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“You Will Be My Witnesses”

Key Verse:  Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Loyola UBF ministry held a weeklong Bible School on the book of Acts, from June 24-28, 2013.  Our prayer was to see and understand the work of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection in the lives of the early church.  We believe the Holy Spirit is the same today and prayed the same work of the Holy Spirit would continue through us.  Jesus told his disciples just before ascending to heaven, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  To understand the power and work of the Holy Spirit, we studied 15 messages given by 15 different messengers, including missionaries, shepherds and students.  We studied from chapter 1 through 28 and saw how the early believers fulfilled Jesus’ promise to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  We saw the great power of the Holy Spirit and asked the Lord to give us such power in our lives of faith.  Each night around 25 people attended to hear 3-4 messages, sing a praise song and pray together.  We prayed each messenger would receive one word through their messages, limiting their messages to one point, 10-15 minutes each. 

On Wednesday of the week, we had a 1:1 Bible study symposium.  Mother Barry explained why we teach the Bible 1:1, as opposed to other methods of Bible study.  Sarah B. Choi gave the history of witnessing to Jesus through fishing.  Dr. Helen Rarick and Missionary Pauline Moon gave examples from their 1:1 ministry, in how they prepare and serve students through their Bible studies.  Mainly we were encouraged to learn that all our efforts are to witness to Jesus and raise disciples through 1:1 Bible study.

We thank God who gave all of our members a willing heart to participate, including three students who gave messages for the first time.  We earnestly pray that God will work in our Loyola ministry as he did in the early church, making us Jesus’ witnesses at Loyola, in Chicago, the United States, and to the ends of the earth.  We thank God for sending our precious coworker, Pauline Ahn, to Loyola Medical School and UIC ministry.  We believe God will use her greatly as Jesus’ witness, and pray God may raise many Spirit-filled professionals like her.