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April 11, 2018
Turn the World Upside Down; A Power With (Part 1); Dietrich Bonhoeffer: German Theologian and Resister; MLK50; The Great Experiment; Gospel of the Kingdom Events in April and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
 
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Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
   on level ground!
— Psalm 143:10

April 9, 2018

by Justin Doyle
 
power with 1

 

"And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion/rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:28

Certain words have a way of grabbing our attention – some are rich and full of meaning, others trigger memories, good or bad, and still others disorient you for one reason or another. For years, my attention has been drawn to the mandate given to humanity in Genesis 1:26-28, particularly the command to subdue and have dominion/rule. In a post-colonial world, those words, when applied to humanity, have a way of punching me in the gut and disorienting me.

April 4, 2018
Christian Union New York was delighted to welcome Jeff Smith for a salon on March 29, 2018 titled, "Faith in Giving: A Paradigm Shift for the City."

JeffSmithCities

April 3, 2018


Click the full screen icon to view Christian Union's 2017 Annual Report in full screen mode. If you do not see an image, download a .pdf version of the 2017 annual report.
April 2, 2018
The first plenary speaker of Nexus 2018 was Christian Union Founder and CEO Matt Bennett. Friday night, Bennett introduced nearly 300 students to the conference theme "Turn the World Upside Down," drawn from Acts 17. If those who promoted the Gospel of Jesus Christ were said to be turning the world upside down, how we will define being a "success" in this life? (34:38)


April 1, 2018
David Bryant discusses the conference topic “Turning the World Upside Down." He challenged students with his charge, "So, you want to change the world for Jesus Christ? First, your life, your own world, must be radically turned upside down by a vision of "the greatness and glory, the majesty and supremacy, and the wonders of the love and saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ"!

He continues to highlight the importance of preaching a message in proportion of the greatness and supremacy of Christ. Through his speech, he compels students to grasp the majesty of Jesus Christ as our resurrected King. When Christian lean into the person of Jesus Christ, our world is turned upside down and we are then, equiped to share the same Good News with others on campus. (37:46)


March 31, 2018
Roland Warren, CEO of Care Net, was named the 2018 Christian Leader of the Year Award at Nexus 2018, the Christian Union Conference on Faith and Action. After receiving the award, he addressed the topic of "Greatness — and How to be Great from a God Perspective." (28:51)


March 29, 2018
A Progressive Surrender; A Generation Emerging from the Wreckage; Forcing Pro-Life Pregnancy Care Centers to Advertise for Abortion is Unjust and Unconstitutional; Believe, That You May Understand; Harvard Update and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
 
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...for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
— Ephesians 5:8-10

March 28, 2018
Nancy Ortberg, CEO of Transforming the Bay with Christ addressed nearly 300 students at the Christian Union conference. She highlights the difference between worldly success and spiritual success. She explains the powerful impact of giving practical items to people in need. A church choosing to give used cars to people in the community became a way to share the gospel through living the call to love our neighbors.

Through this type of giving, she provides a powerful testimony of how the reciepents feel the love of God through these provisions, and it is through this action that people are led to faith in God. Nancy also explains the leaders in our society should be able to own their personal growth, ensure no topic are off limits, solve problems at a systems level and to refuse to allow comparision to enter their thought-life. (33:20)


March 26, 2018
By Qwynn Gross

progressive surrender
When I gave my life to Christ I found myself in Scripture often, and from my readings I began a transformation process that I would say was the groundwork to many blessings. I was impacted so much by the written Word that I naïvely thought I had mastered some of the directives given in Scripture, like the fruit of the Spirit, for instance. What I didn’t realize was that the change on the inside was not complete, but that I was being refined, more and more.

March 23, 2018

Nexus 2018 Plenary Speaker

So, you want to change the world for Jesus Christ? First, your own world must be turned upside down by a vision of "the greatness and glory, the majesty and supremacy, and the wonders of the love and saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ"!


March 23, 2018
Nick Nowalk addresses Harvard College Faith and Action, an organization staffed and resourced by Christian Union

Nick Nowalk

During this spring's turbulent events at Harvard (learn more here, and read perspective from the ministry's student leaders here), which led to the probation of Harvard College Faith & Action (an autonomous student organization at Harvard, supported and resourced by Christian Union), Nick Nowalk gave this encouraging message (recorded in two parts) on First Peter. 

March 23, 2018

Dear Friends and Family of HCFA,

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and partnership in the gospel. With eyes of faith we continue to look to the Lord Jesus for grace, strength and wisdom as we navigate through troubled waters.

March 22, 2018
Dear Friends of CU at Cornell,

There is never a bad time to elicit interest in Jesus Christ among Cornellians. In an effort to do just that, we served hot chocolate and coffee in free, logoed mugs to dozens of students this past Monday. The ever-bustling lobbies of Willard Straight Student Center and Mann Library were filled with people. Lots of good conversations about our fellowship here on campus took place and everyone we spoke with has been invited to visit our large group meeting this Wednesday. Would you pray that they would take us up on that offer? It would be a unique opportunity for them to hear clearly the claims of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a worshipping and loving community of faith.

March 22, 2018
Hello prayer partners,

Thank you for your faithfulness and continued support. We are grateful and want to update you for March to inform your prayers.

March 22, 2018
Dear Friends and Partners of Christian Union at Penn,

Spring break has come and gone. I have seen snow blowing upwards and snowing-raining at the same moment. Bible courses for the semester are under way: some groups are on schedule (Romans 6) while others are camping out on Romans 3. Thankfully, our sense of righteousness is not in our ability to lead the courses but by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection.

March 22, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing you again to express our continued thankfulness for your support as well as to give you an update on our ministry here in Princeton. As a result of your prayers, God continues to work in the lives of our students.

March 22, 2018

Hello from Dartmouth,

We are happy to report a wonderful end to our winter term. A major highlight for our students (and staff) was a giant CU-wide game of Assassin, graciously renamed “Angel’s Arrows” by our fabulous socials team. The neat thing about the game is that it forced people to seek out those they have not met before or gotten to know yet, so new connections were made every day!

March 22, 2018
Greetings from Palo Alto!

I was recently rereading a book chapter that God used to get me through a very tough semester when I was a freshman in college. In the last chapter of The Normal Christian Life, Watchman Nee reflects on the story in the Gospels (only a few days before Jesus dies on the cross) when Mary comes to a dinner uninvited, breaks an alabaster jar of ointment—worth a staggering amount—and anoints Jesus with the jar’s entire contents (Mark 14:3–9). Even the disciples were indignant and cried out, “Why this waste!” Judas’s voice may have been the loudest among the disciples (John 12:4–6), but he was not alone (Matt 26:8–9). Nee remarks, “Human reasoning said this was really too much; it was giving the Lord more than His due.”

March 22, 2018

Friends,

Students are currently scattered around the globe enjoying some rest and relaxation during Brown University’s spring break. Once they return to campus, we’ll have four more weeks with them before they move into reading/exam period. Hard to believe the end of the semester is so close at hand!