InterVarsity UCSD – Dora Yiu

Last week we began our series entitled “Sex.God. : where sexuality and spirituality meet.” This is an extremely important topic for college students who are away from home for the first time, and struggling with understanding what God has to say about this part of our lives. Ryan Pfeiffer introduced this topic with a message on Genesis 2, focusing the topic with the Old testament Hebrew concept of “echad”. Echad, the Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy to explain the triune God is the same word in Genesis used to describe how husband and wife are one; Echad. This concept painted a redemptive picture of what sexuality in the scriptures were intended to be. I hope and pray that this series will open the eyes of many college students to understanding greater depths of our creator and God.

Last week we kicked off the start of our new Large Group Series “Under the Influence” with a message through the first chapter of Haggai. This 4 week series hopes to help students examine their life and be challenged to live every aspect of their lives, from school to finances, under God’s influence.

Last weekend we hosted a one day “Jesus, Justice, and Poverty Conference”. The point of the conference is to give students a chance to begin to identify and experience the issues facing the city of san diego beyond its beautiful weather and coveted beaches. This year’s emphasis was on global migration, particularly the southern border. We sought to address the question “what does it mean to love our neighbor” particularly our neighbors to the south? With such a charged political topic, it is often times hard to enter into the subject itself with the eyes and ears of Jesus. The reality is, that this is more than an issue, it is people; fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, mothers, sons. And the heart of Jesus is that these people would be treated with the same level of dignity and humanity bestowed upon all of us, starting with restoring their voiceless voices and their untold stories. A group of students took a trip to the border to allow their eyes to be opened to the realities there. One student recounts his experience in these words, “it honestly felt like a zoo, only I didn’t know whether they were on display or I was on display…looking across that fence with other people looking in, a certain level of humanity seemed lost in the line between us.” Another student expresses her experience with these word, “we are trying so hard to keep them out, but really we’re locked in.” No matter what side of the political policy we fall, the call of the gospel is to restore humanity that has been lost, and in the process find that we are more human that we ever knew.

We are going through a series in our large groups called “Seek Justice.” The main message of this series is how Jesus Christ came as the incarnate God, entering into our sin and brokenness, and began a revolution of justice for the world. We will be exploring different elements of Social Justice and what it means to serve and follow a God of Justice who commands us to “love mercy and actively seek justice” (micah 6:8) daily in our lives.

We are going through a series in our large groups called “Love Changes Everything.” The main message of this series is how the Love of Christ must compel and inspire transformation within us; causing us to change the way we live our lives, the way we view and treat others, and change the way we understand Jesus’ call to be a light to the world.