Undergraduate Chapel: Spring 2014 [Video]

Lisa Sharon Harper takes an in-depth look at Genesis 2. She shares with the audience her struggle in questioning why God would have put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. She explains her revelation that every time Adam and Eve passed by the tree, they experienced their loving need of God by having to choose to obey and trust him. Through Jesus, God has promised redemption. The question, Harper says, is not whether God will restore the world, but whether hie people will take part in it.

President Barry Corey considers the story of Leah in Genesis 29. He shows that Leah's life is an example of God's eternal business of making messy, tangled situations into beauty. Leah demonstrated a pattern for believers, Corey says, because despite a life of rejection and disappointment, she found her value in God.

The Spiritual Development staff lead their audience in a reflection on the preceding Monday's chapel given by James Choung. They remind their audience of Choung's main points: the Christian life is not only individual but also communal, not only a decision but also a continuing action, and not only about the after-life but also about life today. In closing, the speakers lead the audience in corporate prayer for the world's oppressed and needy, for its leaders, and for the their own lives and growth.

Dr. William Dyrness of Fuller Theological Seminary considers the ways that art demonstrates the plan of God, particularly in lament. He explains that lament is a key aspect of Christian worship because it demonstrates a longing for God's perfected creation that has not yet arrived.

Dr. William Dyrness of Fuller Theological Seminary explains from Scripture that human desires are intrinsic to creation. This truth implies that the church should seek to connect with people in the artistic areas of life and present the gospel in ways that resonate with the God-given desires of their audience.

Dr. William Dyrness of Fuller Theological Seminary explains that when people participate in activities that they love, however benign, they demonstrate a love and meaning of life that comes from God. These activities he calls the "poetics of life." Dyrness encourages his audience to ask people how they might find God in the things they love, rather than claim that the spiritual "high-ground" belongs in doing something religious.

James Choung asks his audience why Christians do not seem to acknowledge the gospel as good. He explains that each of the three generations living today (the Baby Boom Generation, Generation X, and the Millennial Generation) confronts the world with a different pressing question. The answer to all of these questions, Choung says, lies in the gospel of Jesus, if we would take the time to understand its fullness. In closing, he explains a simple drawing illustration that can be used to explain the gospel to people.

The Spiritual Development staff lead their audience in a reflection on the preceding Monday's chapel given by Pastor Miles McPherson. The speakers encourage their listeners to seek to love God for God's sake, rather than their own. They consider the ways that Christians often displace their own value by idolizing approval, comfort, control, or power. They echo McPherson's call to surrender all and become a channel for the love and power of God.

Black students and alumni share their experiences of and insights into what it means to be black. The speakers express the benefits of a progress that diversity has made both in culture at large and in Biola. Alumnus Liana Sims urges her audience to embrace black history as their own history, along with white history, Asian history, or any other history. It is the sum of these identities, she explains, that unites individual Christians into the kingdom of God.

Affirm Your Identity in Christ / Steven Morrow

Dr. La Verne Tolbert shares her experience of being on the board of Planned Parenthood in the 1970's. She reveals the genocidal underbelly of the country's largest abortion provider and urges her audience to increase awareness of the situation. Tolbert also encourages students to practice and advocate for abstinence.

Pastor Miles McPherson shares his testimony of coming to Christ after two years of playing in the NFL and worldly living. He explains his realization that the salvation he received was not simply for his own benefit, but to give to others. He points to the Abrahamic covenant to remind his audience that God's plan is to provide blessing not only to his people, but also to the world. Because of this, Christians must give freely or they will not receive.

Dr. Todd Pickett, the Spiritual Development staff, and several students introduce the various chapel opportunities that exist on campus. They explain the focus of each chapel and urge their audience to take advantage of the many opportunities to connect with God.

Scott Smith considers how evangelicals might reach out to the emergent church movement. He explains that the greatest pitfall of postmodernism is one that evangelicals often fall into as well: self-reliance. Smith points to the ministry of Jesus to show that living with child-like trust and humility is the only way to understand the truth of God and his direction.

Patrick McDonald discusses the importance of community in the Christian life, and shows vulnerability is vital to achieving community. Deep relations with people, McDonald explains, grow Christians' ability to have a deep relationship with God.