Beyond President's Chapel @ Elim Bible Institute and College

Rev. Barry Kwallek emphasizes the idea that every moment is an opportunity to worship God. Drawing inspiration from God's question to Elijah, he emphasizes the importance of understanding one's purpose and calling. The sermon unfolds into an exploration of worship as the fundamental purpose of human existence, extending beyond traditional expressions like singing in church. Rev. Kwallek challenges listeners to worship God in various aspects of life, including work, school, and personal time. He underscores the diverse ways individuals can worship, urging them to know God more, love more, and serve more as essential components of their worship. This is a message that will change your life!

Pastor Tim Case, Senior Pastor of Covenant Life Church in Henrietta NY, and Theology teacher at EBIC, teaches about the misunderstandings of faith and divine healing. He states, "God is always good, loving, and caring even though we may question who He is, sufferings, sickness, and natural disasters do not dictate or change God’s goodness." We live in a sinful world that is in God's control, and, in his sovereignty and plan, God is the one who ultimately decides what to do. This is a teaching that will help you grow spiritually!

Pastor David Ham delivers a powerful message urging his audience to stay connected to the spiritual power source through prayer. He shares a story highlighting a pivotal moment in Bible school when he and his girlfriend were asked to separate for their first semester for spiritual growth. Drawing from the story of Elisha and the Syrian army, he emphasizes the importance of prayer, demonstrating how it changes one's position and aligns believers with God's will. Pastor Ham encourages listeners to stay plugged into God's power source (prayer) for continued spiritual growth and impact beyond the confines of their current setting.

Pastor David Ham delivers a compelling message centered on the biblical story of Jehoshaphat, emphasizing the significance of trusting in the Lord during times of adversity. He underscores the difference between being stuck in fear and confidently standing on God's promises. Drawing from personal experiences, Rev. Ham illustrates the transformative power of worship and prayer, recounting a moment when, during an outreach in a spiritually oppressed neighborhood, the fervent worship of believers thwarted the efforts of a witch doctor who sought to counteract their presence with dark forces. His message encourages believers to engage in prayer and patiently await God's guidance, ultimately trusting that God will fight their battles.

Rev. David Ham shares a personal experience from his own life, recounting a challenging moment when he was confronted about his faith and had to choose between fear and faith. Addressing the current generation and drawing parallels with his generation, Rev. Ham emphasizes the importance of standing firm on the foundation of faith, even in the face of societal pressure and conflicting beliefs. Preaching from Daniel 6, he encourages the audience to embrace a steadfast faith, especially during societal shifts, highlighting the need for courage, prayer, and a deep understanding of one's identity in Christ in navigating challenging conversations and circumstances.

Drawing inspiration from the biblical narrative of David and the Philistines, Rev. David Ham underscores the need for seeking God's guidance daily and being battle-ready through a consistent connection with the Word. As Rev. Ham dives into the story of David's encounters with the Philistines, he unveils a profound revelation – a divine strategy that requires listening for the sound of marching from the tops of balsam trees, challenging conventional wisdom and emphasizing the importance of faith and dependence on God's supernatural guidance. He calls the students to keep their ears tuned to heaven, ensuring that the strategies they employ are in alignment with God's will for their lives.

Rev. David Ham delves into the significance of the Lord's Prayer, exploring its various components and providing both practical and spiritual applications. The message emphasizes the importance of approaching God with reverence, and recognizing His holiness and authority. It emphasizes the need for daily communion and spiritual nourishment, urging believers to seek God's provision and forgiveness persistently. Rev. Ham encourages believers to maintain a close and persistent relationship with God, relying on the Holy Spirit for spiritual growth and effectiveness in their lives.

Rev. David Ham expresses his gratitude for Elim as he reflects on the transformative journey of his spiritual formation. He urges the students to seek refuge in prayer and embrace the power of receiving a prophetic word. Drawing inspiration from the biblical narrative of David and Saul, Rev. Ham underscores the crucial role of the Holy Spirit and emphasizes the unity needed in collective prayer among students. Join Rev. David Ham in this thought-provoking discussion as he encourages the students to a deeper relationship with God.

Rev. Melvin Cross emphasizes that genuine faith manifests through proactive preparation in alignment with God's word and calling. He discusses the importance of humility in prayer, describing it as the communication system of the kingdom. He contends that prayer allows individuals to partner with God's will, bringing spiritual plans into fruition in the natural realm. The message encourages seeking the perfect will of God through dedicated prayer, providing personal anecdotes and insights into the transformative power of prayer.

In this powerful message, Rev. Melvin Cross passionately emphasizes the transformative impact of prayer and the divine call to go beyond convenience in seeking God's will. Drawing inspiration from the biblical narrative of Hannah's fervent prayer and subsequent blessings, Rev. Cross encourages the audience to persevere in prayer, acknowledging that God's plans often exceed nostalgic reflections on past revivals. The message resonates with a call for personal commitment, unwavering faith, and a willingness to be vessels through which God can work to bring about profound changes in individual lives and, by extension, the world.

Graduating Senior, Joshua Cargin, delivers a message based on Ephesians chapter 6, urging listeners to be strong in the Lord and to put on the whole armor of God. He provides context about the city of Ephesus, emphasizing its rich spiritual history and the challenges faced by early Christians in a polytheistic society. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the true enemy in spiritual warfare and cautions against directing anger and hatred toward people. He shares a personal experience and urges listeners to choose love over hatred, focusing on the need to pray for the salvation of those causing strife. This is a message that would encourage you to be more like Jesus!

In this sermon, Gabriel stresses the importance of getting to know God on a deeper level. He encourages everyone to spend time reading the Bible, highlighting that knowing God is crucial for staying strong during tough times. He concludes his message with a call to seek God, not just as a routine, but with a genuine desire to know Him closely because knowing the Creator can transform our lives, keeping us joyful and confident through life's challenges.

Bringing a message that not only applies to missions, but to the overall call of God on our lives, Rev. Gary Ham implores us to grab ahold of God's vision for our lives. Having lived his own life on the mission field, Pastor Ham shares story after story about how God's vision for his life propelled him forward time and time again. This simple, powerful message is a call to action; a call to take responsibility for the visions that God has imparted to each individual. And for those who are still unsure of what God has called them to do, it's a message that sets a fire under your seat to press in more to God.

"Missions is all about pursuit", states Rev. Matt Slisher, a seasoned missionary himself. He focuses on three areas of pursuit: The lost in pursuit of God, God in pursuit of the lost, and God's continued pursuit of the saved so they partner with him in His pursuit of the lost. Speaking on the great commission, Rev. Matt asks the students, "As followers of Christ shouldn't we engage in sharing the Gospel with the lost, knowing that the Lord Jesus gave us that task?" This is a message that will help you expand God's kingdom by sharing the Gospel with others!

In this message, Rev. Kevin Graves, a missionary to Asia for more than 20 years, encourages the students to become a reflection of God's glory despite challenges. He urges them to maintain a clear vision of God's ongoing work in the Church, emphasizing the crucial elements of loyalty and courage. By drawing insights from David's life, he underscores the necessity of steadfast loyalty in relationships, especially in challenging times, and laments the scarcity of courage in the present era. The message wraps up with impactful stories of individuals exemplifying courage and loyalty, illustrating the transformative influence of these virtues in fulfilling one's divine calling. The central theme revolves around Kevin's call for the Church to emulate David, characterized by unwavering loyalty, courage, and a steadfast commitment to God's transformative mission in the world.

Rev. Tim Case, senior Pastor of Covenant Life Church in Henrietta NY, focuses on the importance of yielding to God's authority. He emphasizes God's supremacy over both heaven and earth, highlighting the repercussions of defiance while asserting that God's rule stems from love and a sincere concern for the welfare of individuals. He challenges the students to submit to the Lord out of love rather than driven by fear. Using different Bible verses, Pastor Tim stresses the significance of maintaining a consistent commitment to seeking God through prayer and Bible reading. This is a message you don't want to miss!

Gabriel Cepeda, Worship Director for EBIC, brings an encouraging message to our students. He states, “Worship doesn’t equal music, is a lifestyle that honors the Lord. Music is simply an expression of our worship to God." Based on Joshua 4, he challenges the students to be intentional about the way they remember God in their day-to-day lives. He affirms, "Our motivation to obey and honor God should be out of love for Him, not obligation. A love that moves us to action instead of sitting by in idle expectation." In this life filled with troubles and stress, we must remember the goodness of God. Just as Joshua was instructed to build a monument with stones, so the Israelites remember what the Lord has done for them, we need to have something in our lives that reminds us of what the Lord has done for us! This is a message that will impact your life.

Rev. Chris Lockemy begins by sharing an analogy of an electronic hotel room key. He states, "The ability that hotel room keys have to let you into your room is imprinted on the magnetic strip on the card. Many times if this key is close to another magnetic force, this magnetic force can erase the data of the room key causing the key to malfunction and not allowing you to unlock your room." Rev. Lockemy connects this analogy to our identities in God. Just like the other magnetic force, the enemy tries to get closer to us and does everything he can to erase our identity in Christ. Oftentimes, the devil uses the need for approval and fear of rejection as his weapons. If you are struggling with your identity in Christ, this message is for you!  

This morning one of our own seniors at EBIC, Aidan Claudio, shares a powerful message that exhorts us not to give up! He reminds us of all the struggles people in the Bible went through and how they continued to pursue God. He states, "Falling down does not make you a failure, staying down does." By quoting 2 Timothy 1:7, Aidan reminds us that "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power". We are called to be warriors. The trials in our lives are an opportunity to rely on God; more dependent on Him and less on ourselves. Being a Christian means being in a non-stop fight. So, let's not give up because God has promised us that He will be with us until the end of our journey. This is a message that you don't want to miss!

Gabriel Cepeda, Worship and Tech Coordinator for Elim Bible Institute and College, starts his teaching by asking us a question. “What do we gain from the Asbury experience?” Hopefully and obviously what we gain from it is change! Change in our hearts and minds to pursue spiritual maturity. A move of God is an amazing experience that will help us in our journey toward spiritual maturity. He states, “Spiritual maturity happens on the battlefield of our daily lives.” Having spiritual maturity means not just jumping from mountain-top experience to mountain-top experience. Moses for example had to come down from the mountain after spending time with God. The Apostle Paul reminds us that God is after developing our character. This spiritual maturity of our character is shown in our worship as we worship in every situation. This is a message that will help you in your spiritual journey with the Lord