January 16, 2019
The Global Sexual Revolution; Temptation!; My Declaration of Faithful Disobedience; Cornell Students' Summer of Service; How History's Revivals Teach us to Pray and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?— Psalm 85:6
January 14, 2019
Christian Union Ministry Director
Cornell University
Temptation to sin (and actually sinning) is, unfortunately, an abiding aspect of the Christian life. How do we get better at resisting?Genuine change comes about by the Lord’s doing. If we want to be people who relish (not perfectly, but genuinely) righteousness over sin, Christ over counterfeits, our wills need to be changed. How does God do that?
January 9, 2019
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. - Isaiah 54:10It was about 3:30 am, January 9, 2018. One year ago the rain unleashed over the coastal community, loosening boulders the size of firetrucks from the mountain range. These tore through mature trees, gathering them along on torrents that ripped through dry creek beds, channels now overwhelmed with the explosive force of earth racing the short miles from the craggy mountain range, through homes and businesses, to the beaches below.
January 2, 2019
Jonathan Haidt on the Coddling of the American Mind; Finding Your Five; Leaving Religion at Home: Engaging Religious Thought and Action in American Society; Godlessness: the First Step to the Gulag; A Heart for Serving Neighbors and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!— Psalm 31:23-24
January 1, 2019
Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution and broken it? Have you ever set goals and then realized by the end of the year they remain incomplete? If you are anything like me, I’ve done this too many times. When I wrote my resolutions and goals in the past, like many of you, I had every intention to complete them, but life got in the way! Before I knew it, the year was drawing to a close and I had little if any progress. I made a decision to find a better way to handle the personal life change and goals that I wanted to achieve. Noted leadership author Dr. John Maxwell introduced me to a solution called, The Rule of Five.
December 19, 2018
A Christmas Concert; Calling Believers to a Ten-Day Fast in January; Look Forward to a Better Christmas; I'm Good, I Think...; Friday Night Lights; Everyone Believes in a Virgin Birth; Three Ways to Help Develop Christian Leaders and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.— John 1:14
December 17, 2018
Beyond my fear of snakes (and clowns), I have a deep-seated fear that the people entrusted to me (both my children and my Penn students) will hear from me an anti-Gospel of “Do better, try harder…just quit sinning and then everything will be okay!” The moralism message that most people have heard since they were toddlers (when Mom and Dad would say, “Don’t treat the toilet as a hot-tub ever again!” and we obey in order to win their approval) and which continues as we get older (when the Police Officer says “I got you going 45 in a 25…” and our heart sinks because we know we’ve broken the law and we’ll get a hefty ticket) is one that is often-times equated with the message of faith. The anti-Gospel is not particularly good news. It says “If you improve your behavior, then God will accept you.” Both progressive and evangelical churches fall into this trap.
December 6, 2018
The Witch-Hunt Culture; What is Jesus Worth?; John the Baptist Points to the Real Hope of Advent; A Powerful Lesson as We Remember President Bush; Ambassadors of Reconciliation; What Should Be the Goal of the Pro-Life Movement?; Three Ways to Help Develop Christian Leaders and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.— John 1:14-16
December 4, 2018
Salon with Aaron Renn
Christian Union New York hosted a salon titled, "The Fall of the Household" on December 4, 2018. Aaron Renn discussed the challenges posed to the family and the church by the changing nature and function of the household.December 4, 2018
I was recently rereading a chapter from a book 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.”
December 2, 2018
Gifts Must be Postmarked by Dec. 31, 2018
Congress made the IRA Charitable Rollover permanent. If you are age 70½ or older, you can make a gift to Christian Union by directly distributing funds tax free from your individual retirement account.
November 30, 2018
Christian Union Dedicates Ministry Center at Columbia
November 29, 2018
Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction
Christian Union Washington, DC, was delighted to host Justin Whitmel Earley on November 29, 2018, for the second of two salons that he led this month. Earlier this month, Justin led a hugely popular salon in New York City titled, "Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction." Justin led a second salon on the same topic for graduate students and young professionals in Washington, DC. If you missed the details from the New York City salon, the following is what Early shared in Washington, DC, including the audio recording from the event. Earley’s topic, “Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction” is practical, but he began the discussion by sharing his personal story. Once a missionary in Asia, Earley returned to the US to follow a call from the Lord to become a lawyer. After excelling at Georgetown Law School, landing his dream job, and starting a family all seemed to well. Yet one day in that first year of work he was overcome by a sense of existential paranoia – he couldn’t sleep, he could no longer handle basic household tasks, his heart and mind raced. A trip to the ER only diagnosed severe anxiety – but no solution. Crippling anxiety began to tear down the good life he had established.November 25, 2018
Collins ’19 Is a Leader on Women’s Crew Team
November 24, 2018
Christian Union Students Minister in U.S. and Abroad
November 23, 2018
Christian Union at Yale Enjoys Fruitful Welcoming Campaign
November 22, 2018
Christian Union Panel Discussion Focuses on Reconciliation
November 21, 2018
The Psychology of Gratitude: Robert Emmons on How Saying Thanks Makes You Happier; Zooming In; Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction; Writing for Quillette Ended My Theater Project; VIP Access and more, in this issue of Christian Union's bi-monthly email brief.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Colossians 3:15-17
November 20, 2018
Carey ’19 Seeks to Produce Faith-Based Films
A Harvard College senior hopes to combine his passions for storytelling and missions to create a vibrant cinematic platform with wide crossover appeal.Nick Carey, ’19, who serves as a student leader of Harvard College Faith and Action (a student organization resourced by Christian Union), plans to use his drive and talents to pursue a career in the film industry. “If you tell stories effectively enough, movies can reach a lot of people,” he said. “It can be a very powerful missionary tool.”November 19, 2018
Julia Carlisle“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.” - Matthew 27:51-53We often encounter “Do Not’s” in our daily lives. “Do not Enter.” “Do Not Touch.” “Do Not Pass.” When you go to a museum, you won’t be able to get within four feet of a famous painting or an ancient artifact because of the velvet rope that stands in your way.
