Pastor Tim Birdwell urges students to embrace faith in life's darkest moments
Pastor Tim Birdwell spoke to students at Grand Canyon University during Monday's Chapel service. Held at Global Credit Union Arena, his sermon focused on faith in moments of crisis. He drew from the biblical story of a desperate father and his demon-possessed son.
Birdwell began by recounting the passage from Mark 9:14-29. In the story, a father brings his son to Jesus, pleading for help as the boy suffers violent seizures caused by a demon. The disciples had tried but failed to cast it out.
Jesus responds by telling the father, *'Everything is possible for the one who believes.'* The father, torn between hope and doubt, cries out, *'I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.'* After this, Jesus drives out the demon, and the boy is healed. Birdwell suggested the disciples' failure came from relying on past successes rather than prayer. He noted they had cast out demons before but were now distracted by arguments. Their focus shifted from faith to their own strategies. To reinforce his point, Birdwell referenced Martin Luther's description of faith as a *'living, bold trust in God's grace.'* He urged students to hold onto faith, especially in tense or uncertain times.
The sermon left students with a reminder of faith's power in struggles. Birdwell's message tied the ancient story to modern challenges, though he did not specify which crises he addressed. The Chapel service ended with the call to trust beyond doubt, just as the father in the biblical account did.
