From rshadian@hawaii.eduThu Feb 8 14:55:11 1996 Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 23:44:53 -1000 From: Ritchard Shadian To: Chi Alpha Subject: The Brotherly, Volume SP96, Issue 2 *** * * *** * *** ** * * * *** ******* ****** ****** ******* ** ** ******* ****** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ****** ******* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ******* ***** ** ** ** ****** ******* ***** ** ** ** ******* ****** ** ** ** ****** ******* ****** ** *** ** ** ** ** ****** ** ** ** ** ** ** ****** *** ******* ** ** ****** ** ** ** ******* ** ** ****** *** _ OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I AT MANO'A CHI ALPHA CHAPTER ______________________________________________________________________________ FEBRAURY 7, 1996 VOLUME SP96 ISSUE NO. 2 ______________________________________________________________________________ Again, before I start, I just want to send a reminder to those of you who are getting this newsletter but don't want to. Send me an email and let me know that you wish to be removed from the mailing list. Now, on to other things. It looks like I was the only one who took my plea for articles seriously. Folks, there are over thirty people on this mailing list. I can't believe that not a single one wants has an edifying message they want to give to everybody, or has a neat story to tell, or has received an inspiring forwarded email message from a Christian friend. Don't be shy; I want to see your stuff. It can be anonymous, if you wish, and I post almost anything. This invitation is open to EVERYBODY that receives this newsletter, whether they live on campus or on the east coast of the mainland, or anywhere in between. Articles would really spice things up, and it would also shut me up. --------------- | ANNOUNCEMENTS | --------------- SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS -------------------- We did this last year and had pretty good success with it. So we're doing it again. If any of you are intersted in participating in the experience of contact evangelism, come out and join the team. They meet every Friday at 12:30 pm by the stairs next to Campus Copy on the second floor of Campus Center, and then go out from there. Contact Flover for more information. GUEST SPEAKER FRIDAY -------------------- For the next two weeks we will be having a guest speaker on Friday nights. Henry Materritas will be speaking on strategies for evangelism "first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles" (as is said in Romans). This week he will be speaking about evangelism in general. Next week he will talk about witnessing specifically to God's chosen, the Jewish people. PUTT FOR PAR ------------ Also, this Friday, after the General Meeting, we will be mini-golfing. So plan to stick around if you want some good fun. WORSHIPPING ON HIGH ------------------- On Saturday, February 17, we will be having a hike/worship/bible study tentatively on the Aiea Loop trail. Details are still a little sketchy, so keep your ears open on Friday. BORN IN THE SAME MONTH AS LINCOLN AND WASHINGTON ------------------------------------------------ Chris Kihlstrom Feb. 7 Amy Fung Feb. 15 (There may be more, but this is all I have on my list). ______________________________________________________________________________ ---------- | FEATURES | ---------- Since no one else sent anything, I've put in another installment of the column which was the only consistent entry in last semester's newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ KEEPIN' WITH THE TIMES by Ritchard Shadian (This column [technically this row] expresses the personal opinions of the editor [that's me] and in no way reflects the opinion of the UH Chi Alpha. Rebuttals are more than welcome.) Jesus = mc^2 ------------ In a day and age and place where we are taught that reason dictates any and all things, we have been thrown into apologetics-centered Christianity at the university level. Because college is a place where intellectuals hang out (supposedly) we are trained to respond to any skeptic who throws issues of logic and politics at us. We all have formed ideas or opinions about questions such as: How do you know God exists? Aren't all religions basically the same? What about those who haven't heard about God? Are you sure that your God is the right God? What do you think about aborition, human sexuality, the death penalty, etc.? Shouldn't we know how to answer these? After all, we should be "prepared to give a ready defense" of the gospel, right? Well, that is true, however I think that sometimes we raise our defenses a little too much. Intellectual stimulation is great, but are we making the gospel a little too complicated with all this? Do we still remember the basic message? It's very simple: 1) God is perfect. 2) We are not perfect because every human is born with sin. (Rom. 3:23) 3) As is, we being imperfect creatures cannot dwell in heaven with a perfect God. 4) God loves us very much and wants us to be with him forever. 5) He loves us so much that he provided a way for us, imperfect creatures, to be cleansed of our sin. (John 3:16) 6) That person is Jesus Christ, God's son, the ONLY one who could provide a perfect sacrifice for the whole world. 7) This sacrifice was needed so that we may have salvation. 8) This salvation is a free gift that is available to all for the taking. 9) Because God didn't want coerced love, he gave us the freedom to make our own decisions. 10) By exercising our free choice in accepting the gift of salvation, we are promised eternal life in heaven with God, and God never breaks promises. In our quest for the right answers to every question, we must make sure not to neglect the heart of our belief. The gospel is simple and straightforward; let's not clutter it up or confuse it with our reason. ______________________________________________________________________________ That's it. Hopefully you'll give me more material for next time. In Christ, Ritchard (rshadian@Hawaii.Edu) ============================================================================== Mailing list address: chi_alpha@Hawaii.Edu World Wide Web page: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rshadian/chialpha/homepage.html