This past summer we hosted the inaugural Math3ma Symposium at The Master’s University. The turnout was truly wonderful, and I recently summarized some of my favorite personal highlights in a new article on the university’s website: “Three Takeaways from the Math3ma Symposium.” Below you’ll find brief descriptions of our four keynote sessions* along with links to the full recordings, which are now available on the university’s YouTube channel.

Also, save the date! Next year’s Math3ma Symposium is scheduled for Friday, May 31 – Saturday, June 1, 2024. Keep up with the latest by subscribing to our new mailing list or checking out the symposium page here. Registration will open later this winter!

Keynote Session 1: “Delighting in the Studied Works of Yahweh” — Jeff Williams / video

From microbiologists studying the smallest single-celled organisms to astronomers observing the entire universe, we are all in the business of studying God’s works. Bearing the image of God includes subduing and studying His creation (Gen. 1:28), and the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS), one of the most significant technological achievements in history, is an example of this endeavor. In this session, Jeff uses his unique platform as an astronaut aboard the ISS to unpack these truths further.

Keynote Session 2: “When I feel alone… (Heb. 13:5b)” — Abner Chou / video

It is easy to feel lonely in a discipline that generally does not adhere to a biblical worldview — a familiar reality for believers in the STEM fields, who are sometimes ostracized for holding to their convictions. The author of Hebrews wrote to a group of people who could understand the feeling: the Jewish believers in the early church. Not only did they face political persecution, they also faced hostility from their own families, who disowned them for believing in the Messiah. Today, Christians working in the sciences can rest in the promises made to these believers almost two thousand years ago as they face similar loneliness within their workplace. This session looks deeper into these promises found in Hebrews 13:5b — namely, that God will never disconnect from us, and that He is not distant from us.

Keynote Session 3: “Knit Together in a Mother’s Womb” — Tara Sander Lee / video

Psalm 139:13–16 declares God as the One who creates each child inside the womb, knitting them together before the mother is even aware. Part of Tara’s work as the Vice President and Director of Life Sciences at the Charlotte Lozier Institute involves understanding deeply the intricate process of God’s knitting together within the womb, which is illustrated beautifully on the institute’s website here. There, one sees how each child is a unique human being from conception and how God is the One who is sovereign over the child’s life both inside and outside of the womb. Only God knows the exact moment that conception takes place in the womb, and He is the One who determines that little one’s days. This session gives an in-depth look into the reality that God has created each one of us as unique human beings in order to glorify Him in both the lives and deaths He has sovereignly ordained for us.

Keynote Session 4: “The Message of Reconciliation” — John MacArthur / video

For believers to carry out the Great Commission faithfully, we must be crystal clear on the heart and soul of the gospel, and our commission is that of reconciliation. The world is alienated from God and hostile toward Him, but God desires to reconcile sinners to Himself through Christ. This message of reconciliation outlined in 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 gives us the encouragement and the weapons needed to go on an effective offense for God’s kingdom. In this session, Dr. MacArthur unpacks these verses as follows:

• v. 17–18: reconciliation is by the will of God
• v. 19: reconciliation is by the act of forgiveness
• v. 20: reconciliation is by the obedience of faith
• v. 21: reconciliation is by the work of substitution

* Many thanks to our student volunteers, Ellen, Autumn, and Joel.