Chapel
The session began with announcements covering Sperling Open Dorms scheduled for that evening, a deadline for submitting service hours via Canvas, and upcoming athletic events including volleyball and soccer games, noting the soccer team's ranking. Further announcements included details on a pickleball tournament starting on the 29th, open applications for spring break mission trips to Costa Rica, Utah, the Dominican Republic, and Washington DC, and a request for volunteers for the Pursue event on October 10th-12th, which aims to guide high school juniors and seniors toward ministry calls. Following announcements, a prayer was offered, and the group entered worship, which included songs about finding freedom and salvation. The speaker then addressed recent overwhelming events, specifically the assassination of Charlie Kirk at a Utah University event, the subsequent social media reactions, and the funeral proceedings. The speaker expressed uncertainty on how to address the polarizing nature of the topic and referenced commentary from Minister Seth Trout regarding how pastors should respond, focusing on the concept of who narrates the world from a Christian perspective versus a secular humanist one. The core of the sermon involved applying Jesus's commentary from Matthew chapter 11 (verses 2-7) concerning John the Baptist to contemporary figures like Charlie Kirk, suggesting Kirk could be considered a martyr for promoting biblical values, similar to John the Baptist. The speaker introduced a short video clip from Pastor Mike Winger discussing this martyrdom analogy.