Living on Purpose This Semester

Speaker 1: Good morning everyone. Welcome back to Chapel and Happy New Year. My name is Madyson Eberly and I
serve as a student athlete advisory committee president. I played volleyball here up until this
past December and now I'm continuing at LCU as a grad student pursuing my master's degree in
accounting. I care a lot about the hearts of our athletes, coaches, and this entire campus family.
As SAC president, my hope and challenge for our athletes and coaches this spring is that we remember who we are really playing for.
I pray that our identity would be found more in Christ than in wins, losses, roles, or setbacks.
When people see us practice, compete, and travel, I hope they see honesty, humility, real joy, and a drive to strive for excellence.
And when things are hard, I pray we respond in a way that looks like Jesus and points people back to him.
To the whole student body, faculty, and staff, my hope and challenge for us this semester is that we live and choose intention.
It is easy to get busy, stressed, and pulled in many different directions,
but what if we just slow down just enough to really see each other choosing a place where we build and lift each other up?
I hope we choose people over our phones, our schedules, and our comfort,
and that in our dorms, classrooms, teams, and offices,
we encourage one another and point each other to Christ.
There are many things to look forward to this semester,
and I want to leave you with this.
Colossians 3:23 says it perfectly.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
That means studying hard, practicing with excellence, loving well, and facing wins or setbacks for his glory.
Thank you.
Speaker 2: Good morning, everyone. My name is Kadence Hobbs. I am representing the Inner Club Council this morning.
I am also the president of Christliche Damen, and I am honored to be able to talk to you guys today.
To the social clubs in here, I really was reflecting on a hope or a challenge that I had for you guys.
the biggest thing that kept coming back to me is something that Madison was kind
of talking about as well but that's intentionality and specifically
intentionality through relationships I think a big theme that shows up in the
spring semester with social clubs is follies and that is such an exciting
time and while it is a time to come together with your club sometimes I feel
like it also brings division between some of the clubs and so yes this is a club unity spiel like
that is so important but a very specific challenge that i have for you guys is to intentionally seek
out a relationship or a person in a different club that you can reach out to and that you can
be praying over during this busy semester with school or with follies or whatever they're going
through. So my hope and challenge for Social Club specifically is for you to
seek out at least one relationship that you can be intentional with this semester.
And then to the student body, to the faculty, to everyone else in here,
my hope and challenge for you guys is prayer. I feel like a common theme today on stage is
intentionality be intentional with praying over people that you're in a relationship with.
I feel like LCU is really good at professor and student relationships. That is something that I
really loved about LCU coming here. And so maybe something specifically or an instance that you
can specifically seek out during the semester is when you're one-on-one with your professor,
or when you're asking them questions during a class that
might be challenging.
This could go vice versa for professor and students.
Ask how you can pray for them.
Ask how they're doing outside of just the academics.
And you'll see that prayer is something
that brings people together.
And so that could be outside of a professor and student
relationship as well.
And it can be with your peers.
And so that is my hope and challenge for the student body and for faculty to be intentional with prayer,
be intentional with your relationships, because that is truly what brings us together.
And that's where God flourishes and makes things new and does really awesome things through the Holy Spirit.
So thank you for listening.
Matthew Duval: Well, hey, y'all.
If I haven't gotten the privilege to meet y'all yet, my name is Matthew Duvall.
I get the honor and privilege of being president
of LCU Student Senate this year.
And as president of that organization,
I hope and pray is that we as a representative body
fulfill our purpose.
I pray that we as executives, committee members,
leaders, and senators spend the rest of the year
listening to the wants and needs of our peers
so we can plan and execute events
that serve as touch points for intentional community.
I hope our events lead to new and deepening friendships
because as Jesus relates to his disciples in Matthew 18,
where two or three are gathered in my name,
there I am among them.
As for our entire LCU community
within and throughout and outside of this room,
I hope that we leave this semester changed.
As Dr. Carey, our dean of the Al and Pat Smith
College of Biblical Studies,
fold the through name in there,
as Dr. Cary reminds me often,
higher education is not simply about the exchange of information,
but about personal and individual formation.
And as a Christ-centered university, our mission is to transform our hearts, minds, and hands for lives of purpose and service to the one true God.
Secondly, I hope that we spend this spring semester leaning into the joy of intentional community.
I hope the mall area and our other common spaces are never without laughter or conversation.
I hope that the counseling center is booked full of students asking for help when they need it.
And I hope that no professor is able to walk back to his or her office without being interrupted at least four times by excited students.
It is going to be a great semester, and I'm so excited to be here.
We're going to end with a prayer, starting with all three of us.
Speaker 1: All right. Everybody bow your heads.
Heavenly Father, thank you for Lubbock Christian University, this great community, and for the students, coaches, professors, staff, and athletes gathered here today.
Help us remember our identities in you above any role or achievement.
Lord, give us passion to chase excellence so our practices, classes, and relationships show your presence.
Help us to really see each other and to find our worth in your grace above everything else.
Lord, please guide our hearts this semester to honor you in all we do.
Speaker 2: God, I pray that as we enter into this new semester, into this new year,
that we can have open hearts and eyes and ears to what you have for us.
God, I pray that we can lean into this intentional community that we've been talking about this morning,
intentional prayer, intentional relationships, that we can walk into those things,
knowing that you are going to bring good out of those
and that your will is always done through those things.
God, we just thank you for your immense love and mercy for us.
And in your name we pray.
Matthew Duval: Lord Jesus Christ, first of all, I just want to say thank you so much for the gift of this community.
I ask that as we continue on through this spring semester,
that your Holy Spirit descends upon this campus
and causes us to be a people that sees each other and loves each other
and ultimately glorifies you.
we ask for your aid and all that we need as we go throughout the rest of this year
and we praise you because you're worthy lord jesus christ name i pray amen you're dismissed
.