CRU Update

This week at CRU, we continued to explore the Book of Exodus – in particular, we delved into Moses’ encounter with the Burning Bush. We began with a game of “Guess Whose Voice It Is”, where a leader was blindfolded, and Year 7 and Year 8 boys spoke sentences from the Bible, with the leader trying to guess the identity of the speaker. Shoutout to Joseph Allan for his first time MC’ing – an authoritative yet entertaining leader that we’ll surely see more of later this year.

After a Bible reading by Will Watson (“that was read better than most Year 12s!”) and prayer, we investigated Exodus 3, focusing on God’s message to the Israelites and Moses. Daniel Becker first related Moses’ broad frustration at God with the frustration of getting left on read – leading to a few chuckles from the audience who had undoubtedly shared similar experiences. The experience of getting left on read is a universal one – you feel as if someone doesn’t understand your situation or, even worse, doesn’t value you as a person. This was exactly how Moses and the Israelites felt – the promises of God to Abraham seeming like a fantasy to the Israelites, who at this point had been continually oppressed by Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

Daniel gave us a couple of core messages from the talk – the first was to show that God is merciful to his people. In verse 7, God highlights his mercy with “I am concerned about their [the Israelites’] suffering”. Note at this point in time, the Israelites have not done anything worthy of being saved – in fact, they have been beating and fighting with each other in Egypt. However, God’s mercy extends beyond that – he will not allow this to play out, which he shows through his presence in the burning bush.

The second key message was that God has a plan for all of us – he has not left the Israelites on read, and in fact, he is working to help them. He is completely in control over what is happening – and eventually, he will have a plan to save them and lead them into “a land flowing with milk and honey”. Although the Israelites may be experiencing temporary pain and hardship, God promises that in the long run, he knows what is best for them and always has a certain plan. Through God’s appearance in the Burning Bush, he makes it certain he will fulfil his plan to Moses. And while these stories may seem outdated, the same lessons can certainly apply to us today – that our God is one of mercy, and that our God has a plan for all of us. Think of a failure you had that felt shattering in the moment but had many good things come from it.

Moving forward, we will have CRU on Thursday lunchtimes for Years 7 to 8 and Friday lunchtimes for Years 9 to 12. In addition, there is a weekly Bible study run every lunch for each Year group – in particular, it’s a great opportunity to learn about the Bible for new Year 7 boys. You don’t need to be a Christian to come to CRU – all you need is yourself and an interest in looking further into Christianity over a soft drink and sausage.

Jayden Pan
Year 11