Announcements 3/29/10

Looks like April will a fun-filled, spirit-filled month!

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Interpraise

Coming up on Wednesday, April 21, 7pm. Please keep it in your prayers!

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Savior: Jesus Messiah

An Easter Musical of Celebration

Hosted by Berkeley Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Saturday, April 3, 2010

1:30pm - 4:30pm

2236 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

What does a young career-driven woman, a college student looking to score the perfect "party supplies", a perfectionist mother who is desperately trying to be the ideal wife, and a middle-aged drug addict on the verge of suicide all have in common? After trying to deal with the pressures of life, it seems they have finally reached the breaking point. They share the pull of the world to be "somebody"... Or the temptation to give up if they are "nobody". They all long to be loved.

Come see how their lives are forever changed when they meet the Savior... Jesus Messiah.

Free Admission.

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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

A One-Act Comedy by Sean Gaffney

Hosted by Livingwater Church

www.livingwaterberkeley.org

Sunday, April 4, 2010

1:30pm - 4:30pm

2727 College Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705

Imagine living in the perfect town. Houses with white picket fences lining the street. Neighbors who are all honest, upright and humble. But what happens when the goodness of the perfect town is tested. Can anyone escape unscathed? Adapted from Mark Twain's short story, this play shows the truth of I John 1:8 (NIV) "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

2 Showings:

1:30-2:30p

3:00-4:00p

Free Admission.

Limited Seating - first come, first serve.

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The 3rd annual UiC MARCH GLADNESS

Saturday, April 17 2010

9:00am - 4:15pm

Hearst Gym

The purpose of March Gladness is to bring together the body of Christ in a fun interfellowship basketball event and to raise money and awareness for a certain cause. Anyone, ballers of all skill, size, and sex, are welcome to play! This year, we are supporting To An Unknown God, a Christian magazine on campus. This is a huge reason why we have this tournament. Here is their website: unknowngodjournal.com

Below are the registration and waiver forms. Fill out both and send them to Justin Louie (marchgladness at gmail.com). You may want to sign up in pairs or singles. You will be playing with the person you signed up with, but we’ll be assigning the rest of your teammates! Doesn’t this sound like a fantastic opportunity to make new friends in other fellowships? YEZZIR!

Registration Form: http://www.mediafire.com/?yhjnm4ozyy4

Waiver Form: http://www.mediafire.com/?hdnwuicd1mq

Registration ends next week! The cost is $25, and this covers the cost of the t-shirt, lunch, and court cost. All revenue is donated.

Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=371508426816&ref=mf

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The AGO brothers are hosting their second interfellowship dinner at their house on Tuesday, April 13! Feel free to join us after the UiC meeting at 6pm.

"Finding God in the Universe"

This past Friday our fellowship, Acts2Fellowship, had a special talk called "Finding God in the Universe" presented by Daniel Kim. We went over the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God, which the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins himself has said is the most impressive argument for the existence of God. When we look at the constants that govern the universe (such as the value of universal gravitational constant, speed of light, etc.), we start to see a very strange thing – that they seem to be extremely fine-tuned so that galaxies and planets can arise, so that complex life forms can be sustained. These relatively recent findings have caused quite a stir among the scientific community, because unlike the biological “intelligent design” argument, the apparent fine-tuning we find in the universe does not deal with evolution at all.

The night started with dinner in the courtyard outside GPBB. It was really exciting to see so many new faces, as well as friends who had visited A2F before but hadn't been to our Friday Bible Study for a while. As the talk started, I was hopeful that some intellectual barriers would be cleared for those who might be seeking God. Everyone was very engaged throughout the talk, since Daniel used lots of interesting examples, animations and statistics, methodically instilling us with a proper awe for the finely-tuned universe we live in. After the talk, Daniel fielded questions which the audience had submitted on slips of paper.

All in all, I was very thankful for how the night went. Although our talk was by no means a water-tight proof for God's existence, it accomplished its goal...to draw people ever so slightly out of their skepticism or pre-conceived notions of Christianity and give them a chance to experience our community and encounter God. It was great to hear the buzz of conversations after the talk was over as so many people were asking tough questions and, I think, being quite surprised by the intelligent answers. Some people who were skeptical walked away a little more open. Some people who aren't usually very serious had a chance to zoom out and consider the very serious question of whether God exists.

Check out the questions and answers from the talk at a forum we set up!

A Sinner's Prayer

Lord,

Open my eyes so that I may see,
The perfect beauty of Your glory.
May I see it in such a way,
The desires of my flesh just melt away.
Though I am weak, I know You are strong.
Your steadfast love corrects my every wrong.
So make me the way that I should be,
Alive to You and dead to me.



The last two lines are taken from an old Keith Green song, "My Eyes Are Dry". His life story is something I've been reflecting on the past couple weeks. It's quite unfortunate the way that he died so abruptly since it sounded like he had such a great ministry. Here is the song and a link to his wiki page. Hope you are all blessed by it as I have been.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Green

Announcements 3/9/10

If you would like to add or change anything on this entry, please leave a comment. Also, if you would like to elaborate on an event, report back to readers a past event, encourage or request prayer topics, feel free to write it in a new separate entry.

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Gideon's International

Gideon's International, an evangelical paraorganization that distributes Bibles to various people, especially those whom churches do not have as much access to, is making a local effort to include a card in the Bibles that includes contact information of various ministries, so that recipients can have follow-up discussion about their faith. If your ministry is interested in being a part of this effort, please contact Dan (drgarcia, berkeley.edu).

March Gladness
Saturday, April 17 (Cal Day)

March Gladness, an interfellowship basketball tournament, is approaching! Early registration forms will be going out soon, so be on the lookout for that! And please relay the information to your fellowship or those who may be interested in participating. The fee will include lunch and a T-shirt, and the revenue will be donated to an unaffiliated cause.

"If God Disappears"

Thursday 3/18, 7:30-8:45pm

First Presbyterian Church (Channing/Dana)

Hosted by Cru at Cal

David Sanford, an award-winning author, editor, and literary agent, will be speaking about his newest book, "If God Disappears: 9 Faith Wreckers and What To Do About Them." His objective in speaking to Cal students is to "strengthen their faith and give them a new vision for ministering to each other and to students they know who are struggling with their faith or have stopped following Jesus Christ."

Exposed

April (tentatively 4/23)

Hosted by InterVarsity

Exposed is an annual art show that uses art as a natural testimony to tell stories, awaken emotions, and hit people somewhere deep within. Creativity is a gift that God specifically places in us and is immensely powerful. For more information, contact Yvonne (yfung23, gmail.com) who can direct you to one of the coordinators or send you the application.

Feminist Case Against Abortion
Tomorrow (Wed, 3/10) @ 7pm, 145 Dwinelle

Alpha Gamma Omega invites you to a time of fellowship and dinner next Tuesday, 6pm! We will be heading over to AGO house together after next week's meeting. Come join!

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Events happening this Friday:

"Finding God in the Universe"

Gracepoint is hosting this event to show students how they can find God in the universe, especially when oftentimes popular culture seems to be using science as an evidence of theism or atheism. For more information, contact Calvin (calvinyglee, gmail.com).

Always the Women

7pm, 112 Wurster

$5 entrance fee

InterVarsity is hosting this one woman show of all the instances in which Jesus interacted with women in the New Testament. Come enjoy, and be blessed and challenged! For more information, contact Yvonne (yfung23, gmail.com).

The brothers at Alpha Gamma Omega will be hosting their semesterly party this Friday. For more information, contact Brian (concordbjf, gmail.com).

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UiC Prayer Meetings

Mon-Fri : 7am, 109 Dwinelle

Join in prayer of confession and intercession for UC Berkeley.

Saturday : 8pm - 11pm (you can stop by anytime)

Meet in front of Dwinelle at 8pm. Join in prayer for revival in the church.

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Tentative date for InterPraise: Wednesday 4/21

Please contact Sarah (e.sarahcho, gmail.com) or Justin (hi.jnak, gmail.com) if you know of a major event that conflicts with that evening. You can also contact Sarah or Justin for any ideas or thoughts you have on InterPraise, whether it be of previous ones or next month's. Most importantly, please continue to keep InterPraise in your prayers! May God work mightily through the event.

God is moving in FiCB

Fire Fall Down - Hillsong United

"You broke down the wall
when I spoke and confessed
In You I'm blessed,
now I walk in the light
in victorious sight of You

Your fire fall down
Fall down
On us we pray
As we seek

Show me Your heart
Show me Your way
Show me Your glory..."

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Praise. God. Thank You God.

I just came back from FiCB (Fellowship in Christ, Berkeley) Friday night service. Tonight was different. Maybe it was the smaller room size. Maybe it was the heat in the room. Maybe... but regardless, the Holy Spirit. His presence was with us. And I pray, pray, pray that God continues to work in the hearts of his children individually and as a congregation.

Joey opened us up with prayer. A heartfelt prayer of repentance. Sorry God, for neglecting You. Sorry God, for we do not give you the respect You deserve when You continue to pursue us and pour your love down on us. Remorse for our brokenness, God. Take us as we are. Broken but alive in Your hands. Take us as we are, and make us more like You.

Then praise. And then prayer. Prayer everywhere. Prayer for one another. Prayer for the fellowship. Prayer of thanks.

Then we opened up the floor for thanksgiving. Nathan went up to the front first. And he shared his struggle and desire to really, really, really have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who is God. Yearning. For something real. Thanks to his courage, more people came up and shared. I was shaking, my body was shaking. Shaking with gratitude for God, for his blessings on his children, for having thanksgiving in my heart and ever so present in our congregation. So real, our relationship with Him. And so real, his work in our lives, his glory revealed.

But people are still hurting. People are still struggling. But God, You said that we are victorious and free in You. So Christ will you continue you strengthen the hearts of Your people. Lord will you show that tonight was not an exceptional night, but a Normal Night of Praise. Lord, humble us and break us to repentance. We want to be intimate with You. We want to know what it means to know You as our lover, friend, king, father, savior, and lord of hosts. Teach us and open our eyes to your Scripture of the Bible and Your world. Help us to love one another, so that the whole world may see and know that we are Your disciples. LORD -- we want transformation for You are Power and Healing. Help us to have faith and rely on Your holy guidance every moment of our lives, and continue to build us as a congregation so that we may be a Part, a Body, a People who experiences your goodness every day and fills our lives and relationships with Your beauty, goodness, power and strength.

God. Continue the good work you've begun in us. Can you see the Holy Spirit moving? Can you sense His presence in our lives?

"Is there anything too hard for the Lord?"

Recently my small group had a bible study on Genesis 18. So quick overview of the excerpt-- God tells Abraham that his wife Sarah will have a son at the same time next year. Sarah overheard God telling this to Abraham and just laughed at how absurd it sounded. Sarah knew she was way past childbearing age and said to herself, "After I am worn out and my master is old will I now have this pleasure?" (Genesis 18:12) God asks Sarah why she laughed. Sarah lies and says she did not laugh, but God tells her "Yes,you did laugh." (Genesis 18:15)

I realize that sometimes I laugh at the promises that God makes for me. For every unanswered prayer that has been internalized into"God probably won't make this one happen," I believe that something inside of us changes. Our view of who God is can change because we start to categorize where He will or will not work. Our prayers can become more and more safe because we are afraid to get disappointed. And our fervor to do kingdom work decreases because we have lost faith.

I've seen this in my own life. My health has been sub-par for a while now-- there are good days where it's like "thanks God!" and there are not so good days where it's like "thanks... ....God." Seeing my own faith waver in accordance with my circumstances is like looking at unbelief in the face. I've seen myself settle for things that are less than what God has promised me. I've settled for the sick condition being the new norm and now it is hard for me to pray about my health.

But as I confront this barrenness in my life, I pray to be reminded and encouraged by these verses ...
as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"-- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old) or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.--Romans 4:17-21