Do a Heart-Check, First Chapel Message of the Year: Photogallery

Today was the first day of a “heart check.”

Students, faculty, and staff contemplated the words of Interim President Liz Rudenga as she delivered the first chapel message of the academic year and her first message in her new role.

Drawing on her morning Bible reading from the Book of Exodus, and briefly donning an Egyptian headdress as a humorous visual aid, Rudenga posed the question from her devotion: “Is there any Pharaoh-like hardness in your heart?”

Rudenga compared a hardening of the heart to the way a two-year-old child learns to emphatically say “no.” She encouraged all gathered to begin the year with a “heart-check,” asking yourself whether you are taking the childish attitude of pushing God away or being responsive to his call.

“We have a wonderful, beautiful, spirit-filled semester ahead.” Dr. Liz Rudenga

Rudenga said that to be responsive, it is imperative to listen to God through prayer, worship, Bible study, small group discussion, and being open to his leading.

“We have a wonderful, beautiful, spirit-filled semester ahead,” she said. “Continue to lead a life that responds to God.”