First, we’ve got a new thing starting this quarter: The Prayer. This will be at the Flat at 9p on Wednesday nights. Here’s a description from Solomon: “A gathering to seek after the face of our Lord and Savior. We will gather together at 9pm on Wednesday evenings in the Flat for a time of prayer to our God. While we will all be together, it is not corporate prayer. This is to say that there will be no agenda for the night. It is a time for each individual to seek after the face of the Lord, and to embrace his loving presence. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”(King James). This is what its all about- gathering together to find our Savior in the midst of us. Come with an open mind, an open heart, and a living spirit. Be ready to experience the realness of our God, and be moved by Him.”

Second, this Friday is Bring Your Own Dang Picnic at 6p on the Oval. Order take out somewhere and then meet together on the Oval wherever Sarah Jo finds us a spot. After dinner we’re going to play Sardines and head to UDF for some ice cream/ floats/ cones/ what have you.

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but s/he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26

Like last quarter’s meetings, this week and other weeks we will meet on Tuesday night at 6;30 pm for a meal and then 7:30 for worship and teaching.

On Friday (January 13), we’ll be having our Winter Quarter Kick-Off Party! Meet up at 8 pm at the Flat. We will be having a jazz trio play for us as we hang out together and catch up. Feel free to invite friends along. If anyone is able to help with clean-up, contact Danielle or Seth.

This week we’ll be back to meeting in our usual place at the usual time: 6:30 for dinner, 7:30 for the meeting proper. Our Christmas party will be on December 2, and then we’ll have a few final low-key get-togethers finals’ week, so as to allow students plenty of time for studying.

And, as is the ancient practice of the church from its founding, we also read some Psalms. Below, for your enjoyment, are the 24th, 25th, and 148th Psalms. (They’re in the KJV here, because of its lack of copyright restrictions and its unsurpassed ear for poetry.)

PSALM 24

1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
9Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

PSALM 25

1Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

PSALM 148

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.

1. Celebration. It helps to step back and remember the great things God has done on our behalf. Psalm 33 is a good biblical way of looking at that topic in poetry.

2. The World. This is an admittedly broad topic. We encourage you to pray for those you know throughout the world, for world leaders, for the persecuted church, and for people throughout the world who have found their way into your lives.

3. The Spread of the Gospel. On our meeting Tuesday, we encouraged people to start praying for five specific people from their own lives who need the Gospel. While it is true that whole people groups and nations need to have the gospel spread among them, five names is an excellent way to start thinking of the gospel on an immediate and small scale.

4. Yourself. In following Jesus, we must give up on being self-centered, but we also need to cry out for God’s work to continue in our own lives. Praying for ourselves is more than just a way to ask God for things we want — it is a crucial self-examination process, part of how God continues to purify his Church.

5. Confession. This is not just telling God what bad things we’ve been up to — important though that is for us. Confession is reminding ourselves, by telling God again who we are without Him, who we are in Him, and who He is to us. It is a conscious affirmation of His proper place in us and our proper place in Him.

6. A letter to God. Admittedly, this isn’t “something to pray for” as the list promised. But writing God a letter — an actual, physical, pen-and-paper letter — is undoubtedly a good idea. There’s something about putting things to paper that adds weight to them.

7. Campus. It doesn’t take long on campus to see discrepancies between what God wants and how things are. Praying for these discrepancies is critical. Do it.

8. The Future. The future is a broad topic that can be prayed for from many different angles: your future, your future career, the future of your church, the future of this town, this state, or this country. Look to where you are anxious or curious or excited about the future, and let God in on it.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing the Lord! Praise his name!
Announce every day how he delivers!
3 Tell the nations about his splendor!
Tell all the nations about his amazing deeds!
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves!
Bring an offering and enter his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire!
Tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established, it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy!
Let the sea and everything in it shout!
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
Then let the trees of the forest shout him joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes!
He judges the world fairly,
and the nations in accordance with his justice.
 

And now here’s a really excessive list of music videos for all the songs we did. They’re not videos of us, but if you didn’t attend Tuesday, that’s about the best we can do for you.

On Monday, we participated in the OSU involvement fair, which due to rain was held indoors in the spacious but still incredibly crowded Student Union. At our Welcome Party, on Tuesday, we got to meet and spend time with some freshman and other students as well who are getting to know SCF for the first time. The Welcome Party this year was unique in the very large number of international students with whom we had the pleasure of getting acquainted. On Wednesday night we took a crowd of both experienced and very inexperienced ice skaters to our hockey rink to slide around in circles with a large crowd of people trying not to fall. After taking Thursday off, we met up again Friday for a cook-out followed by a game of Eric Peter’s signature event: glow-in-the-dark ultimate frisbee, which occurred on wet grass, with predictable and often hilarious results. Saturday, in yet another excuse for enjoying community, we gathered together perhaps four football fans and ten people who couldn’t care less about the sport to watch the game against Colorado. OSU won, and with a thrilling set of passes by our new starting freshman quarterback. In what was arguably an even more thrilling development, SCF held Sundaes on Saturday, treating visitors to an assortment of ice creams and toppings.

Thus concluded a very eventful opening week. As we settle into the rhythm of the calendar year, we will be having our regular meeting, which we call Feast, on Tuesday, and small groups, which we call hubs, will be meeting on the other day of the week. (If you’re an SCFer interested in one of the hubs, let us know and we’ll help you find one that works for you.)

We’ve enjoyed seeing some new faces and some more familiar ones, and are looking forward to the last three quarters of study and fellowship to be offered here at OSU! (Before the semester switch, that is.)

We look forward to the coming year, in which we’ll be trying out something new with relatively smallish groups of about seven students a piece meeting weekly in addition to the regular meetings.

I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations.

And Romans 8:18-25:

For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God who subjected it – in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.

And finally, Revelation 21:1-5:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”

And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.”

And here’s a few of the songs we sang: