April 17, 2020 by

Did you know that Cedarville University is still having chapel every day? 

I am so thankful that Cedarville is still providing us with daily encouragement from God’s Word! It is not the same but it is still an opportunity for me to focus my attention on my Heavenly Father and still feel the community of Cedarville. I’d encourage you to check it out every day at 10 a.m. EST!

We have kept the tradition of Dr. White speaking on Mondays. This past Monday he taught from Nehemiah 11 and 12. I thought I would give you all a little breakdown of what he spoke about and how it impacted me. If you are interested, you can view the chapel archive here.

Dr. White titled his chapel “Living a Life That Matters.” This title immediately caught my attention because I think it is something we are all having a hard time navigating while being at home. 

This was the following outline of the chapters:

  1. Action taken to populate Jerusalem (11:1-2)
  2. List of settlers (11:3-24)
  3. Other villages (11:25-36)
  4. Priests & Levites (12:1-26)

Dr. White never shies away from deep theology and a difficult passage. That is how I would describe this particular passage, but he broke it down very simply and pointed out interesting points.

The first point that stuck out to me was chapter 11, verse one, which reads “Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem.” Dr. White mentioned how important it was for the leaders to live directly with the people and posed the challenge of what it would look like to choose a location with the focus of furthering the Gospel. He explained how important it was for the leaders to lead by example. They did that by living directly with the people. This makes me think of missionaries and people all over who are living out this calling so well by leading through living.

Another point that caught my attention was in chapter 12, verse nine, which gives very specific details regarding the worship service. Dr. White began to expand on how much work it is to prepare the worship service and how this skill can do so much when it comes to furthering the Kingdom. He challenged us that details matter. He called us to ordinary living. This was so interesting because I have been reading a book titled “Ordinary” by Michael Horton for my Theology 2 class that speaks on this topic so well! We are called to serve in the position that God has called us to. This can be anywhere from the role of a mother to a speaker like Billy Graham. As long as our focus is aligned with God, we can use details to serve and live our life like it matters. 

The applicational aspect of his message was regarding location, vocation, and situation. What would it look like to strategically choose where you live, work, and how you use your life circumstances? I know this is especially relevant for me as I look to graduate at the end of this year. What would it look like for me to choose a location that was out of my comfort zone but desperately needed the Gospel? Would I be willing to go?

These are thoughts that have been constantly on the front of my brain this past week. I am so thankful to be challenged by chapel at Cedarville. It is a precious gift and I completely understand why alumni say that it is the thing that they miss most. Check it out for yourself and enjoy it online for now. But get ready to come together in person for chapel as a student. It will be a moment you will never forget!

Until next time. 

Tags: , ,
Posted in: ,