Our Lord Jesus Christ has charged us to keep our lamps burning. Many are praying together for the light to increase across NYC and advance his kingdom. Scripture makes it clear that when Christians are strong in the Lord, when their lamps are burning brightly, they can expect increased blessings and flourishing in their own lives and in their communities and cities.
“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.” – Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion
As we enter this Easter season, our eyes are fixed once again on the cross—the place where justice and mercy meet perfectly, not in abstraction but in a Person. At Harvard Law School, where many are striving to uphold the law and seek justice in a broken world, we are continually reminded that the truest justice was poured out on Christ and the deepest mercy offered through Him.
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
-Romans 10:9
Many of us know this verse well and can even quote it by heart. But to hear this verse uttered to 90+ Harvard students and affiliates gave it totally new significance to me. And praise God—this is exactly what happened! On April 1st, Christian Union Gloria hosted Dr. James Tour for a talk on evidence related to the origins of life. Dr. Tour is a “world-renowned chemist, nanotechnologist, and professor at Rice University, known globally for his groundbreaking research in graphene, nanomedicine, and carbon nanomaterials. With over 700 research publications, 150 patents, and decades of pioneering contributions, he has been recognized as one of the foremost scientific minds of our time.”
Dear CU Vita Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from Ithaca! We are racing through this semester at a breakneck pace. It is always hard to believe how fast these semesters actually go by as we are ministering to these students, but we are thankful for every opportunity–and there are so many!
“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” – John 1:16
As we press on in another semester at Harvard Law, we are continually in awe of the depths of God’s radical grace. This grace—undeserved, unrelenting, and transformative—has been the heartbeat of our studies, our fellowship, and our ministry this year. It is shaping us as we learn not only to receive it but to extend it to others in a world desperately in need of the gospel.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” -1 Corinthians 5:17-19
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from New York City. It feels like the semester just started, yet we are halfway through it with spring break coming next week.
Over the last month, we have been experiencing a real movement of the Holy Spirit in our students who have developed a desire to grow deeper in their commitment to Christ. We have seen an increase of students attending our SEEK weekly Monday evening prayer meetings held on campus. We’ve also seen an increase of students participating in our ministry's weekly Friday fast. We gather at the ministry center at 4:30pm to pray and break fast with dinner together. It has truly been exciting to see our students become more intentional about their relationship with Christ and reaching others with His love.
Greetings from Princeton!
As I write this, the sun is shining, the weather is warming up, and Princeton students are off enjoying their spring break, having worked hard through midterms the week before. Passion for the gospel among our students is growing! Our February got off to a great start with 98 students attending our first Encounter of the semester! We also have a new group of students who are going out on campus to evangelize every Friday night before Encounter! Another new group is doing intercessory prayer on Tuesday nights for Princeton. And our Noon Prayer attendance has nearly quadrupled every day this semester! It has been powerful to see so many students come to pray for an hour every weekday.
Greetings from Stanford!
As we near the end of the winter quarter, we rejoice in God’s continued goodness to our community and are grateful for your steadfast prayers and support.
"I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." -Psalm 113:4-6
The winter term is ending here at Dartmouth, and our thoughts are bending towards all things spring. The students have finished up classes and are now completing their exams and heading home for a couple of weeks of well-earned vacation. We’ve had a great term, and are ready for the final third of our year to begin.
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
“But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.”
-2 Timothy 1:12
Spring is attempting to make a breakthrough in Cambridge; the daylight is lengthening; days are getting warmer, and all our hearts are encouraged. I believe the Spirit is showing up in similar ways at Christian Union Gloria. God is moving at Harvard! Hallelujah, and thanks be to our Lord Jesus. This semester has already been quite eventful, and we see the Lord stirring the hearts of those among our fellowship.
Would you join your voices and hearts in prayer through these prayer points?
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” -Psalm 119:9-16 (NIV)
Greetings from CU Libertas!
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from New York City!
The students are back on campus after a much-needed vacation to decompress from all the stress from the fall semester. We are back to ministering to their needs as they finish shopping for classes and settle in for the spring semester.
Dear CU Vita Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Greetings from Ithaca!
Classes are back in full swing at Cornell University, and that means that Christian Union Vita is back to work for the Lord here on campus!
Club Fest, the massive gathering of all the clubs at Cornell, took place on Sunday, February 2, and was another great opportunity to expose students to the vibrant ministry of Christian Union. We handed out 50 copies of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, as well as dozens of flyers attached to Kit Kat candy bars to students. Several of those who stopped by our table have already engaged with us on our CU Vita Group Me, so pray that we continue to expand our reach into the Cornell student community. Our student leaders also engaged with the other groups around us, demonstrating their own personal leadership skills by interacting with others in warm, meaningful (and fun) ways.
Greetings from Princeton!
The second semester is well underway, and students have been busy adding and dropping classes, joining eating clubs, and seniors have the added stress of job applications while writing their Senior Theses. Yet in the midst of the stress of student life, God is on the move!
Grace to you in Christ! As we move into the latter half of winter quarter, we thank God for the ways He has been at work in our community and for your continued partnership and prayer.
January Retreat: A Time of Growth and Encouragement
We are grateful for the wonderful retreat we had in January! Over four worship, discussion, and prayer sessions, we immersed ourselves in Paul’s letter to the Galatians and the story of Abraham in Genesis, which Paul powerfully draws upon in Galatians. Through our time in the Word, students were encouraged to grow strong in their faith, recognizing more deeply the freedom and grace we have through faith in Christ.
Greetings from New Haven! We have so many amazing testimonies to share of what God has been doing here that I can’t possibly share them all in this email, but let me begin by saying this: God is gathering students together and setting their hearts on fire in a way I haven’t seen before in my seven and a half years with Christian Union.
"The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?"
-Psalm 113:4-6
We are so grateful for your continued prayers and support for CU Gloria Law. As we step into this new semester, we wanted to share a special update from a milestone moment for our ministry—our very first Winter Retreat at the end of January!
This retreat was a much-needed time for our community to step away from the intensity of law school and refocus our hearts on Christ and His calling for us. Our theme, “Refocus,” guided us through a weekend of renewing our commitment to Jesus, recalling the purpose He has given us, and refreshing our passion to share the Gospel with those around us. From the moment we arrived, there was an undeniable sense that God had something special in store. We were blessed by sweet times of worship, honest and moving student testimonies, deep times of prayer, and messages from the Word of God that challenged and encouraged us.
