CRU Update

What do you think of when asked what the best rescue in the history of the world was? Last week, we considered the top two rescues in the world at CRU, and how one points to the next. So far this Term, we have been looking at God’s Big Picture, looking at the Bible as one narrative. We have seen the Pattern of the Kingdom, and the Perished Kingdom before the Promised Kingdom and now the Partial Kingdom. God’s kingdom refers to God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing, which was promised to Abraham.

In considering the Partial Kingdom, this week we heard about the Exodus. Mr Kellahan spoke about how the Exodus is the second greatest rescue in the Bible and hence in history. The first thing we saw about the Exodus is that God is the one who saved the Israelites, it was not anything they did. We also learnt how the Israelites went from poverty to riches and from slavery to freedom, because a lamb was sacrificed.

Mr Kellahan showed us how these events linked very clearly to an even greater rescue, which is the rescue of Jesus coming to us and rescuing us from our sin. We are only rescued from sin because of God’s grace and God takes us from poverty to riches because Jesus became poor for our sake, taking on the form of a servant, so that we might be blessed spiritually and with eternal life. Just as the Israelites went from being enslaved in Egypt to being free, we went from being slaves to sin, to being free in Christ. All of this was possible because God achieved it through the sacrifice of a lamb, Jesus Christ. Mr Kellahan mentioned in John 1, John identifies Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, dying on the cross for our sins and being raised to life so we can know we will have life with Him. This is incredible news, and it is amazing to see how a story so long before can point to Jesus, the one the whole Bible is about.

During the week, we also heard about Platform Youth and Ignite Youth from Hamish Wenden and Lewis de Vries. Boys are encouraged to attend a youth group, and for those close to Seaforth and Kirribilli, this is a great opportunity to meet with God’s people on a Friday night. We look forward to continuing looking at the Biblical narrative next week.

InterCRU

Last Friday a group of about 10 Shore boys headed to Arden Anglican School, Epping, for InterCRU, a gathering where various CRU groups from different Schools join together to open God’s Word and pray for one another. Hosted by Arden this Term, the afternoon began with some songs to praise God before moving into a get-to-know-you bingo game. This was followed by more songs, before a testimony where we heard about God’s work in the life of one of the Arden students, and the way we can be amazed by His Word, and courageous in Him, despite our worries and anxieties.

The Bible reading was from 1 John 4:7-12, and we heard that God is love. The speaker took us through various ideas of what love might be, before we considered God’s love more closely. Though it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that God is not loving because He allows suffering or He judges, we heard that God shows us that He loves us through Jesus. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us sinners, so that our sins might be taken away and we have life. Is it a love that is selfless, personal and costly. As a result of this love, we should love others, not so that others like us more or so we feel better, but so that Jesus is glorified and His love is reflected in our lives, like light in a mirror.

Before closing, we had an opportunity to pray for one another’s Schools, and especially our CRU groups. We considered how we can both praise God for the work He does in growing our groups and bringing our requests to God, including for new leaders to step up, in a transition period for many groups. We look forward to next Term when Shore is hosting MegaCRU on 7 November.

Daniel Becker
12 TY4