Not so nasty November
There are peaks and troughs in the busyness of life as a UCCF Staff Worker. The stretch from mid-October to the end of November is certainly a peak! CU up and running, weekends away, talks to deliver and, occasionally, weddings to plan, certainly make filling up the time sheet quite easy! Relay Workers sometimes refer to ‘Nasty November’, a time when things are busyand it’s easy to get tired and jaded. I can understand that, and it’s easy to view this six-week stretch as something to grit your teeth and get through with the promise of a quiet December on the horizon. However, reflecting over the last month and a bit, there is much to be thankful for. Maybe the perspective of being in my final year on staff has helped, but this Novemberhasn’t been so very nasty at all!
There were two particular CU highlights this month. The first came at the very start of November. We were fortunate enough to be able to host a debate evening on the topic, ‘IsChristianity a delusion?’ We were joined by David Robertson, a Dundee church leader, and Dr. Manfredi La Manna, an economics professor, to present their cases for and against this question. The real highlight, however, was welcoming over 300 students in, the overwhelming majority of whom were not CU members. Many people asked their Christian friends to read the Bible with them off the back of this event and it was great to see the CU planning something that drew in a lot of people that we haven’t been able to reach in the past.
Secondly there was the annual ‘CU Houseparty’, our weekend away. 90 of us spent the weekend in Kinross, going through the book of Ruth with Scott Hamilton, CU Staff Worker inEdinburgh. Being reminded of God’s sovereign kindness in drawing outsiders into His people was just the encouragement we needed to keep going in our mission. It was also great for me to hear of so many students, including many first years, who have been using the Uncover resource with their friends.
Uncover
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of CU members have been using the Uncover resource this term. Uncover is a seeker-friendly gospel resource with a series of accompanying evangelistic Bible studies. This year UCCF launched Uncover Mark, and it’sbeen a thrill to hear of so many St Andrews students openingMark’s Gospel with theirunbelieving friends. Pray that, as the Gospels are opened each week, many would come to see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, come to die for their sins and that He is risen and reigning still. Pray that as unbelievers encounter Jesus in the pages ofMark’s Gospel they wouldindeed uncover the truth of who He is and come to put their trust in Him. And pray that CU members would have boldness in using this resource well!
The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer…
is singing loud for all to hear. So says the main characterin the Christmas movie ‘Elf’ and it’s wisdom we’re puttinginto practice next week! On 4th December is our annual CU carol service. This year we’ve thought a lot about how bestto grow this into our biggest evangelistic event of thesemester. We’ll be joined by ‘The Other Guys’, a well- known acapella group on campus, with Scott Hamilton giving an address on the true meaning of Christmas. Pray that many would come as the CU is bold in inviting fellow students. It would be wonderful to have the church filled with people hearing the wonderful message of God-made- man; how, as one carol puts it, Christ was born that man no more may die!
Prayer requests
Give thanks for an encouraging month
Give thanks for unbelievers reading Uncover Mark
Give thanks for a good time away on CU Houseparty
Pray for fruit from CU members reading Uncover Mark with their friends
Pray that the CU would be bold in inviting people to the carol service
Pray that Scott would proclaim the gospel clearly at the carol service and that
many who hear would want to find out more or even put their trust in Jesus on the night
