Tonight we joined voices with our brothers and sisters at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in worship of our King. Worship is more than a song or the words with which we pray. It is a posture in humble surrender to God. We expressed this through praying over a map of the world, painting, and singing. Agape had the joy of praying over our friends at Intervarsity as they in turn prayed for us.
"How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" // Psalm 133
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Last Friday, ACF had a Praise & Prayer night in place of regular Large Group. Each of the leaders took a topic from the prayer model, ACTS:
Adoration // Melody Confession // Alexis Thanksgiving // Sooji Surrender&Supplication // Megan Each topic was introduced, then a chosen scripture was shared, and we engaged in a time of individual and corporate prayer. We praised God for He is worthy of our adoration. We confessed our sins to Him and reflected on the times that we offended Him. We gave thanks for His steadfast love and surrendered our insecurities and doubts onto Him. Scriptures: "Pray then, like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name" -- Matthew 6:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" -- 1 John 1:9 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever" -- Psalm 136:1 "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" -- Luke 23:46 Let us not cease praying. Although Praise & Prayer night may have passed, God is consistently deserving of our adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and surrender. This Friday, Agape piled into cars and braved the rain to worship with our brothers and sisters at VCU. One in Christ Fellowship (OICF) is connected with Servants Ministry. ACF and OICF have formed beautiful, encouraging relationships through retreats and joint large groups. We are so thankful for their hospitality and love.
The guest speaker was Pastor Ro, who spoke about the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7). He emphasized the need for context and biblical exposition as this passage is often misinterpreted for our comfort. Here, Jesus is having an intellectual encounter with scribes and pharisees (us).
Students finally got to wear rain boots and use umbrellas because of five consecutive days of rain. As physical sickness and exams kicked in, this week was a time of leaning on the Lord and encouraging one another in love.
Fred from Williamsburg Christian Church (WCC) spoke at Large Group about living a life of worship. In Amos 5:21-24, God revealed the Israelites' offensive complacency and indifference in loving those other than themselves. They were content with comfortable worship and did not care for the poor. Fred shared that in Scripture, "justice" includes legal justice and social righteousness: "God's rightness done everywhere." Just because we are in the New Covenant doesn't mean that God's character of justice and love have changed from the Old Testament. We are called in Romans 12:1, "by the mercies of God, to present your (our) bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your (our) spiritual worship." God calls for our entire life to be worship toward Him. We worship not just at Large Groups and church Sundays but in all that we are and all that we do. And that although we may "squirm off the alter," His mercy and grace will bring us back into His arms. We are to seek reconciliation for all things as we have been reconciled with the Father through Christ the Son. Jeffrey Buffkin from BCM was the speaker for this Friday's Large Group! He shared on God's love and how we should love Him faithfully and reflectively in return.
The scripture he focused on was Mark 12:28-33. When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus answers, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The goodness of God should not be dependent on the circumstances of our lives. Our love should reach the magnitude of His unconditional and relentless love for us, proven by His sacrifice of the Son. The second greatest commandment is "you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Once we receive this love from our Father, we must let it overflow so that the basin below us may be poured into and overflow as well. Jeffrey has shown great faithfulness to the young hearts on this campus and we, ACF, pray that his work may bear great fruit and be multiplied manifold. We encourage you to love in an Agape love and to be loved in Agape love. This week was yet another packed week for WM students as classes started to pick up speed. This didn't, fortunately, deter ACF from also continuing with our events and activities!
Along with another Bible Study and ACF Dinner, Agape played its first Intramural Indoor Soccer Game on Thursday Night. Although it was a pretty close game, Agape came out victorious. Friday was the first student TED-Talks of the year. However, rather than focusing on how God revealed Himself in their studies, the two students who shared (David Heo and Megan Man) gave two different kinds of talks. David shared his testimony about how God worked continuously in his life regardless of struggles he went through while Megan shared about her favorite word "Overflow" and about the issue of poverty. At the end of large group, Bigs and Littles pairings were announced and new relationships were formed! Congrats to all the new families out there! With another week coming up we are excited to see all that God has planned for us! PTL. Last week was a hectic week for students as they plowed through their first full week of classes. ACF still went ahead and had events throughout the week!
Tuesday was ACF's first game night, Wednesday was ACF's first dinner at the Caf, and Thursday Melody led ACF's first Bible Study. A lot of firsts! On Friday, at Large Group, Garrett from Williamsburg Christian Church came and shared his testimony and his experiences in his walk with God. ACF also prayed for all members who had birthdays in the summer and right after a scavenger hunt was had. Winners of the hunt received prizes. All in all, it was a fantastic week: PTL! The 2016-2017 school year has begun!
Agape welcomed the incoming freshmen at the William and Mary Activities Fair on Tuesday last week with stickers, the promise for free food at a barbecue, candy and, of course, the opportunity of fellowship. Agape's first large group was held that Friday, where Reuben came to speak about The Forgiving Love of God. The following Saturday was Agape's yearly Welcoming Barbecue, where hot dogs and burgers were served, and fun (or not fun... depending on how people felt about exercise) was had. We were very blessed by each and everyone who came to these events, and we are extremely excited for what this new year will bring. PTL (Praise the Lord) for all that He has done and will do for us. Key Verses Matthew 5:43-48 Ephesians 4:31 - 5:2 This past weekend, sixteen members braved the cold so that we could have our second Spring Agape Retreat at Hidden Acres Family Campground.
Thanks to God, as we were all warm, safe, and full. All four cars arrived on the campsite without incident. Although some of the cabins were fuller than others, the close quarters allowed more opportunities to bond and fellowship. The retreat culminated in a glorious Korean barbecue dinner Saturday night. It was an interesting meal, as we ate outdoors after sundown and had to rely on flashlights. We also had three elementary-school girls with us for dinner. They love ramen noodles and asked us if we were all a family. This year, our speaker was none other than Reuben. During his first message, he shared with us the importance of repenting dead works and placing our faith in Christ. During the second message, he talked about the implications and importance of the crucifixion. After each message, we broke into three small groups and thus were able to explore Reuben’s message in deeper detail. To give our small groups structure, Reuben posed four questions for us. From where do I derive my value? In which areas do I feel that God is insufficient? Where do you feel like God has let you down in the past? What doctrines are you afraid of? (For further reference, look up: Hebrews 6:1-3 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.) All in all, the retreat was a success, and we were able to begin Spring Break with a lot to thank God for! Yesterday, Agape Christian Fellowship took part in a joint Praise Night with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Both Agape and IV praise teams lead worship for around 90 people in the infamous Millington 150. Around the room, students were able to creatively worship using paints on a large piece of paper, and separate areas were sectioned for individual prayer as well as specific prayer (a map with persecuted churches was placed in one of the areas). Spoken word was given by one of the IV students and other students shared Bible verses throughout the night. A merry feast at CookOut! was had after the night finished.
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