World Assembly 2023 Bible Exposition: Riad Kassis - 'A Journey from Obedience to Blessedness' / Psalms 1 & 2

Have you heard Vinoth Ramachandra’s thought-provoking talk about justice at World Assembly 2023?  💥 “Early Christian theologians, the Church Fathers, challenged the absolutist understandings of wealth and property that undergirded Roman law.   They taught that if I have food in my house that I don't need for my survival, but my next-door neighbour is starving, then the food in my house belongs to him and his family, and not to me. If he breaks in and takes that food, he is not stealing. It is I who commit theft – as long as I refuse to share it with them. Because the right to life trumps the right to private property.  My friends, this is not Marxism. This is traditional Christian theology which we have forgotten.”  Hear him unpack the biblical vision for justice and what that means for us. Listen to the full talk in this podcast.

⏱ Life is short! Life on campus is even shorter! How should we view our time?   In this Bible exposition, Kuzipa Nalwamba (a Program Director at the World Council of Churches and former ZAFES Zambia staff), invites us to take heart in the BIG-PICTURE offered in Psalm 90.   💎 “When we understand life as a gift, the brevity of human life ceases to be a problem. It becomes an opportunity for prayer – to ask God for wisdom to discern the significance of human experience – and for God's gift of fruitful work in life, for orientation and perspective.”   💎 “We are called to entrust ourselves and our allotted time to God with assurance that, grounded in God's work and God's time, our lives and labors participate in the eternal.”  

Tim Adams, IFES General Secretary, talks about the “dual reality” of IFES – a strong global fellowship that is often very vulnerable at the local level. How can we serve with hope, joy, and confidence when we feel weak and powerless?   Tim offers encouragement by reminding us of verses in Scripture, sharing about his visits to national movements, and reflecting on the Apostle Paul’s prayer for power in Ephesians 1. He reassures us: God’s power at work in us is “in another league!”  Global Fellowship Day was one expression of IFES movements uniting to share and pray together. Don’t miss the next one: World Student Day on 18 October 2024. Find out more 👉 https://ifesworld.org/wsd 

1️⃣... 2️⃣... 3️⃣... What three things sum up IFES for you?   In this 75th Anniversary Address at World Assembly 2023 in Jakarta, IFES General Secretary Tim Adams reflects on the history of our unique movement – and highlights three distinctives that are still vital today.

In this podcast, Jonathan Vakaruru, staff with Pacific Students For Christ - PSFC Fiji, shares how their movement engaged with the rise of mental health issues during and after COVID by running a Trauma Healing course.

Four countries: culturally connected yet geographically separated. Four IFES movements: facing many challenges yet serving with joy. Gisela Muñoz gives insights into student ministry in Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.   On this Voices of IFES, learn about the distinctive context, find out why Gisela was drawn into student ministry, and hear her perspective on how the four movements are having an impact today. Find out how you can pray for her and local IFES ministry in this unique subregion of Latin America.  If you want to support Gisela in her ministry, you can do it here.

How is your faith making a practical impact among your peers? 🙋🏽‍♀️   See how Compa Mexico has been responding to students experiencing stress, anxiety, and lack of motivation 👇   https://youtu.be/811TScXsAR0?si=LDvw63D5gcnuDEt4

🧠 Mental health is a huge topic and a massive concern. Where do you start? 😕 How can you get advice that’s deep yet simple, professional as well as spiritual?   Right here! 😊   In just 20 minutes, Dr Jessie Dezutter covers: 1. What is mental health? 2. What’s the relationship between religion/faith and mental health? 3. What wisdom does Scripture offer about mental health? 4. What can we practically do to care for mental health?   💡 “As a psychologist, it’s wonderful to see that psychological research is at the moment focusing on aspects of wisdom in Scripture and trying to investigate them.”   ❤ “Take care of yourself... so that you can be an instrument to pass on God's love.”

🖤 “I felt betrayed, alone, and hopeless. And I asked God, ‘'Why God, where are you, why? Do you care?’ And then I started to count all the good things that I had done: Lord, I do this, I do that, I do this, I do that. Why? Why Lord? Why did you allow this to happen to me? But for those four years, it was really dark.”  In this talk from World Assembly 2023, Dwi Handayani not only unpacks the emotions of Psalm 88 but also honestly shares from her own experiences.  Watch 'Finding God in the Silence: Lament and Faith in Times of Suffering' and learn how the lament of Psalm 88 can guide us through our own times of crisis and point us to Jesus.   ❤️ “God wants you to know that his love is not dependent on your feelings” 

♥🌍 What can creation care look like in practice?   📺 In this talk, Professor Denise-Margaret Thompson gives insights into the impact of climate change and shares about the response of student movements in Indonesia, Hawaii, and Trinidad and Tobago.   💪 “God always raises up a Moses, an Elijah, a Deborah – and the brilliant young people of our movements. And those young people have leverage with companies and multinational companies.”