Hello, Everybody!

Carolina Wilson wrote in with this exciting update about the prayer group at

 the University of Northern Iowa. Carolina is the secretary for the music 

department, and had prayed about starting a prayer group for a long time 

before actually finding someone who would pray with her. Then one day, a 

daughter of a missionary couple showed up at the music department.... 

Here is an update on that group.  Thanks for writing in, Carolina.
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Breta and I continue to pray together each week. In addition, she and 2 

other graduate students that are new this year pray together after class on

 Friday at 6:00 pm. The first week it was just the 3 of them but as the week 

progressed they invited some others, most are new graduate students.  The 

second week [Feb 2] there were 8 students! 7 of them are graduate students 

that were new to UNI Fall 2007, the eighth was an undergraduate  student 

that has stuck around for one more year to prepare for auditions. It is quite 

an international group, Breta grew up mostly in Argentina, then  there are 

students from Korea, Indonesia and I think also China plus students from the

USA. The students are still meeting regularly. Even 2 weeks  ago when our 

first winter storm was on it's way in. I left work at 5:00 and didn't stay because 

of the awful weather but I found out later the students  wanted to stay and pray 

together so they did. Even today, although it is Spring Break next week these 

students are planning to meet after class for  prayer. I'm heading out of town 

and assumed many of them would be also - but I was wrong!

Carolina

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The School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is going to have their 5th Bible study meeting this Thursday, at 6:15 in a classroom. We are reading the gospel of John together–inviting both believers and non-believers to come and just read the Bible with the premise that God can prove himself to them. This week we’re going to start looking at the holy week/passion chapters in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. I am co-leading this study with a dear friend, Alicia, and we are continually amazed at how God wants to act here. Our friends are much more precious to their Creator than to us!

We are praying that by the end of the semester, 20 students from each class (fresh, soph, jr, sr) will be following Jesus in such a way that they will be known by their association with Him. We’re praying and waiting to see what happens.

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I love their attitude at UNL – a desire for 20 students from each class following Jesus in such a way they’ll be known by their association with Him. That could totally rock not only their school, but in the long run, the world! Dream big and think big about Jesus. He’s able to do far more than we can even imagine!! Believe that about Him today and join in with UNL in prayer for the gospel to transform lives at their school.

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december-masterclass-monthly.PDF

masterclass-monthly-january.PDF

masterclass-monthly-february.pdf

We’ve had one new addition start coming to Bible study. Sue Ann, a pianist, was student teaching last semester, but is now finishing up her last semester with the music dept. It’s been good to have her coming. Jenn and Jen still come. Christi came while she could, but now has rehearsals for Steel Magnolias on weeknights which keep her from being available. Katie started doing a prison ministry thing on Wednesday nights, so she can’t come anymore, but she likes what she’s doing. So, usually there are 4 of us. It’s a good number, but I wouldn’t mind more.  I haven’t been very pro-active about inviting people though, so maybe I need to try harder.

We’ve still been studying Romans. We just finished Chapter 7. It’s taken a while, and I’m really ready for chapter 8! Actually, chapter 7 was really good. So encouraging. You know, Chapter 7 is one of those chapters where I just din’t get everything I read as I looked it over on my own. It made me a little antsy to lead a discussion on something I don’t fully get myself. You know? But the Lord really worked it out. He is so faithful. He really uses others to bring understanding. It’s so good sometimes just to hash out all the things you don’t understand in a group. Hmm…

I’ve never been very good at summarizing, but in a nutshell, what we learned in the later part of Chapter 7 is this: The law exists for our good, but it exposes sin as sin. Just knowing about my sin doesn’t save me from sinning (vrs. 7-13). Also, trying to will myself to be good isn’t enough. I cannot make myself righteous. I will always fail. (14-20) Even being a Christian and delighting in God’s law won’t keep me from sinning. The truth is, as long as I am a human, there is a battle raging within me between my flesh and spirit (21-24). Is that where it stops? Am I just doomed, period? Nope. Paul says in verses 24-25: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, my deliverer, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” There is hope. Jesus saves. We aren’t doomed to these bodies and to death forever. God will rescue us from ourselves.

The law exposes us all for the lousy sinners we are. The good news of the gospel is that through faith by God’s grace we have access to Jesus’ righteousness! We don’t have to be righteous on our own (which is good, because we can’t be). Because of Him, we no longer have to be slaves to sin, but we are also no longer slaves to the law. We are no longer under that law, but under God’s grace, which is apart from our actions. God’s grace is not dependent upon my devotion to him, or upon my keeping my life in order, or in any way dependent upon me. God is gracious because it is His character to be gracious. I do not need to fear coming to him because I am a mess. That’s exactly why Jesus came. He came because we’re a mess and He provided a way to make us clean in the eyes of the Father.

OK, well, I’m getting off on a tangent, but I hope you may all be amazed by God’s grace today. It is available. It is free. It is for me. It is for you. Let’s embrace that truth!

Here’s a short clip:

… “The greatest news in all the world is that there is no final conflict between my passion for joy and God’s passion for his glory. The knot that ties these together is the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Jesus Christ died and rose again to forgive the treason of our souls, which have turned from savoring God to savoring self. In the cross of Christ, God rescues us from the house of mirrors and leads us out to the mountains and canyons of his majesty. Nothing satisfies us – or magnifies him – more.”

Check out the full article here.

Caroline Chehade, one of the Bible study leaders at Manhattan School of Music, is currently organizing a retreat for the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, Curtis, Peabody and Montreal’s Crescendo group, sometime around March 9th.  A pastor from Montreal connected with Crescendo (a European organization that is based on the same principles as CPAF), will be coming in to speak for this retreat.

I wanted to announce this for two reasons:  One — it is a GREAT idea!  I would love to see Bible studies connect regionally.  If you would like to organize a similar retreat for your Bible study, check out the Bible Study Locator on the website, at www.christianperformingart.org     Representatives from CPAF or Crescendo will be happy to assist you in planning such a retreat.

I would also like to send out a general request for prayer and information as they plan this retreat.  It is difficult to find an inexpensive location for a retreat on the East Coast, somewhere between New York and Baltimore.  If you have any ideas for Caroline, could you please post them to this blog?

Thanks and God bless!~

Jennifer Jackson