Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. - Philemon 1:3-6
Greetings from Providence!
Soon our students will complete summer classes or internships and head home for a week or two before returning for the fall semester. On behalf of the students who are a part of the CU Lumine community, thank you for your continuous support and prayers for the ministry. Without you, we could not have done this past year.
Princeton students are wrapping up summer classes or internships and heading home for a week or two before returning for the fall semester. Others have stayed on campus all Summer in various research positions. Thank you for your continuous support and prayers for CU Nova. You are making a difference in the lives of Princeton students for the Kingdom of God!
Students from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale gathered at a two-week CU Spiritus student retreat at Camp of the Woods this past May. This retreat aims to strengthen some of our top student leaders to maximize their impact for Christ back on campus.
A Devotional
By Dr. Chuck Hetzler
For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the LORD;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered. – Jeremiah 10:21
Jeremiah 10:21 is a jarring verse that you might not expect to find in the Bible, “the shepherds [i.e. leaders] are stupid!” For this reason it gets our attention and lets us know how important it is to God that His leaders inquire of Him.
Prayerful Penn Students Are Making a Difference
By Anne Kerhoulas
The following article was actually written in 2021, when the universities where Christian Union works were beginning to come out of the COVID lockdown.
While most college students spend their Saturday mornings sleeping in, recovering from a week of late nights and coursework, a group of students from Christian Union Martus at the University of Pennsylvania participate in sidewalk abortion ministry with Quakers For Life, a pro-life organization founded by Martus alumnus, Eric Hoover ’19.
Tim Keller's Final Articles
By Chuck Hetzler
Two of Tim Keller’s final written pieces, published just weeks before his passing on May 19, 2023, were on the subject of revival. One such article was directed to the church at The Gospel Coalition (March 17, 2023) and the other offered to all Americans in The Atlantic (February 5, 2023).
A Devotional
By rev. Jeffrey walsh, ministry director, christian Union lux
So, I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:1-4
Robert P. George Remarks on Pro-Life Heroes
On April 29, 2023, Robert P. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, delivered an address upon receiving the 2023 Evangelium Vitae Medal from the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame. He spoke on the pro-life movement and twelve of its heroes.
Matthew 9:35-38
"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:35-38
The Dual Identity of Jesus
By Sheri Casali, Ministry Fellow, CU Gloria
The passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting there. And making a whip out of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade”. His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” – John 2:13-17
Admonishing One Another In Christ
By Don Weiss, Ministry Director, CU Gloria
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. - 1 Corinthians 4:14-15
CU Lumine Sees Renewed Commitment To Prayer And Fasting
By Anne Kerhoulas
For many ministries, gathering people together for prayer can be difficult. There are scheduling conflicts, demands on time, and oftentimes, a genuine lack of interest. But for CU Lumine students, prayer and fasting have become an essential part of their week.
Seeking a Christ-Awakening
Editor’s note: The following article, by David Bryant, was originally posted in 2021 and is adapted from his essay in the 2004 updated edition of Jonathan Edwards’ influential book on prayer. It was marked by a thirty-six word title that began with three famous words: An Humble Attempt. The modern version’s title is “A Call to United, Extraordinary Prayer…An Humble Attempt.”
How One Doctor Was Converted From Abortion To Life-Affirming Medicine
By Anne Kerhoulas
In this gut-wrenching and eye-opening conversation for Public Discourse, Leah Sargeant interviews Dr. John Bruchalski, a OB/GYN who performed abortions for years before converting to life-affirming medicine.
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.
How One HLS Student Uses Her Voice For Others
By Marianna Marques, Harvard Law School ’23
Editors note: This article has been reprinted with permission from the Program on Biblical Law.
I followed an unconventional path to Harvard Law School and was thrilled upon receiving admission. While I felt that God wanted to use me to advocate for those who lack a voice, I didn’t know the extent to which my own voice would be challenged during my time at HLS. To elevate the voice of others, I first needed to fight for my own.
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.
Judge Heckled and Insulted For Unpopular Views
By Anne Kerhoulas
On March 9, 2023, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan was invited to speak at Standford Law School. Duncan, a conservative judge who has opposed the right to same-sex marriage, ruled to restrict abortion, and held other views deemed unacceptable by Stanford students, was the recipient of heckling, threats, and insults during his talk. When Duncan asked for the moderator to intervene, the Stanford administrator took the side of the students, stating that his work had caused many of them harm.
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.
