The Chapel Sermon Podcast

In this episode of Beyond the Message, Scott and Ellie take a deeper look at the story of Cane and Abel and unpack some of the misconceptions and questions that come out of this first depiction of giving back to God and how it played a part in the continued fall of humanity and giving into our sin.

The first words from God to humanity, before sin entered the world, were a declaration of freedom: "You are free." Freedom did not originate in response, or as a solution, to sin. Freedom was and is an integral part of God’s design for humanity, woven into the DNA of who we are. Any sin that enters our lives robs us of the freedom that God has for us. Sin can appeal to us, entertain us, or make us...

In Genesis, we learn that God created for six days, and on the seventh day, he rested. A quick reading of these verses may leave us thinking God was exhausted and needed a day to recuperate. But this interpretation doesn’t align with the bigger Biblical narrative that God is always at work and never tires or grows weary. So why did he rest?  The Hebrew word for rest here is sabat, where the word s...

Scott and Ellie are back with Part Two of Episode 3, where they sit down to talk about the real and relevant conversation of gender and sexuality. They look at what the Bible says about it, what the world says about it, and how we can play a helpful role in the conversation as followers of Jesus. 

This is the first of a two-part episode where Scott and Ellie get into the ever-popular topic of sin. Looking at Genesis 3 as the foundation of the conversation, the two address the reality that no person is immune to the problem of sin.  But that's not all. There is also an opportunity to learn how to address sin in our own lives and the lives of others differently knowing the character and victo...

Sin entered the world in Genesis 3, promising freedom but leading all of humanity into bondage. Sin is not like a disease you catch; it’s more like a spiritual cancer, something within each of us that goes against the image of God in which we were created. We can’t work our way out of our sinful nature. We can’t do more good than bad to get rid of it. We can’t legislate it, put enough money behind...

Scott and Ellie are back for a second episode! This week, they bring up a few significant conversations from Scott's weekend message on the origin of gender, sexuality, and marriage. The Barbie movie, good (and bad) marriage advice, and the unique but equal roles of males and females in relationships are just a few of the exciting and insightful dialogues you get to be part of!

As we read through Genesis 1, we see a recurring pattern: God creates and declares his creation good. Over and over, we read, “It was good.” Then, in Genesis 2, it says – “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Adam was in the garden, communing with God, yet God said it was not good for him to be alone. We learn here that we have been hardwired for relationships with one another. The passage goe...

God spoke, and everything came to be: the sun, moon, stars, oceans, plants, animals, and humans. As we read through Genesis 1, a pattern emerges. God created, paused, observed his creation, and identified everything as good. Genesis also teaches that we are created in God’s image, and as such, have within us the innate ability to identify the goodness all around us. The struggle we face is the pai...

Talk about True to Real! In this episode, Scott Chapman and Ellie Dole dive into big questions unearthed by the weekend message. We talk about things like the expanse of the universe, the possibility of other life, evolution, and how long creation actually took. This is an episode you don't want to miss!

Many of us are so wrapped up in our daily lives that we rarely zoom out to think about the beauty and wonder of the world around us. Did you know there is a balance of energy in our universe so precise that if it were to shift by the smallest fraction of an amount, all life would cease to exist? From the vast expanse of 200 billion known galaxies, each containing 400 billion stars, down to the int...

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” …John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:1-2,4.  After reading this scripture, we may picture John the Baptist as a street...

God chose Saul to be king over Israel. The call on his life was clearly laid out before him. Yet, in 1 Samuel 10, it says that Saul was hiding among the supplies. Saul was called, gifted, anointed, encouraged, and still hiding. The voices from Saul’s past haunted him, causing him to believe he wasn’t qualified. It can be easy to read this story and wonder how Saul could hide, but the truth is we o...

Acts 2:42-47 is a familiar passage that tells the beautiful story of a group of people who loved Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit working through them. The early church consisted of people who knew or had close ties to those who knew Jesus when he walked the earth. Their lives were not easy. They lived during widespread poverty, political divisiveness, and religious turmoil. But that didn’t...

When considering the significant milestones in Jesus' life, many people immediately think of his birth (Christmas), crucifixion (Good Friday), and resurrection (Easter), and look forward to his eventual return, but there is one more significant event that is less talked about and just as vital  – his ascension. This fifth major event in his life represents his triumphant victory over the enemy. No...

Anthony Taylor

In Exodus 31, God lays out rules and regulations for the Israelites regarding the observance of the Sabbath. At first glance, it may seem that the primary focus of the Sabbath is ceasing all work. However, only seeing it as a day to rest misses the heart behind this command. The mandate to set aside a day for rest was not just about stopping work; it was a call to place their trust in God as their...

There are three words in the Bible that translate “word” or “word of God.” Graphe is the written word of God that we find in our Bibles. Logos can be written or spoken and is the message, wisdom, or truths of God. John 1 tells us that Jesus is the ultimate logos. And lastly Rhema is God’s spoken word. Rhema is when the Holy Spirit communicates to us personally the words and heart of God. Jesus say...

Blessed is a term frequently overused in our society, leading us to potentially overlook its true meaning and significance in scripture. To be blessed is to receive God's provision, favor, and deliverance – something we would all love to have! We desire to be like the tree planted by streams of water, prospering in all we do. Often, we fill our days with work and activities, hoping they will add m...

In Galatians 5:15-26 the apostle Paul lays out a clear blueprint of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus and what it looks like to live in the presence of God. Paul reveals to the readers that what we eat matters, the saying we’ve heard time and time again… “we become what we eat” is a very real reality for a follower of Jesus. As Paul is speaking to the Galatians he introduces a tension b...

In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts King David about his sins. David models what to do when we are convicted of our sins. Godly conviction is something that can easily be mistaken for shame. Shame is a tool of the enemy, aiming to trap us and remind us of our mistakes, keeping us stuck in our sins like mud at the bottom of a hole. On the contrary, Godly conviction acts as a guiding rope,...

This week we saw a very different side of David. We looked at the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11, where David walked away from God’s call on his life, acted lustfully, committed adultery, manipulated people and situations, abused his power, and orchestrated murder. All of which raises profound questions about David's integrity and challenges our understanding of his character. Was Dav...

For 20 years, the Israelites were living apart from God. They had abandoned the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s presence resided. In 2 Samuel 6, David leads the Israelites as they retrieve the Ark of the Covenant, bring it to Jerusalem, and return to God as a community. As they march towards Jerusalem, David dances before the Lord with all his might. This is the moment in David’s life where it al...