Seeking God

The Winter Retreat Was Marked By God’s Presence

By Cynthia Makachi

Although the spring semester is winding down, the impact of Ski Safari, the annual CU Nova winter retreat, is still evident among the CU Nova community today.

Self-Denial Is At The Heart of Christian Faith

By Matt Bennett, Founder and CEO

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.’ Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ – Zechariah 8:20-23 

Christian Union Board Member Explores A Life of Signs and Wonders in New Book

By Anne Kerhoulas

Ken Fish wants believers to know that God is not in theory. So often in the western church, Christians read the stories of the Bible and assume that signs and wonders were events that occurred in biblical times and simply don’t happen today. Fish is here to tell you otherwise in his upcoming book, On the Road with The Holy Spirit: A Modern Day Diary of Signs and Wonders. 

Harvard Law School Students and Professor Host Powerful Time of Prayer

By Anne Kerhoulas

It’s not every day that a deliverance event is hosted at Harvard Law School. But that’s just what happened in the fall of 2022 when Marianna and Jacob Hawkins contacted a Harvard Law School professor with the idea of hosting a spiritual freedom event for Christian students at Harvard. 

CU Lux Will Host Carter Conlon of Times Square Church

By Anne Kerhoulas

Christian Union Lux will host the Worldwide Prayer Meeting on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. The Worldwide Prayer Meeting began in 2015 as a prayer ministry of The Times Square Church in NYC. For the past eight years, the gathering has challenged believers to seek the Lord in prayer, crying out to Him on behalf of their churches, families, and nation. 

CU Lumine Alumna Experiences Inner Healing and Transformation

By Feven Negussie, CU Lumine '22 

But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:57

I found Christian Union when I was in a desperate position as a sophomore in college. I spent (or rather wasted) my freshman year of college in the most ungodly lifestyle—I will not even venture to describe it here. That year, I also experienced the biggest onslaught on my mental health. I experienced frequent panic attacks and severe insomnia. I lost weight dramatically and I found myself not being able to eat or sleep properly. Even when faced with these attacks on my mind and body, I continued on in my wayward ways. 

A Trio of Christian Union Bible Studies Explore the Psalter  

By Anne Kerhoulas

Christian Union seeks a spiritually vibrant nation marked by Christian values permeating every corner of society. This vision is being advanced through the launch of Christian Union Bible Studies that are available to anyone who seeks to know the Lord and His word better. 

Staying True To Your Word Matters

By Matt Bennett, Founder and CEO of Christian Union

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.  – James 5:12 

Christian unity cannot be achieved without trust, and trust only endures if persons are faithful to their commitments. In this passage, James echoes the words uttered by Jesus in Matthew 5:33-37 where He also seeks integrity among believers.  In the Matthew passage, some were trying to get out of their commitments by swearing by less valuable things, but this is not acceptable. 

Healings, Miracles, and Tens of Thousands of Baptisms

By Anne Kerhoulas

Something is happening in a small town in North Georgia. Todd Smith, the pastor of Christ Fellowship Church, says his church has been in revival for five years. Smith’s church had plateaued and wasn’t seeing significant growth in their body. The lead pastor was weary and hungered to see a move of God in his church, one that looked like the kinds of things that happened in the book of Acts.

What Scripture Says About Division

By Chuck Hetzler, Ph.D.

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.  – Titus 3:10-11

The letter to Titus is another one of Paul’s pastoral epistles, along with 1 and 2 Timothy, containing some of the most necessary instructions for how to shepherd the flock of God. In today’s passage, Titus 3:10-11, the Spirit of God makes plain how grave the sin of divisiveness is and how it must be handled.

CU America Events Focus on Christian Leadership, Fasting, Repentance

By Chuck Hetzler, Ph.D.

January 2023 was a busy month of ministry for CU America. The CU National Fast and the CU Fire Retreat led the way for many Christians to start the new year by seeking God earnestly. 

CU National Fast

January 2, 2023, began the 21-day fast for Courageous Christian Leadership. By God’s grace, 4,046 Christians from around the country and across denominational lines joined together until January 22, 2023, for a time of seeking God’s face through prayer and fasting. 

Jesus Revolution Brings The Jesus Movement To Life

By Anne Kerhoulas

Jesus Revolution, a new film released at the end of February, depicts the Southern California Jesus Movement in a thoughtful and engaging way. Featuring Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, and Kelsey Grammar from Frasier, the film dives into the personal lives of some of the Jesus Movements' central characters: Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee.

Cultivating the Heart

By Anne Kerhoulas

“How do we cultivate a heart in which God delights to dwell?”

This is the question Jon Tyson answers in this sermon series for the Church of the City. Tyson explores the principles behind revival and awakening throughout history and dives into how we can join the Lord in His work, pursuing His will and living in alignment with His desires.  

Repenting of the Sin of Partiality

By Chitra Kovoor, Ministry Fellow, CU Lux

Social psychologists say it takes a few seconds for people to determine whether they like a person or not. Rapid judgments are made on the basis of first impressions. Assumptions about personality and how successful one is can be based on a quick scan of what someone is wearing, their general appearance, accompanying accessories, and other clues indicating a person’s wealth, power, and social standing.

CU Nova Worship Team Goes Deep

By Cynthia Makachi 

The end of the fall semester concluded an exciting season of learning and growth for CU Nova’s worship team. From joining the team as a freshman when activities were completely virtual in 2020 to becoming a co-team leader as Princeton’s campus transitioned back to normal, it has been an encouragement to see the team grow and thrive in new ways as it serves the CU Nova community. And I’m not alone—my co-leaders and members of the team agree: the worship team has been an invaluable part of their college experience. 

Student Chapel Service Led to Four Days (And Counting) of Revival

By Anne Kerhoulas

Asbury University is no stranger to revival. The small school in Wilmington, Kentucky has seen eight notable moves of the Spirit since the early 1900s, with the longest in 1970 lasting over 144 hours. 

Sunday Worship Is Just One Place We Experience Jesus 

By Anne Kerhoulas

In Exodus 33, Moses speaks with God face to face in the tent of meeting. But in their conversation, Moses says that he needs God’s presence with him all the time. It is God’s presence that sets Israel apart. It is God’s presence that leads, guides, delivers, and provides for them. Moses is in the presence of God in the tent of meeting, but he needs the presence of God all the time. 

What Makes Christian Leadership Unique

By Chuck Hetzler, Ph.D.

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  – Matthew 20:25-28

Choosing To Forgive Rather Than Be Easily Offended

By Michael Racine, Writer and Ministry Fellow, CU Lux

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.  – Proverbs 19:1

The biblical proverbs are so very practical. They don’t try to ennoble us with any Kantian notion of moral virtue detached from self-interest; rather, they tell us what wise, insightful people do to make things go better, and what ignorant fools do to make things worse. If we will only pay attention to these instructions and remember them, we won’t need a heroically self-sacrificial heart to put them into practice; we all naturally want to see life go more smoothly.

CU Vita Leaders Pray Weekly With Other Ministry Leaders

By Anne Kerhoulas

It’s 7:15 on Monday morning and the sun hasn’t yet risen. Most Cornell students are still in bed, groggily awakening from the weekend to face another week of classes and problem sets and essays.

7:15 on Monday morning is a bleak time for most, but for a handful of CU Vita students and leaders from other campus ministries, it’s a time to be awake, alert, and engaged. It’s a time for prayer—prayer for revival on campus. And for the group that gathers, it’s one of the most important times of their week.