All
Greetings,
We’re in the final few weeks of what has been, a very productive semester. Earlier in April, we had Vince Vitale, a minister with RZIM, visit campus to make a compelling case for Christianity as a worldview. Vince showed how the Christian faith answers some of life's biggest questions surrounding origin, purpose, morality and destiny. We had both Christians and unbelievers in attendance, and Vince skillfully interacted with students, answering their concerns about Christianity. We received encouraging feedback from students about the event. One student in our ministry, currently wrestling heavily with doubt, remarked that the discussions over Vince's book and his event on campus helped make Christianity seem more believable.
We also have selected new student leaders for the upcoming academic year. We strongly believe that we have a new group of student leaders that are faithfully walking with Christ and are excited to serve Jesus and all of Columbia's campus. We thank God for the service of our leaders currently transitioning out of leadership, many of whom are seniors, getting ready to engage a new season of life after graduation.
Here’s how you can pray for us:
- Pray for students as they enter into the final stretch of the semester, and as they prepare for final exams
- Pray for our senior students as they near graduation and are feeling a wide range of emotions about what comes next
- Pray for our new student leaders as they prepare to lead next year
- Pray for staff as we prepare for the fall semester
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Bryant Parsons
Ministry Fellow
Christian Union at Columbia
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Columbia, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
We are coming up on the end of our Spring semester here at Cornell, and there are several important things which are happening in the last weeks of the school year. The seniors are getting ready for their next stage of life, and others are getting into serious study mode as they prepare for finals. We are also preparing for our Grill Me for Grilled Cheese outreach event, as well as our Senior Banquet.
We’ve been referencing the topic of revival frequently in our study of Nehemiah at HLS lately. Or, should I say, perhaps, I feel like the topic has been speaking to me lately. And it’s appropriate, too, because one of Christian Unions’ missions is to be part of ushering revival into our country through fervent Spirit-led prayer and the study of God’s Word. Then the question came up during one of my mentoring sessions with one of my students, “How does revival happen?”
Greetings from Cambridge,
There are few asks that better capture our challenge to become more like Jesus than the prayer that we would begin to mirror his faithfulness. The word faithful (πιστός) is rich in meaning and embodies obedience, reliability —and for our spiritual purposes— covenant relationship. Most helpfully, this exhortation reminds us that we are mere servants who possess the agency to complete assignments, but often have little control over outcomes. Yelp. "...and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (e.g. unbelief) will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." [1 Cor. 10:13]
Dear Friends and Partners of Christian Union at Penn,
Our students are in count-down mode: 7 days remaining of classes, 14 days until final exams, and 28 days until graduation. As the semester comes to a close, we are so thankful for the wonderful year we have had with our students. We’ve seen God’s sovereign grace bring new spiritual life, we’ve had the joy of baptizing new believers, and we’ve seen God’s grace poured out in countless ways. Thank you for your prayers for these students and our amazing staff. Would you continue to pray for:
In a world fixated on the immediate and material we don’t often find ourselves part of conversations about transcendence. “Transcendent” is not a theological term, yet it certainly has theological relevance in its meaning of “supernatural”, “surpassing”, and “overarching”. In the just concluded Easter season the idea of transcendence is highlighted as we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. The resurrection in particular highlights God’s redemption of both our souls and, indeed, all things to the hope of glory and completeness in the new heavens and new earth.
To learn more about Nexus 2019, click here.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
— Psalm 139:13-14
Geoff Sackett
Christian Union ministry director
Cornell University
When Jesus was a baby, did he soil his undergarments? As an adolescent, did he cry? When he was full-grown, was he ever angry? No disrespect is meant by these questions, but they do point out the full humanity of Jesus, without in any way reducing his full divinity. And they show that it was entirely fitting for the second person of the Trinity to enter our world as a baby, who developed physically into a mature man. Such an entrance shows us that Jesus really was “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He cried, he got dirty, and he grew, even as we do, and yet he alone did so without any moral defect: sinless and perfect was our Lord even from his birth.
Hollywood does a nice job depicting the preternatural hero. For example, in a memorable scene from The Man of Steel, Superman descends from the clouds and hovers above a gathering of mere, but powerful, mortals who are awed by his presence. The movie opens with his special birth. He is depicted throughout as apparently perfect. The messianic overtones are clear.
Salon with Chuck Stetson
On Thursday 18 April, Christian Union New York invited Chuck Stetson to speak on Biblical Literacy. With George Barna’s research showing that only 7 percent of Americans have a biblical worldview (whereby the Bible is the primary resource through which one understands the world), Stetson took the evening to tell his audience what can be done to see that number increase and why this endeavor is so important.
Get Involved
If you would like to learn more or to get involved with CU New York, please email: cunewyork@christianunion.com.
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