Cedarville Magazine Winter 2016

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Chapel Notes
Are you convinced
about the Gospel? Is
this message central
to all we say and
do? Bow underneath
the lordship of Jesus.
Under His lordship,
you don’t have the
abi l it y t o b e l i e ve
whatever you want. This is the moment for us to say quite
clearly:
THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE IS HISTORICAL
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scripture
(1 Cor. 15). We don’t follow myths, Peter said. We are
eyewitnesses of His majesty. We are witnesses of the fact, not
the idea or the concept.
In Jesus, either God entered into time, lived a perfect life,
and died the death we as sinners deserve and rose again from
the dead on the third day, or the New Testament is the record
of an elaborate hoax. Christianity does not exist for a moment
apart from the historicity of a risen Christ.
IT IS RATIONAL
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we
going? Christianity has an answer for all of these questions.
God has created a world, set us in that world; we’ve rebelled,
the world becomes broken; Christ comes into it, the King has
come and does wonderful things; and sin remains. You look
forward to the day of perfection. Who can change the heart like
Jesus? Jesus can do all of this and more.
IT IS EMPIRICAL
Men and women can put it to the test. It’s not true because
it works; it works because it’s true. The story of the Gospel
answers the cries of the human heart. The question of identity
is addressed in Jesus. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
We were created purposefully, for a relationship withGod. Jesus
says that He came to give us life
and have it in all of its fullness.
Are you convinced these things
actually happened? That these
things really are rational? And
that you can say to people,
“Listen, put it to the test; taste
and see that the Lord is good”?
Not one line of the New
Testament was written apart
from the conviction that Jesus
had defeated death and was
alive forever. The symbol of
Christianity is not the dead
figure of a crucifix, but a
triumphant Christ with a cross
broken beneathHis feet. It is that
which compels individuals to
give up their small dreams and
take this [message] to the ends
of the earth. Are you prepared
to allow this to frame your life,
to form your convictions, and to
fashion your plans?
Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor
of Parkside Church in Chagrin
Falls, Ohio. His teaching
ministry is also featured on the
Truth for Life radio program.
Are You Convinced About the Gospel?
The following is an excerpt from a September 9, 2015, chapel presentation by
Alistair Begg. Listen to his full remarks at .
Watch or listen to past messages at or stream them as they speak at
Jan. 28 David Jeremiah
Senior Pastor of Shadow Mountain
Community Church
El Cajon, California
Feb. 11 Jennifer Marshall
Vice President, Institute for Family,
Community, and Opportunity
The Heritage Foundation
Washington, D.C.
Feb. 16 Matt Carter
Pastor of Preaching and Vision
The Austin Stone Community Church
Austin, Texas
Mar. 1–2 John Stonestreet
Speaker and Fellow
Chuck Colson Center for ChristianWorldview
Lansdowne, Virginia
Mar. 16 The Gathering
Chris Broussard
Sports Analyst for ESPN
Bristol, Connecticut
Apr. 7 Freedom to Flourish Conference
Arthur Brooks
President of the American Enterprise Institute
Washington, D.C.
WATCH CHAPEL ON
YOUR TELEVISION
Now anyone can experience
the inspiring atmosphere and
challenging content of chapel
from home.
The fourth generation
Apple TV was released at
the end of October and lets
users watch favorite media
on their TVs like they do on
their smartphones, tablets, or
computers. Available from the
Apple App Store is the brand-
new Cedarville Chapel app.
The Cedarville Chapel app
lets users watch chapel in real
time through live streaming.
They can also catch up on
popular and recent messages.
A searchable archive of past
messages is planned for early
2016. Users can download
Cedarville Chapel in the App
Store by searching “Cedarville.”
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