Liberty University welcomed Tim Timberlake to the Convocation stage on Oct. 23 while Allie Beth Stuckey addressed the student body on Oct. 25.
Timberlake is an author and the Senior Pastor of Celebration Church alongside his wife Jen Timberlake in Jacksonville, Florida.
He began the message by reading Exodus 3:1-5 and reminiscing on a childhood memory of removing his shoes at the door when visiting his grandmother.
“It wasn’t until I got older that I recognized, and realized, that the reason she wanted me to leave my shoes at the door,” Timberlake said. “Leaving my shoes at the door was an indication – to her – that I was not going to be in a rush to leave.
Timberlake recalled Exodus 3, which details the moment God told Moses to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Timberlake explained that there is a practical application within this chapter.
“What I truly believe God was encouraging Moses to do was stay for a little while,” Timberlake said. “I believe God was encouraging Moses to stay. Because if Moses did not know who he was, he could not use Moses the way he intended to.”
Timberlake also addressed how we, more often than not, settle for knowing about God rather than knowing him personally.
“We have grown accustomed to living a life where the relationship with God is based off of our convenience instead of a Godly conviction. And if God is asking us to do anything, in this moment we have together, I believe it is to slow down and spend some time with him,” Timberlake said.
Timberlake said many things in life desire our attention and hold onto us longer than we intend to stay.
“If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourselves living in the hopes of tomorrow instead of being planted where your feet are today,” Timberlake said. “And the truth of the matter is, you won’t be happier there until you understand what joy is here.”
Photo by Ryan Anderson | Liberty University
Junior Keilynette Velez said the message convicted her.
“This made me reflect and think about how many times I haven’t ‘taken my shoes off’ because I was in a rush to keep going and not actually set time to spend with the Lord,” Velez said.
Stuckey, an American conservative commentator and author, spoke on Friday to discuss politics.
In 2015, during the election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Stuckey led a Bible study group comprised of young women who were freshman students. As Stuckey spoke about the issues on the ballot and the state of the election, she discovered that these young women were unaware of these matters.
“An attitude that I often come across when I’m speaking to Christians – in particular, Christian women – is a little bit of apathy coated with some spiritual language about politics,” Stuckey said. “That politics don’t really matter. Our citizenship is in Heaven. Jesus is coming back, and that our elections really aren’t that big of a deal.”
Stuckey clarified that she did not want to focus on divisive politics; instead, she wanted to explain why politics should matter to Christians. She remembered watching former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sign a bill to claim abortion as a human right throughout all nine months of pregnancy into law.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is why politics matter,’” Stuckey said. “Politics matter because policy and people, matter. Politics affect policy, policy affects people, and people matter. They matter to God, and therefore, as Christians, they matter to us.”
Stuckey said policy impacts the most vulnerable: children and unborn babies.
“When I hear a lot of well-meaning Christians say, ‘Politics don’t matter,’ I think of that night … where I realize what is at stake with our vote, what is at stake with our political engagement,” Stuckey said.
Junior Ava Knight appreciated Stuckey’s message.
“The speaker’s message touched me when she shared her own experience with pregnancy and spoke on how abortion affects America’s women and preborn babies,” Knight said.
Stuckey said Christians are called to the truth in love. She read 1 John 4:8.
“That means, that for the Christians, we understand that love and truth are inextricably intertwined,” Stuckey said. “We understand that we cannot love someone by lying to them. We cannot love someone by supporting what God hates. When God is Love, the most loving thing we can always do is agree with God.”