Chi Alpha @ Stanford

Just a reminder that we’re having our first meeting tomorrow night at 8pm in room 300-300 (map).

If you’re a new student you might be wondering what the protocol is for coming. It’s very simple–you just show up. You don’t need to bring anything or do anything special. You might want to grab a friend and bring them with you so that you’ll have someone there that you know, but even if you don’t you’ll meet lots of people.

Also, we’ve got our new posters available for download. Please print one off and stick it on your door. People will notice! Get them from our gallery.

Our president, Shaowei Lin, will be speaking this Friday (Sep 19) at 8:00pm in Toyun Lounge.

In his own words: I will be sharing on the topic “Is there a God? — My experience in knowing Him.” I will basically be touching on the question of whether in this scientific age, one can seriously still believe that there is a God. Also, I will be sharing about my dream in July 2000 where God told me that He exists.

It will be an informal sharing session, and something that I wanted to do for a long time. Knowing God and finding out about Jesus has been the most life-transforming experience to me ever. I hope that this sharing session will be of interest to those of you who have been wondering about this same question for a while. Feel free to come with questions, I will try to answer the questions to the best of my ability.

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday 6/24/2003) at 7:00pm we’re having our first Bible study of the summer (directions)!

We’re going to be kicking things off with a look at Abraham, the great father of faith.

The summer studies will be very application-oriented and not merely philosphical or theological discussions (although a lot of that will no doubt ensue). Come prepared to wrestle with God’s Word and its ramifications for your life!

We’ll have snacks available, but you need to have already eaten supper (or be on a fast)!

Today (a Friday the 13th, as it turns out) is Nathaniel Rice’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, Nathaniel!

Fed up with finals? Need a chance to chill?

Come party at our place tonight at 7:00pm! You’re on your own for supper, but we will have some snacks available.

We (Paula and Glen) are out of town this week, and change is in the air!

This week’s Chi Alpha will start slightly earlier than usual because we are trying out a new schedule that includes half an hour of fellowship with one another. The location will remain the same at Bldg 300-300.

Date: 22 April 2003, Tuesday
Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: Room 300-300
Speaker: Steve Smallwood

Steve pastored Paula and Glen when they lived in Missouri, and now he’s in charge of student spiritual development at Bethany Bible College (near Santa Cruz). Steve is an incredibly authentic guy who possesses much wisdom–I think you’ll really like him.

I’ll update the rest of the website to reflect the new time as soon as I can. I have sporadic net access while I’m here in Missouri.

We just got back from Spring Retreat–it was awesome!

The photos we took are now online.

We also have an MP3 of Scott’s closing session. Owing to some technical challenges we weren’t able to get the first two sessions at all, and the third is of extremely poor quality. The fourth one (this one) came out pretty well, though.

In closing, here’s one testimony of what God did: Shaowei had been tormented by vivid nightmares. At retreat, he mentioned it to his friends over supper and they all told him that he should ask the retreat speaker, Scott, to pray that the nightmares would cease.

So Shaowei and his friends went to the worship session, and Scott preached about the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of his sermon he invited people forward to be prayed for. As he was inviting people up, Scott paused and told the audience that God had informed him that someone in the room was plagued by nightmares and that the person should come forward to receive prayer (in the Bible, this is referred to as a ‘word/utterance/message of knowledge’ and is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8 and demonstrated in passages such as Acts 9:10-19).

Needless to say, Shaowei’s eyes were about to pop out of his head! In his words, “I walked towards the pastor, ready to tell him what I need prayers for, but when I approached him I started crying for no reason, and I broke down before him. He laid hands on me, and I lost control of myself. I saw the images of all the nightmares I ever had flash before me… I felt fear from the nightmares come, and then dissolve away one by one as the Lord told me, ‘Be peaceful, be healed.’ Last night, I had one of the most peaceful sleeps in my life. I am deeply indebted to the Lord for his deliverance.”

Praise God!

The Call is coming to San Francisco this Saturday from 7am to 7pm.

Admission is free, but parking will cost $10 a car. The organizers strongly encourage you to arrive early and to take public transportation–many people will be turned away due to lack of space and of parking.

Please be aware that there will be no food available at the Call. Water will be for sale, but there is a voluntary fast for from 7am to 7pm. Bring food if you need it.

Welcome back–I hope you had a refreshing spring break!

Chi Alpha will meet the first day of class (Tuesday at 8 p. m. in room 300-300), and I encourage you to start this quarter with an emphasis on God.

This week’s message is called Warring Thoughts: A Christian Perspective on Military Conflict.

Don’t worry–this isn’t going to be a political diatribe. The focus of my message will be on a much higher plane than the current conflict. I’ll be talking about under what conditions war is permissible and by what criteria it must be waged. I’ll also share some thoughts on how we as civilians ought to act in a time of war.

You’re going to be having conversations about the war for the next few weeks anyway, so come and get some Biblical perspective on warfare!

Got stress? Then you need to come veg
out with Chi Alpha!

This Tuesday night at 8 come to our
place for our Veg Out party. Unwind. Chat with
friends. Eat free food. Dream about spring break. Enjoy the misadventures
of a tomato and his cucumber sidekick.

Go back home and study like crazy (but don’t forget
that sleep
is a need, not just a good idea).

If you’re planning to come, send me an email and let me know. Having a head
count helps us prepare the right amount of food.