This Sunday is the start of Holy Week. It is Palm Sunday. Many churches will pass out palm branches to the kids and do something special to celebrate this event. I know we are a few days early but I would like to talk about Palm Sunday. This is a celebration of the triumphal entry […]
In 1853, without any formal training in the Bible, a 21-year-old man named Hudson Taylor left England to sail to China with the single purpose of sharing the gospel to the people of that country. He did some radically different things for a missionary at that time. He dressed like people in China instead of […]
The last couple of months, your teachers and principal have given Chapel messages about well-known, and impactful members of the Christian faith and about what we can glean from their life and example. We have called this sermon series: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. We have heard about amazing historical figures, from Gregory the Great to Mary. Today, I will be speaking on a person, both from history, and from historical fiction…Alexander Hamilton.
I was pretty shy growing up. I was more comfortable around ducks, geese, and chickens than I was around people. It was no problem for me to spend hours of time alone fishing. When I went to college, I went out of state and had to find a new church. Which meant something pretty scary, […]
You’ve all heard from many of your teachers concerning the Giants of the Faith. How do you compare as a follower of Jesus Christ to those greats of the past? How do you want to live your life? Are you living according to your intended purpose? These are questions we all must ask ourselves. The Giant we will talk about today is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He asked himself these types of questions often in order to make sure he was on the right path and I challenge you all as you listen to my message this morning to challenge yourselves concerning these questions.
By: Mrs. Diane Carter When Mr. Smith asked the faculty to participate with him this semester in presenting chapel, asking us to offer to you biographies of our favorite historical or Bible figures, I jumped at the chance to present to you my lifetime favorite, William Wilberforce. For decades, His story and his very person […]
This morning, I wanted to talk to you about perseverance, but I wanted to do it through the story of two of my favorite heroes of the faith, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot. And throughout my talk, I am going to be referencing one of Elizabeth’s books, Discipline. Now, I know we have a tendency to tense up when we hear the word discipline because our culture has given us a very narrow definition of discipline. Discipline for you might only mean the consequences you face when you mess up either here or at home. But, I hope that after Mr. Smith’s talks, you realize that discipline encompasses much more than just punishments. Disciplines, broadly defined, are the patterns of behavior in which we live our lives. They are the rhythms that we instill to get us to a certain goal. For example, you might have the discipline of getting up early to exercise because you know you will be too tired after school to do it then. Or you may have the discipline of reading the Bible and praying. You can have a discipline of eating well, of fasting, of silence, of service, these are all examples of good disciplines, and I will mention later how these disciplines help us when persevering through trials.
What if we took all of you, the students from Annapolis and switched you with kids from another school that is not a Christian school. Would the teachers and I notice any difference in the student’s behaviors or attitudes? Would there be a difference in how classmates would treat each other? In what kind of […]
I have chosen Gregory not only because of how influential he was in history, but because of the way he was influential. It occurs to me that the vast majority of movers and shakers in History, the people who make history…are people who live their lives proactively, rather than reactively.
How many of you have ever climbed a mountain? I mean a big mountain. Not a Texas-sized hill but like a big Colorado mountain. When you hike a big mountain, you first have a steep, difficult climb up. Then you reach the top. You can stop and pause. You can see the amazing view. And […]
