1999 Miracle Yearbook

WINTER BtalfrA,„ D r. John MacArthur presented three challenges to the Cedarville College family during the Winter Enrichment Conference: Be strong, value truth, and understand the mes- sage ofthe Gospel. MacArthuris the pastor/teacherofthe5,000-memberGraceCommunity Churchin Santa Clarita, California. He is also president of Master's College and Seminary. He authored the MacArthur Study Bible and numerous other books. Although MacArthur's stay was cut short because ofthe suddenlossofhis mother,hespoketo students,faculty,community members,and agroupofpastors through two morning services and one evening service. Atthe beginning ofhis first message,MacArthursaid,"In case you're wondering whatmytheme is,its'Things I Want to Talk About.' Each message focused on a timely issue that was pertinent to the college family. "During the Winter Enrichment Conference, I wanted to raise the level of commitment," MacArthur said. "I wanted to focus on developing the right kind of thinking. I Corinthians 2:16 talks about having the mind ofChrist. As we think-- we are. I wanted to present familiar things in an unfamiliar way so that it would come through fresh." On Wednesday morning, MacArthur presented four illustrations from II Timothy 2:1-6. He encouraged the listeners to view themselves as teachers, take on a soldier's mentality, exhibit an athlete's discipline, and seek fruit like a fanner. MacArthur challenged the listeners to remain strong in a culture that is quickly declining. MacArthur's Wednesday evening message revealed the destructive nature oflying, specific to the reasons for President Clinton's impeachment trial. In his introduction,MacArthur pointed out numerous versesfrom Proverbsthatshow how much God hates lies. The main partofMacAuthur's message came from Jeremiah 5. "Love of truth and fear of lying is the foundation of Christian character," he said. Many pastors from surrounding states came for a pastors conference ofThursday. They,along with the rest of the college body, heard MacArthur speak during Thursday's morning chapel. MacArthur emphasized how important it is for Christians to understand the gospel. He used II Corinthians 5:18-21 to demonstrate that reconciliation is at the core of the Gospel message. "Substitution is the key word,"MacArthursaid. "God treated Jesus asifhe had committed every sin by every person who would ever believe. Jesus was here for 33 years to live a perfect life so our life could be credited -- that is the heart and soul of the Gospel." Many students responded to MacArthur's straightfoward presentation and were disappointed that the remainder ofthe conference was canceled because ofthe unfortunate circumstances. "He has a way oftaking issues directly out of a Bible passage and presenting to his audience what the Bible says about them and why it's so important that you understand them," senior Shannah Campbell said. "He gets to the real meatofthe matter,but he never goes over your head. He talks very well to an audience of various levels." Wednesday's evening message on lying drew a lot offeedback. "It's not enough to know that it's wrong to lie," Campbell said. "We have to know why it's wrong and the consequences of a leader who does lie." "One thing that caught my attention was his quote,'When somebody becomes a liar, they're capable ofdoing anything,"junior Ryan Stephens said. "We're all depraved and capable ofdoing anything. Why single out lying? It didn't seem like a good analogy to me." "My favorite message was this morning," junior Rebekah Schuring said in reference to Thursday's message on salvation. "I appreciate how he brought it back to the mostimportant thing -- that we remember what Christ did for us is totally undeserved. Every time we hear it, we should be totally struck in awe. What got me the most was when we left. Everyone started talking about lunch. Nobody stopped to takefive minutestothank Godfor whathe'sdonefor us. When you hear a message like that, you have to stop and thank God." stentulmson 0 CHAPEL