Ministries

The CBS coordinators for 2008-2009 are Henry Wen (yhw2@cornell.edu) and Mandy Zhao (myz3@cornell.edu).

Praise Team

Ever since last school year, We've developed an understanding that worship is a response – but a response to what? The obvious answer is God's greatness, love, grace, etc. However, so often we only know ABOUT God and don't really know God. In order to worship God, we must know him. Put another way: orthodoxy (right knowledge of God) leads to orthopraxy (right actions) and doxology (worship of God). The Greek for "to know" in the Bible is translated "to regard with favor". This implies that there is an emotional aspect to knowing. When we come to this full and honest understanding of God, we will have no choice but to respond with awe that's so personal that it cannot be expressed in just words – it will break forth into song. Therefore, our theme for this year is "To Know" and the verse is from Psalm 96:4: "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise". We want to explore the Bible's countless attributes of God along with His finished work on the cross so that we know WHY he's worthy of praise, and then respond with gratitude and song.

In light of this, we urge CBS to several applications:
1. To come with humble and teachable hearts of worship. To have the deer-like yearning in Ps 42:1.
2. To avert their eyes away from the leaders or self and towards God (Ps. 146:3).
3. To be more sensitive to the lyrics than to the music, lest they be moved by emotions instead of truth.
4. To not refrain their voices out of self-conciousness, but rather to open their lips (Ps. 51:15).
5. To exalt the finished work of Jesus Christ over their current troubling circumstances.

Richard Kim (bk226@cornell.edu) and Ronny Huang (wh97@cornell.edu)

Discipleship

What is a disciple? A disciple is a person that dedicates himself to follow and obey Christ and his commandments, setting Christ above all else, that all other things, even our relationships, pale in comparison.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:31-32 (ESV)

To follow Jesus, we must know His Word, and live in it, free from sin. Through prayer partnerships and discipleship, we hope that by studying the Bible and praying together, to encourage one another to set Christ above all else, so that all things, even our relationships, pale in comparison (Luke 14:26-27).

And as we do this, we hope that as a fellowship, to become like the Thessalonican church, who became an example everywhere, to non-believers and believers alike, as they lived and spoke in the Word.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. -1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 (ESV)

Alexander Lee (awl9@cornell.edu) and Kathleen Chang (klc75@cornell.edu)

Inreach

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him." When learning what it means to care for one another, to encourage Godly relationships in the family of Christ, and to grow as a fellowship, we must keep each other grounded in the truth made known to us through God's grace and love.

As we strive to be reflections of Christ, we ought to stretch ourselves outwards to care for others. We will inevitably fail, fall short, and stumble in our pursuit to spur one another on through love and good deeds; we hope that we would recognize our shortcomings and selfish desires and realize the need for God's grace to reign in our lives over and over again.

Only when we realize we have been pardoned through the power of Christ on the Cross can we stand before God unashamed. It is InReach's hope and prayer that we can come boldly before Him and ask Him to change our hearts. We aspire to do all things for His glory and to build each other up as the body of Christ, drawing ever closer to Him and letting His love overflow into all of our relationships.

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." - Ephesians 4:15-16

Eric Yau (ety2@cornell.edu) and Cynthia Kwong (ck265@cornell.edu)

Evangelism

"'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.' But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience." -1 Peter 3:14-16

As followers of Christ, we have been called to spread the eternal hope of Christ with the world. For us, this means beginning with our friends, our family, other Cornell students, the people in Ithaca, and going into the nations. We strive to first cultivate a personal joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12) and a heart for the gospel, and then to bring this joy to others. Our prayer is that we might be better trained and equipped to "give an answer" for our hope, while encouraging one another to live out the gospel daily.

Caleb Chan (ccc49@cornell.edu) and Yvette Wong (ycw3@cornell.edu)

Prayer

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” - John 15:7 (ESV)

Does God always grant what you ask for in prayer? As John 15:7 suggests, the answer is no unless we abide, i.e. dwell or live, in Him and obey his commands. What does it mean to abide in Him? God desires us to “bear much fruit” in life. “Bearing fruit” refers to being faithful and obedient disciples (John 15:8) and spreading the gospel (John 15:16). Prayer is one of the privileges God has given us to help us “ bear much fruit”, which is only possible because of Jesus's death on the cross. The Bible is filled with references to the necessity (John 15:4, Romans 12:12, Colossians 4:2) and power of prayer (Mark 9:29, 2 Corinthians 1:11, Philippians 1:19, James 5:16). This year we focus on praying to "bear fruit", i.e. praying for the saints (Ephesians 6:18, Romans 15:30), people in authority, those who do not know Jesus (1 Timothy 2:1-4), our daily needs (Matthew 6:11), and the guarding of our hearts (Luke 22:46).

Kersing Huang (kh295@cornell.edu)