Schrag Lectures

2026 Schrag Lectures

Presented by Dr. Jesse P. Nickel

Messiah University

About The Lectures

"Making Peace with Jesus in a Violent World"

Monday, February 16 at 7:00pm
Parmer Cinema, Boyer Hall, Messiah University

Violence is pervasive in human history. As the people of God in Jesus the Messiah, we are called to live as citizens of the kingdom of heave and to contribute to the work of that kingdom here on earth. What do Jesus's words and deeds suggest about how violence - whether received or enacted - fits in that calling? What place ought violence to have in the life and identity of the followers of Jesus?

"The Lamb at the Center of All Things"

Tuesday, February 17 at 9:30am
Brubaker Auditorium, Messiah University

About The Lecturer

Dr. Jesse P. Nickel (PhD, University of St Andrews) is on the faculty of Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada where he teaches in the biblical studies program. His research and writing focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels, the world of first-century Judaism, and the place of nonviolence and peacemaking in Christian discipleship. In his teaching, speaking, and writing Jesse hopes to contribute to the continued breaking-in of the already/not yet, shalom-centered Kingdom of God.

Jesse is the author of two books - A Revolutionary Jesus: Violence and Peacemaking in the Kingdom of God (Fortress, 2024) and The Things that Make for Peace: Jesus and Eschatological Violence (de Grutyer, 2021); co-editor of It's About Life: The Formative Power of Scripture (Regent College Publishing, 2023); and author of numerous articles. As a teacher and preacher, Jesse loves to help others come to know Jesus more fully, and love Jesus more deeply, with both their minds and hearts.