RUF at UGA

This is a brief preface to Ben's message on Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish recorded in Jonah 2.  It was aimed at addressing a few questions on the historical reliability of the events described in the text before Ben preached from this passage.  

This is Ben's message from our 2018 RUF Lessons and Carols Christmas service.

Rev. Clay Werner of Good Shepherd Presbyterian reminds us of a God who calls sinners to bring our sins to him so that he can carry them away as far as East is from West.  In doing this, he blesses us--giving us the deep joy of possessing and experiencing his permanent and passionate favor in our lives.  

Rev. Dr. Hunter Bailey is the former RUF Campus Minsiter at Emory University and current pastor of Christ Community Church in Fayetteville Arkansas.  He joined us as our main speaker at Georgia-Alabama FallCon 2018 and spoke about the "Micah Mandate" given in Micah 6:8.

Rev. Dr. Hunter Bailey is the former RUF Campus Minsiter at Emory University and current pastor of Christ Community Church in Fayetteville Arkansas.  He joined us as our main speaker at Georgia-Alabama FallCon 2018 and spoke about the "Micah Mandate" given in Micah 6:8.

Rev. Dr. Hunter Bailey is the former RUF Campus Minsiter at Emory University and current pastor of Christ Community Church in Fayetteville Arkansas.  He joined us as our main speaker at Georgia-Alabama FallCon 2018 and spoke about the "Micah Mandate" given in Micah 6:8.

Rev. Dr. Hunter Bailey is the former RUF Campus Minsiter at Emory University and current pastor of Christ Community Church in Fayetteville Arkansas.  He joined us as our main speaker at Georgia-Alabama FallCon 2018 and spoke about the "Micah Mandate" given in Micah 6:8.

The Gospel is the only thing that can free you to honestly face what YOU are actually like (weak, sinful, guilty, shamed) and what GOD is actually like (holy, just, righteous, gracious, kind, patient).  In other words, who Jesus actually is is a match made in heaven for who you actually are.  Colossians 1:19-23 is where Paul traces the Redeemer's compatibility with those needing redemption.

We're all prone to have a shrinking Jesus; that's why our anxieties, insecurities, restlessness, and hyper-activity are always in the background.  God knows this.  Paul knows it.  That's why he wrote the "Christ Hymn" in this letter.  In it we see Jesus as he is--supreme, sufficient, and seeable.  

Our prayers are where our hearts express their deepest perceived needs.  It's the same with Paul's prayer for the Colossians in the early part of his letter.  His prayer reminds us of what we need, who we are, who God is, and where he's put us.  

The Gospel is the demonstration and reality that God is one who meets us where we are with all of himself and all of his resources... while never leaving us stuck there.  At RUF, all we're trying to do is love others in the ways we've first been loved by God.  That's why we're aiming to be a community of redeemed sinners who meet each other where we are while never leaving anyone stuck there.