatest dangers and how they are rarely obvious. These dangers are over familiarization, calculations, and fear. With things in the way, we are not able to trust who Jesus is.

What do we need to be when God calls you? In today's chapel message Leo Lytle takes us to Acts 28:26-40 to show how the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian parallels what we to be when God calls us. We need to be available, obedient, and intentional.

Is anyone unable to be used by God? In today's chapel message Dr. Howell speaks on how to Lord uses unlikely people. In 2 Kings 5:1-15 he shows how God works in unlikely ways and God transforms unlikely hearts.

What are you going to do with Jesus? In today's chapel message, Dr. Williams takes us back to the basics by showing us the character of God. In Colossians 1 he shows the seven superiorities of God: image, creator, eternal, sustainer, head, fullness, and reconciler.

How do we make peace with the calling God gave us? In today's chapel message Dr. Hatley took us to Isaiah 6 to show the confession, cleansing, calling, question, and commission of Isaiah and how that applies to God's purpose for our life.

How can we trust God? In today's chapel message Dr. McDill speaks on why it is hard to trust God sometimes. He takes us to Psalm 13 to show how David also had the same experience and how he was able to remember God's love for him.

If you knew your time was short, would you change your choices? In today's chapel message, Dr. Howell takes us to John 3:22-30 to show how John the Baptist decreased so that Jesus could increase. He discusses the three different choices that we make, the choice of faithfulness, obscurity, and purpose.

Have you forgotten yourself and let God be the Lord of your life? In today's chapel message Benji Pyeatt spoke on the life of Peter and showed how Peter had to be broken down to truly follow God and to forget himself.

Why are you here? Are your motives from your own desires or God's call? In today's chapel message Stephen Wyles spoke on 2 Timothy 4:1-6 and the importance of being fulfilled and sustained in God's call. It is important to be content in what it is God has instructed us to do, and to fulfill our ministry.

In today's chapel message, Dr. Martins spoke on Exodus 32:21-25 and emphasized the dangers of surrendering to pressure around us. He also showed how important it is in leadership to not avoid confrontation. We must forgive the transgression and commit our way to God.

Is God's house in ruins while we are busy with our own house? In today's chapel message Matthew Cooksey brought us to Haggai chapter one to show us what it looks like to pursue things in our lives that do not have God's blessing. Why would something not have God's blessing? The question to ask is, is God in it?

In this week's Chapel, special guest Peter Balla came to share his insights and knowledge regarding the Septuagint. He covered the fall and what took place in the garden of Eden.

Do you know that you are in a war? Often times, we live in a way that lies to ourselves, that everything is alright. That is not reality, however, because we are in a war, and the enemy is attacking us. In today's chapel message, Allen Bramlett goes to 1 Peter 5:8-11 to discuss the reality of the war that we are amongst, that we should be vigilant, that we remain steadfast in the faith, and that Christ empowers us to do so.

What does it mean to have a heart that is loyal to God? In today's chapel message Dr. Ballard takes us to 2 Chronicles 15 and emphasis King Asa's life to show what it means to have a loyal heart for God. The four points that are indicators for a loyal heart are to seek the Lord, remove idols, restore worship, and reject compromise.

What is love? In today's culture, love has been taken and warped into something that it is not. Considered a feeling, the world views love as an emotion, which is not true. God is love. In today's chapel message, Andrew Hemmingway uses 1 John 4 to show that God is love and how we should let that shape our lives.

In today's chapel message, Devin and Julia Renaud share their testimony about their mission trip to the Dominican Republic. They share the lessons about Jesus that they taught to the kids and the progress in construction on their apartments and church.

In Christ we have the resources to overcome. In today's chapel message, Tony Levesque takes us to 2 Samuel 23 to point out three points that support the fact that we are called to go against the flow for God. You are in God's army, the misfits became David's mighty men, and the unity of the student body in a great spiritual war.

What does it look like to guard the faith? In today's chapel message, Lew Miller speaks on 2 Timothy 2:1-10 to show us in what ways Paul suggests that we guard the faith. He says to pass on faith like a relay race, to suffer like a good soldier, to follow rules as an athlete, to have the patience like a farmer, and to be a prisoner of Christ.

How do we lose our witness as a Christian? In today's chapel message Dr. Howell talks about the life of Saul in 1 Samuel 15:10-19 and shows how we can slip into our own will and not realize it. When we choose our own will over God, or when we love the praise of men more than the will of God, we no longer obey God the way we should.

How many times do we try to get ahead of God? We tend to have an idea of God's will for us but we do not wait for His timing or His method. In today's chapel message, Dr. Sweet takes us to Exodus 2 and 3 to show how Moses went ahead of God in his own time and his own way and wound up in a lot of trouble, and how God gave Moses a second chance. Some truths that were shared today are: God reveals His will for us, we must wait for His timing and method, and God chooses to work through people.

Everyone faces trials and they are serious and inevitable. How can we face trials in a way that still permits us to have peace and hope? Dr. Robertson looks at the pivotal points in the life of Job to demonstrate how to accomplish this. We are to worship God through trials because He never leaves us, our Redeemer lives.

How do we properly represent God? In today's chapel message Dr. Ingalls explains the importance of this as he talks about lying prophets in Jeremiah 23 and how detrimental this was for those who needed to stand on truth. Representing God means proclaiming a message of repentance, standing for truth, proclaiming the message of God, and ministering in true humility not false gravity.

Have you ever faced opposition? There are times when we know we are doing exactly what God wants us to do but we still face opposition. In today's chapel message, Chancellor Ballard takes us to 2 Chronicles 14:11 to show how Kind Asa turned to God in the middle of his opposition. He displayed the three principles of correctly handling opposition: reaching out to God, recounting His ability, and resting on and requesting to the Lord.

How can we be prepared for hardship? We can all expect hardship to come our way and the way to get through it in a way that is pleasing to God is to be in His word. In today's chapel message, Tyler Ballard brings us to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where he states that God's word will teach us, convict us, correct us, and train us in the way we should go.

Is trusting in God difficult for you? Coming to God and recognizing that His intentions for us are good is something that we all grapple with. In today's chapel message, Dr. McDill takes us to Hebrews 4:8-16 to point out three reasons we can come to God with confidence: He sees us, He saved us, and He sympathizes with us.

Do you want a successful life? We can struggle with aspects of life that distract us from putting God first but this should not discourage us from seeking Him. In today's chapel message, Chancellor Ballard looks at the life of King Asa in 2 Chronicles 14:1-7 to display how he focused on pleasing God, fulfilled God's work for him, and praised God.

What is the Race? It is the race of life. No matter how hard the race gets a runner keeps going because they have the endurance to keep going. In today's chapel message, Michael Carrel brings the sermon on this subject from Hebrews 11:32-12:4.

Why is prayer important? Prayer is how we communicate with God. In today's chapel message, Bill Hall goes over the importance of prayer and tells the narrative of Jesus teach teaching the Disciples to pray.

Is it easy for you to express gratitude? Though difficult, practicing gratitude can change your life for the better. In today's chapel message, Terry Dorsett goes through Luke 17:11-19 to share what gratitude really is and how to have it.

Are you content with the life you have? Learning to be content is something we all struggle with. However, it is not impossible. In today's chapel message, Mike Nerney goes through 1 Timothy 6:3-11 to show us how true contentment is from God.

Do you ever feel like life is just falling apart around you? No matter what you are going through, God will carry you through it. In chapel Mark Howell goes through Jonah 2:1-9 and talks about how when we turn away from God and life starts breaking apart, God never left.

Do you know how to be a man, or woman, of God? In today's chapel message, Johnny Fain delves into 1 Kings 22:1-14 to teach that a true follower of Christ lets nothing sway him from chasing Christ with all he has.

Did you know God has a purpose for your life? In today's chapel message, President Ballard uses Jeremiah 1:4-10 to show how we have a God given purpose and how we can pursue it.

What does it mean to be a warrior? To be a warrior is to be like a pilgrim and to be fierce in whatever it is that you do. In today's chapel message, John Riley goes through Psalm 149:5-9 and Ephesians 6:13-17 to explain what being a warrior is truly like.

What is Spiritual warfare? Spiritual warfare is the battle over sin that Jesus has already one. In today's chapel message, Mark Howell uses Revelation 12:1-11 to show the true gravity of the war that we are in and how vital it is seek God because of that.

Have you ever been told you look like someone? The Bible says the world should see Christ through his followers. In today's chapel message, Johnny Fain comes and preaches about how the followers of Christ should strikingly resemble Christ.

Have you ever been really confused about why something is happening? God helps us in our confusion. In today's chapel message, George Sweet goes to Mark 14:17-50 to show how God helps us and how to look to God in the midst of the chaos.

Do you ever wake up and start planning your day? Nehemiah made preparations far in advance to help build the walls of Jerusalem. In today's chapel message, Alan Ingalls teaches from Nehemiah 4:1-14 that we should trust God but also prepare for anything.

When you read the Bible do you hear the voice of God? If you don't you might be just learning rather than accepting it as the authority of God. In today's chapel message, Jim Robertson teaches from Matthew 26: 20-25 to challenge your view of Jesus Christ. Is He your Lord or is He your teacher?

Have you ever thanked your parents for what they've done for you? Giving thanks is more than just saying thank you. In today's chapel message, Michael McDill explains what it really is to be thankful.

Have you ever struggled with faith? When we surrender our lives to God our faith is made new. In today's chapel message, Mark Howell teaches from John 4:46-54 to show how to surrender our lives and our needs to Christ.

Have you ever tried covering up your sin? When we sin we tend to cover it up rather than confess it, much like how King David did. In today's chapel message, President Ballard talks about how when we sin, instead of covering it up, we must seek out forgiveness from God.

Do you want to live a good life? When we sin, we are walking in our sinful flesh and rob ourselves of the life we should have. Instead, God calls us to walk in the Spirit. In today's chapel message, President Mark Ballard delves into Galatians 5:16-26 to show how we need to understand the spiritual war, understand the works of the flesh, and understand the fruit of the Spirit, realizing that we cannot live a good, Christian life unless we let the Spirit live in us.

Do you want to follow Christ in a deep and powerful way? When we let the world get in the way, we can lose focus on Christ and live in our own reality. However, our reality needs to be being a disciple of Christ. In today's chapel message, Tony Levesque goes to Matthew 28:16-20 to show how we need to remain rooted in the reality of God and His Word so we can be a faithful disciple of Christ.

Are you struggling with applying God's Word to your life? Sometimes, we know what to do, but we don't know how to apply it. However, God does and He is willing to teach it to us. In today's chapel message, Matthew Cooksey goes to John 14:18-26 to show how we can go to God to learn how to apply the things we know and how to tell the people around us about that. God is our teacher.

Have you ever had an unexpected need arise? When that happens, it's often tempting to panic or try to figure it out ourselves. Instead, we need to rely on God. In today's chapel message, President Mark Ballard uses 2 Kings 4:1-7 to show how we should turn to the Lord, trust in His Word, and obey Him through it. Then and only then can we expect our needs to be met by Him.

How often does your perspective change? When we let the world's way of thinking take our mind off of God, we can let that change us for the worse. Instead, we should have the perspective of Jesus. In today's chapel message, Rob Martinez uses Luke 24:13-35 to show how focusing on everything that Jesus is doing in our life can change our thoughts for the better.