A Dwelling Place for God by the Spirit
Beeson Divinity School Chapel Series
Spring 2025
Beeson Divinity School exists to prepare God-called persons to serve as ministers in the church of Jesus Christ. This is a high and holy mission, one that requires profound reflection on the nature and purpose of the church we seek to serve.
So, what is the church? How has God brought it to be? And what does He want its faithful members and their ministers to do?
In chapel this year, we will work through the canon of the Old and New Testaments, tracing the development of God’s grand design for the church and its people. We will start in the book of Genesis, where God calls and forms a people set apart from the world to be a light to the Gentiles, a community of priests, a holy nation marked by its commitment to the word, will and worship of God. We will move through the Bible, examining the ways in which the Lord has shaped and led His chosen people through history, gathering a bride for His Son. We will end in Revelation, where the Lord’s love for the bride of Christ is consummated forever in the New Jerusalem.
Throughout the year, we will focus on the manifold ways in which God has always dwelled with the people He has called, enabling them to manifest His presence and provision for a sin-sick world. Our prayer is that this focus will encourage our community to trust in the Lord, believing He is for us and operating through us to redeem the world He loves. We are part of the story we will preach about this year. We ourselves and those we serve “are no longer strangers and aliens,” but “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).
- Douglas A. Sweeney, dean, Beeson Divinity School
The schedule is as follows:
January 28 - Opening Convocation
Sydney Park, Beeson Divinity School
Acts 2
"The Eschatological Community of God"
February 4
Robert Smith, Jr., Beeson Divinity School
II Corinthians 5:11-21
"A Living Sanctuary"
February 11
Cameron Thomas, AVP & Dean of Chapel, Talladega College; Pastor, Hutchinson Missionary Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL
II Corinthians 6:14-7:1
"Remember Who We Are"
February 18
Vince Bacote, Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics and Professor of Theology, Wheaton College
Galatians 5, Romans 8:9-11, I Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20
"The Spirit of Opportunity"
February 25
Ronald Sterling, Beeson Divinity School
Ephesians 4:1-16
"Dwelling Together in Unity"
March 4
Mary Splawn, Minister of Connections, Mountain Brook Baptist Church
Ephesians 5:22-33
"What's Love Got to Do With It?"
March 10-14 - Spring Break
No classes or chapel
March 18
Mark DeVine, Beeson Divinity School
1 Peter 2:1-12
"Cornerstones, Keystones, and God's Y'all Fixation"
March 25 - Conger Lectures in Preaching
Vaughan Roberts, Rector, St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford, EnglandHebrews 10:1-25
"The Christian Life in Three Words"
April 1 - World Christianity Focus Week
Mohammad SanaviPsalm 137:1-6
"How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Foreign Land?"
April 8 - Biblical Studies Lectures
Sandra Richter, Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies, Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA)Matthew 26:17-30
"Remember Me"
April 15
David Parks, Beeson Divinity School
Revelation 7:9-12 and/or 21:23-27
"Step Into the Story"
April 22
Grayson Holbert, James Earl Massey Student Preaching Award recipientJohn 21:15-25
"Growing Up"
May 2 - Commencement and Service of Consecration
Phil Ryken, President of Wheaton CollegeMatthew 24:1-14
"From Today Until the End of the World"
All services take place at 11 a.m. in Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel
Unable to join us in-person? Join us on our livestream!
To watch recorded chapel services, visit our website or our YouTube channel! You can also listen to sermon audio on Apple Podcasts. You can also copy the RSS feed here.
