Spiritual Life

How deeply God loves us can be summed up in one Bible verse from the second book of Corinthians. Chad Moore of Sun Valley Community Church used that verse Monday to talk at Chapel about how Jesus is different from the prophets in other religions — and that’s why Christianity is different.

We all have to decide eventually what our spiritual journey will be like, and Jo Saxton wanted to intercept the students listening at Chapel on Monday if they hadn’t yet made that decision. But not only do we need to decide what we’re here for, she said. We also need to understand who Jesus is and not let others determine what our story will be.

Canyon Worship Live, the concert featuring performances by the student artists from the recently released Worship Arts album, was on campus for the first time Monday night, and Ethington Theatre was packed for the occasion. It was loud, it was electric and it was a moment to reflect on how the students’ confidence keeps growing every time they go onstage.

Among regular speakers at Chapel, Noe Garcia of North Phoenix Baptist Church is among the most relevant and entertaining, but Monday he was just relevant — for a good reason. Garcia talked very frankly and directly about the influx of anxiety and depression in this country and especially among young people. It’s a subject he knows all too well; he once tried to take his own life.

GCU News Bureau The crowd stood, sang along, clapped and raised hands in praise of God on Monday morning as the worship team from Love International filled the Arena with its powerful sound at Musical Worship Chapel. “There is power in the name of Jesus,” they sang over and over, and you truly could feel it. There was no speaker, but this spoke volumes.

Sometimes, it seems as if we’re constantly being tested in life, and that goes double for students right now as midterms loom. How they do on their exams is up to them, but Dr. Tim Griffin, GCU’s Pastor and Dean of Students, had a simple message for them at Chapel on Monday: When it comes to life experiences, we need to turn to God for the answers.

Are you going to be a thermometer or a thermostat? That was the challenge from Ashley Wooldridge of Christ’s Church of the Valley in his Chapel talk Monday morning. In other words, are you going to just accept the way the world is shifting away from God, or are you going to try to change it?

You see someone in need, and you sympathize. You might even empathize. But do you show true compassion? That’s what Riccardo Stewart wanted to know in his Chapel talk Monday morning. The pastor of Redemption Tempe cited one of Jesus’ miracles as an example of how He didn’t just sympathize or empathize — he acted. But first He did something just as critical: He looked at the person.

A $3.2 million grant from the Kern Family Foundation will help GCU develop an accelerated pastoral training program in which students will be able to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity in five years. GCU is matching the Kern Family Foundation’s investment by providing the other half of the $6.5 million needed to launch and build out the program over the next five years.

Anyone who has ever heard a Ron Merrell talk at Chapel knows one thing for sure: He’s probably going to have a punchline that gives his message some punch. But the former standup comic wasn’t trying to be funny Monday when he began his talk with some heartfelt thoughts about loneliness. Later on, though, he used his daughter’s stuffed animals to cuddle up to the truth about Jesus’ love.