As students head back to school at the University of Mobile, they also have the unique opportunity to hear from various leaders from within Southern Baptist Convention during their weekly chapel services on Wednesdays.
The weekly chapel series reflects the university’s mission of equipping students through Christ-centered learning and community to pursue God’s calling during their college years and beyond.
While diving into the example of Nicodemus in John 3, Charles Smith, president of the University of Mobile, kicked off the first chapel of the fall semester on Aug. 19 with his gospel-centered message focused on connecting students to the life-changing love of Christ.
‘Start with the gospel’
“At the beginning of each semester, one of the things we want to do is to start with the gospel,” Smith explained.
During his message, Smith reminded students that God’s love for us is greater than we can imagine.
“God’s love is focused on the finished work of His Son,” Smith noted. “The summit of this passage and the grounding and glorious reality of all of eternity is that God’s love sent His Son who lived the life that we couldn’t live and died the death that we deserve so that all those that look to Him by faith will be saved.
“If you checked out, I want you to check back in for a second. I want you to notice what this passage doesn’t say. It does not say God so loved the world that He challenged you to try harder. It does not say that God so loved the world that He commanded us to clean ourselves up. It doesn’t give us a ladder and tell us to climb and tell us to claw our way to righteousness. No, the wonder of the gospel is not that we worked our way to God, but that God came all the way to us.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally released by the University of Mobile.
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