Chapel Video

The direction we are headed and our proximity to who is leading us matters. Because Jesus is God, we can trust Him to help us navigate life. God is with us. We have not, are not, and will never be alone.

God’s people worship Him for who He is and what He has done. We are called to praise God at all times, because he first reached out to us and has shown us mercy.

The Lord has provided limitless opportunity and possibility in our hands. The question is, what are we going to do with these gifts? The scripture instructs us to guard our hearts above all else, because it has the capability of sourcing our very being which impacts all are and all we do. What will we do with what God has placed in our hands?

Once we have an encounter with Jesus Christ, we live “from now on” shaped by the Biblical narrative, not a cultural narrative. As we engage culture, our agenda should be to communicate Christ’s message, not our own.

Following Jesus involves living and loving like He did. We are called to lead with love in every context and the process is guaranteed to be a bit messy.

God takes down-trodden, broken lives and makes them trophies of grace … because he is a God of mercy. We are all candidates for mercy with a corresponding call to ministry.

The cross of Jesus Christ is two dimensional – it represents a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with others. The cross is enough to reconcile us with God and others without adding criteria and cultural traditions. The world will know God’s love and power when they see a community that is truly one, regardless of race, nationality, politics and preferences. True unity is possible with a focus solely on the cross.

The cross of Jesus Christ is two dimensional – it represents a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with others. The cross is enough to reconcile us with God and others without adding criteria and cultural traditions. The world will know God’s love and power when they see a community that is truly one, regardless of race, nationality, politics and preferences. True unity is possible with a focus solely on the cross.

God invites us to follow His example and die to ourselves daily. His example of dying to self leads us to a greater experience of Christ, a greater life purpose, and His love. God simply wants to love us and lead us into truth, grace, compassion, generosity, and justice.

Jesus prays for His Kingdom on earth to be united, not for comfort’s sake or for uniformity. The unity he desires is about God’s Kingdom, not ours. All for one, one for all … this is what Jesus wants for the sake of our world and His Kingdom.

As we embark on a new year there are three important questions to consider. Where are you? Where are you going? How will you get there? Our daily decisions have the single greatest impact on whether we will accomplished our goals and achieve our aspirations. The courage and strength needed to follow our God designed paths are provided by the Lord.

As we center our lives on Jesus Christ, through His grace he enables us to remember the blessings, forget the failures, and press on.

Most of the moments we find ourselves navigating, we didn’t choose and we can’t walk away from. Yet, we need to focus on the moment we find ourselves in and the ways we are called to build God’s Kingdom here, right now. We coexist with the evil in the world by realizing that we are not living in the wrong place or the wrong time, but the right place, at the right time. God is always at work, even in this time. Matthew 13:24-30

We have an issue, and it is an issue that we don't want to be under covering, we don't want to be under authority. - J.P. Troglio. Matthew 8:1-13

There is a price to fixing the Jericho road; there is a price to lead the way. Yet, we need to rebuild the Jericho road. Luke 10- Good Samaritan Parable

Our culture measures success and justifies one putting themselves above another. Jesus says we need to turn our thinking so that our values line up with those of the kingdom of heaven, which differs from what culture tells us. We should all stand equal and among each other as one collective unit. That is how we achieve greatness and success. Matthew 18:1-4

The Lord is with us right now, in the "here". We are encouraged to expect, encourage, expand, and engage. Our world and semester looks different, but we should embrace and face the "here" and what God is doing in the present. Luke 17:20-21 2 Corinthians 5:17 James 1:2-4

We have all heard Philippians 4:13: ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.’ Today Dr. Quanstrom shares what the church in Philippi would have heard when Paul first penned these words. It was a good word for them, and a good reminder for us.

Stories reveal truth, and Jesus told a lot of them. Matthew says, 'Jesus had a lot to say, and he chose to say it by telling stories." Eugene Peterson says, "Speaking reveals, so when Jesus speaks, revelation is taking place." So, we better listen to the stories Jesus tells. Join Chaplain Holcomb today as we begin our journey to better understand what Jesus reveals about his Kingdom in his stories through the pen of another great story-teller - Dr. Seuss.

"Peace in the Presence of God" Find encouragement in the Word and through our Lord, by remembering that God is with us in all the difficulties we may face. There are many things to be anxious of during this time of uncertainty, but God's peace and comfort can overcome our fears and worries. Rely on Him and seek His peace to finish this semester strong.

When we do not live out our God given purpose we are robbing the world of what God intended to give through us. In order to live into our God-given purpose we have to abandon fear, seek God for our purpose, and walk by faith.

Lent invites us to walk with Jesus on His way to the cross and is a story of confession and forgiveness as well as repentance and grace. Lent is living in the in-between of Christmas and Easter.

God’s grace is a personification of God’s love. The clearest articulation of our love for God is seen in how we treat and love others. The consistency and potency of our love for others is evidence of the birthmark of love God placed on us as His children.

As Christians, we are called to be the share the Good News of the Word and living a life with God through our individual callings given by God. He will do amazing things in and through us when we keep our focus on the Light, Jesus Christ.

The life God has called us to live is a story of belonging and spreading Good News. Seek after God and knowing more about the one who created the desire for knowledge and curiosity, and He will point you in the direction that Glorifies His Kingdom.

Jesus identifies with the least and the marginalized while never claiming his rightful lineage. Jesus makes His way to us and is from wherever we are from.

Embracing God’s love and cultivating intimacy with Him happens when we orient ourselves in proximity, frequency and authenticity before Him. The mechanisms for survival we used prior to our relationship with Christ can become the very things that keep us at a distance from embracing His love for us.

We are chosen, blessed, and broken people designed by our creator to be a gift to the world.

As humans we are the sum of our experiences, memories, and stories which become the scripts from which we operate. Jesus invites us to embrace our stories as true in the process of our spiritual formation, because we don’t take a single step in our faith apart from the story we’re already living. Embracing our story is key to the Spirit of God writing the new beautiful chapter yet to come.

Spiritual practices are intentional and habitual activities whereby we participate synergistically with the redeeming work of God by coming more like Christ. The way we choose to live our days results in how we live our lives.

Walking is simply taking one step after the other. Yet, it is how you walk and in what direction you walk and for what purpose you walk that gives life meaning and definition.

Who should we be in the light of the advent candle and the Christmas star? Does the Christmas story make a difference in our life? Christmas holds the promise of a new identify. The coming of Christ makes it possible for all of us to be new people.

God created everyone in His image, so all of humanity possesses inherent dignity and potential. Our Lord, loves and cares for the orphans, widows, and foreigners and we are too also. When we extend compassion we do it as unto Christ himself.

The wisdom of God is revealed through the church. We can’t have Jesus without the Church, or the groom without His bride, or the head of faith without the attached body. It’s time to reimagine the arguments against the church, reimagine the wisdom of God through the church, and reimagine our place in the church.

Hope compels us to believe that God has better days ahead, impossible things are possible, and faith is greater than fear.

God builds bridges to reach people, and He raises up bridge building people. He provides bridges of reconciliation to bring healing to our broken world. God is a bridge over troubled waters.

There is a clear description of the Kingdom of God in the Word. When we reimagine a better place and attempt to restore what isn’t right, we are partnering and participating with God. This is living in the way of Jesus.

Scripture and Jesus’ example are diametrically opposite of the sexuality narrative expressed in our culture. Everything God created is good and brings order, but sin destroys and leads to chaos. As image bears of God we are to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ in everything including our sexuality.

Relationships are at the core of who we are and meant to be as image-bearers of God. Bearing the image of God informs how we interact in relationships. We are instructed to bring order and beauty in all of life and especially in relationships as reflections of King Jesus.

Young Alum award recipients share about the impact Olivet had on their life’s path and achievements. These inspirational stories celebrate the giftedness of the individuals and God’s work through their lives.