The Andrews University Student Association led the 11:45 a.m. church service at the Pioneer Memorial Church on Jan. 24, 2026. AUSA President Alyssa Caruthers started off with the welcome and prayer before the congregation sang “Love Divine, All Loves Exiling." AUSA Vice President of Interior Audrey Lim did the congregational prayer, and AUSA Vice President of Finance Yelissey Smolyakov helped call for the offering.
AUSA Vice President of Public Relations Jhoana Mortera told a children’s story about a little boy who was waiting patiently for a boat to come. The lesson applied to the story was about how we should always be ready for Jesus’s second coming because we don’t know the exact time he will return.
Worship leaders led the congregation in song. Nadia Bibilovic (freshman, photography) shared, “My favorite song out of the set was the ‘I Surrender All’ medley. I really enjoyed seeing the congregation come together and sing such a moving song.”
AUSA Vice President of Religion Pau Khual preached the sermon titled “The Father’s Love,” which focused on the story of the prodigal son and how just as the father welcomed the son back home with open arms, God, our Father who loves and cares for us with a deep, unconditional love, does the same exact thing for us. Even though we are all sinners, our Father welcomes us with open arms and will continue to love us no matter what.
When asked what he hoped people would leave with after listening to his sermon, Pau Khaul (sophomore, theology) stated, “I think the main takeaway that I would want people to have would be for them to understand that they are loved by God. In the sermon I was giving, there's the prodigal son, the younger son, and the older son, and I tried to, I guess, preach the message through the perspective of the father, because we don't often talk about it. We say, ‘oh, the son is rebellious,’ but I was preaching the sermon through the father to show what the father was going through and the love that he has for his children. I want people to know that they can come to Christ just as they are.”
After his sermon, Khaul did an appeal and asked those who wanted to give their life to Jesus to come forward. “A lot of times when preachers make altar calls, we hear from the perspective of the audience, their testimonies, but you don't hear much from the preacher,” Khaul said. “And me being up there – it was a humbling moment for me because these people are giving their life to Christ, not because of my message, but God's message. And the fact that God allowed me, as well as the rest of the officers and the students that were involved, to be part of this is a humbling moment, I would say.”
Audrey Lim (junior, sociology) said, “I hope that people will listen to the message that Pau spoke about. There are some moments in life that we may be lost, but I think just bringing it back to us and turning it back to God is amazing.”
Caruthers (senior, political science and English) hopes people will see AUSA’s mission through the service. “When you think of student government, it's like, ‘OK, they're planning events,’ but we're actually doing different things too.” She continued by saying, “The spiritual aspect is one of the biggest parts of what we're doing because God leads us in our positions all the time. It just means a lot for us to minister in different ways on campus. For me personally, I think this was one of the best AUSA Sabbaths that I've seen.”
Overall, AUSA Sabbath was a very touching and special service that highlighted the importance and significance of the Father’s love for us. “I think it was really moving,” said Lim. “ I was captivated the entire time.”
If you would like to learn more about AUSA, check out its Instagram page for more details.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.