Photos by Lanna Albright / Slideshow / Livestream
Grand Canyon University Dean of Students and University Pastor Dr. Tim Griffin made a convincing declaration at Monday Chapel.
“We’re going to do that again,” Griffin said before a large crowd at Global Credit Union Arena. “We’re going to seek the Lord. He's going to hear. He's going to answer.”
Griffin recapped an "incredibly difficult week,” in which political commentator and author Charlie Kirk – who spoke last fall at GCU – was killed, a shooting shook a Colorado high school, and the nation mourned in remembrance of the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“So I think what we need to do is just what we sang – to seek out after the Lord,” said Griffin, who asked the audience to pray for Kirk’s widow Erika, the division in the country that God would heal, and then “pray that God would bring a spiritual revival to our country.”
“I don't know about you, but I have been watching videos from around the world how Jesus is moving in the midst of the lives and the hearts of people,” Griffin said. “I don't want Him to pass us up. And I think we need to invite Him to bring that kind of renewal to us.”
In continuing the 2025-26 Monday Chapel theme of "Hall of Faith," Griffin focused on Hebrews 11:1-3, in which “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen; for by it, the people of old received their commendation.
“By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Griffin stressed that people of old were commended by God because of their faith.
“We live in a very trendy age where the goofiest of things can be popularized in a moment,” said Griffin, recalling a moment where an interviewer would ask people in Lamborghinis and Porsches what they did for a living. Those posts became popular through social media.
“I think sometimes we get enamored with things that kind of just come and go,” Griffin said. “And I think that's why God would have a chapter like Hebrews 11 to remind us of those things that really do separate His people from others.
“And the whole chapter is given to those people of faith and the incredible things that they did. And God commends them as a result of that, and not some of the things that may be fun, but not those things that are life-changing and crucial and profound – like the simple act of trusting God and being a person whose life is characterized by that kind of faith.”
Griffin moved forward to Hebrews 11:32, which states the efforts of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets “who, through faith, conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
“Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.”
Griffin emphasized that this is “our family tree,” and that our family experienced painful things.
“But for the children of God, the people who live by faith in Jesus Christ, we are not promised comfort in this life,” Griffin said. “It is so clear to all of us in this room how evil has stepped up in ways in which maybe we never expected.”
“Who thought we'd ever see anything like we did last week in that way, and then hear the response of some people? Just unbelievable to me. It makes my heart sad the demon, that evil, has found the kind of traction that it has in our world.”
Griffin asked those in the audience if they would step up to be people of faith in the same manner described in Hebrews 11.
There were these incredible warriors who trusted and believed in Him,” Griffin said.
In elaborating on the theme of relationships this semester, Griffin encouraged students that good relationships will build grit that will enable them to persevere during tough academic times and social relationships en route to graduation.
But, "You've got to build something inside of your soul to not just give up, just fold under pressure in difficult moments, but ... it's something in your spine that makes you just want to stand up a little taller, to be a little bit more courageous, to trust God in ways like you've never trusted Him before,” Griffin said.
Before ending Chapel with a prayer, Griffin reflected on how he has witnessed the goodness of God, even when he worried about his future but saw how God carried him, his wife and family.
“Don't miss the opportunity to live a life like that, to see Him do something in your life, not just in somebody else's, but in your life,” Griffin said. “So, I'm inviting you today to ask God to give you a faith and a trust in Him, and a confidence where He will do amazing things in and through your life.”
Next Chapel speaker: Sean Myers, Pella Communities lead pastor
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