University Bible Fellowship

Walker’s Farm/ First Baptist Bible Camp

Last week, four of the Jesmer kids went to Walker’s Farm, an annual bible camp for kids all over the area, run by the Walker family.  Once again, they opened up their family farm, and this year’s theme was “Journey to Jerusalem”.  Kids  learned about the old country of Jerusalem, had chapel together, swam in an in-ground pool, made crafts  and had fun.

Children learned about the temple, Jesus’ crucifixion, and life in Lebanon.

Each of the children were assigned to one of the 12 tribes of Jerusalem.

The  missionary focus of the camp was Lebanon.  and the children learned about dishonest work programs that put people who are not criminals in prison.  They gave offering and had a contest by weight of coins between the boys and girls.  In real terms, the offering will be used to purchase a total of 772 pieces of fruit or vegetables for a women’s prison.

Hope:

“I liked swimming and craft time. During craft time, we made stepping stones, memory books, bracelets, and weaving. We also had tribes at camp and I was the tribe Benjamin. I learned about Jesus’ arrest, his disciples, and we had synagogue school.”

Mark:

“My tribe was Zebulon. I liked swimming the best. I also like crafts in the Market Place. We got newspapers that described the time of Jesus. My teacher was really nice. I also had a cheer. I learned about Jesus in the tomb and also his death. I love Walker’s Farm!”

Prayer Topics for Purdue Conference:

Augustine (7^th Grade): "At this Purdue conference, I want to see all the people from

around the world and make friends with the kids there and be a leader in some activities. I also want to learn how to focus and act like a grown up with spiritual things like our daily bread meetings here at NIU. May I also get one word to hold in my heart through the conference. "

Jenn (9^th Grade): "I am really excited about this conference and meeting all of the

foreign delegates. But I guess my prayer topics for me would be that I serve this conference. I want to help my mom with registration and office work and offer my music by leading singspiration Friday morning for MBF daily bread as well. I want to learn from the bible studies and messages what God wants me to learn, and just to be open to God’s word."

Sarah (6^th Grade): "I’ve been looking forward to Purdue for along time. It’s a time of

worship for me, my family, and for people all around the world. I hope that through this conference, that people can tell their town about Jesus. I’m exited about the conference because I can see all the people that we have been praying for at World Mission Night. I’m exited on being part of it."

Bible Study Questions for Purdue 08 ISBC

FATHER, FORGIVE THEM                     Luke 23:26–49                       Key Verse: 23:34a

1.  Who was conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross? (26) Why might Jesus have needed help? What effect

     might this  event have had on Simon of Cyrene? (Ro16:13) Who followed Jesus? (27) What did he  

     say to the wailing women? (28–31) What did he prophesy?

2.  Read verses 32–33. Describe the crucifixion. How much did Jesus suffer? (Mk15:34; Ps22:14,15)

     Why did he suffer and die like this? (1Pe2:24b; Isa53:6b,12; Jn1:29)

3.  Read verse 34. On the cross, what did Jesus pray for those who crucified him? How could he pray

     like this? (Heb 7:26,27; Lk19:10; 1Pe4:8) Think about the power of love expressed in forgiveness.

     What does Jesus’ forgiveness mean to you?

4.  How did the people, the rulers and the soldiers mock Jesus on the cross? (35–39) How was one

     man different? (40–42) From the cross, what promise did Jesus give him? (43)

5.  What happened when Jesus died? (44–46) What does this reveal about the meaning of his death?

     (Heb10:19–20) How did Jesus show his love for God, his assurance of God’s love for him, and his

     total dependence on God? (46)

6.  What confession did the centurion make, and what is the significance of this? (47) What people

     were there when Jesus died? (48–49)

JESUS CAME TO SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST          Luke 19:1–10                         Key Verse: 19:10

1.  Where did this event take place, and where was Jesus going? (1; 18:31–33) What kind of man was

     Zacchaeus? (2–3) Imagine the kind of life he had led to become a chief tax collector.

2.  What did Zacchaeus eagerly want? (3a) Why? (5:27–32; 7:34; 18:13–14) What things hindered

     him from seeing Jesus? (3) How did he deal with this situation? (4) What can we learn from him?

     (Jer29:13)

3.  Read verse 5. What did Jesus do and say? What is the significance of Jesus calling him by name? 

     (Jn10:3b,14) Why did Jesus ask him to come down immediately? (5b) What does this reveal about

     Jesus? (Rev3:20) Think about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Do you

     have a personal relationship with Jesus?

4.  How did Zacchaeus respond? (6) What can we learn from his attitude in responding like this to

     Jesus’ invitation? How did all the people respond? (7) Why did they mutter against Jesus?

5.  What shows Zacchaeus’ genuine repentance and decision to live a new life? (8) What did it mean

     for him to call Jesus “Lord”? How could he be changed so radically? Read verse 9. How did Jesus

     bless Zacchaeus’ repentance and faith? (Ro4:16; Gal3:9)

6.  Read verse 10. What was Jesus’ purposing in coming into the world? What did he mean by the

     “lost”? (Ge3:9–10; 6:5) In light of this, what does the word “save” mean? (Lk15:24; Ro8:15) How

     do the words “seek and save” reveal Jesus’ burning shepherd’s heart to win one soul? What does

     this mean to you?

Before the Purdue conference, we will hold a book club on “The Journey” written by Billy Graham.

The book about living by faith in the world.

Please have it read by July 16^th and we can meet to discuss it together.

Andy Schumake is making a BIG decision about heading to the

University of Arizona this summer, to begin attending classes in the

Fall Semester. In the meantime God granted him a good job at

Caputo's. Please pray for Andy to have clear life direction and to make

a decision of faith.

Julie

Purdue

Solders spirit

Daily bible reading

Keep 1:1

Purdue Update

I.  Registration

v   Total of 3,050 people have registered

v   956 International Guests

v   95% US Visa Applications were approved

v   From NIU UBF, the following are fully registered:

o      Pastor Kevin & Shepherdess Julie

o      Jennifer, Augustine & Sarah Jesmer

o      Tim Sagel

o      Andy Schumake

o      Kathleen Haskin

o      Emily Ducatte

o      Janice Thiele

o      Haojie (Roger) Zhu

II.  Messengers:   Joe Schafer, Jim Rabchuk, Sergio Lemus, Kevin Albright, Vladimir Point, and Peter Scweitzer

Fundraising News from Jennifer Jesmer:  

Yesterday I participated in a carwash with some kids in my language arts class to raise money for a Christian charity called Food for the Poor Inc. FP uses donations to ship food overseas, to build wells and houses, and to provide means for poor families to start their own businesses such as looms, chickens, or donkeys. We raised $350.

Added to the $230 we raised from a bake sale and raffle at CRMS, making the total close to $580!

Our fundraising effort was inspired by the Holocaust Unit our class had, where we had the option to show what we learned any way we wanted. We chose to do something relating to community service in remembrance of the people that died in the Holocaust due to starvation and sickness.

    Joshua Wojtowicz has just completed his second year at Northern Illinois University, and is going for a degree in Philosophy. 
Over the past few months, Joshua has been studying the Bible with Tim Sagel. They have studied up to Genesis chapter 6 thus far. 
Joshua has even invited his mother Laura to the Sunday service. His plans for the future include moving to Fort Walton Beach, Florida 
where he will finish his undergraduate studies at Okaloosa Walton College.  He feels called to return to Florida, where he grew up, to show 
his pre-Christian life friends the Love of God.  He is engaged to Annie Wheeler and their tentative date is set for July of 2009. After finishing 
their undergraduate studies, Joshua and Annie plan on moving back to Illinois to pursue post-graduate degrees at NIU. Joshua plans on being a 
Professor of Philosophy, and writing books on Philosophy of Religion, and Christian Apologetics, while Annie intends to use her degree in 
Early Childhood Development to teach Kindergarten.  Joshua's influences include both C.S. Lewis and Alvin Plantinga. Joshua lives with his 
father John and brother Jacob in Sandwich, and he is fortunate to have a family that cares so much about him.  He credits his salvation to God's 
not letting go of him and to his mother's constant love and courtesy in everything she does. We, at NIU UBF, are thankful for the few months 
that Joshua could participate in our humble ministry.
 

My Trip to Toronto

by Shepherdess Julie Jesmer

My employer, MKS Software, held its annual sales meeting in Toronto from May 5^th to 9^th.   In order to make the trip more meaningful, I decided to go a few days early and visit UBF co-workers, and as well made plans for fellowship with other MKS Christians.

On Saturday, May 2^nd, I flew from Chicago to Toronto.  Msn John Lee, Director of York UBF, picked me up at the airport with his wife Lydia.  Pastor Kevin had co-worked with the Lee family in his early days as a Christian in Winnipeg, and Msn Lydia had been a member of the group bible studies I led during the last two UBF staff conferences.  John and Lydia drove me to their home, and moved me into their son's room for the night.  Msn John and Lydia have 3 children, and live in the upper flat of a two-flat.  The lower floor has a separate entrance, two fellowship rooms, an office, a kitchen and a large room used for worship. All York UBF co-workers joined us for dinner in the bible house.

York UBF members are 3 families with 9 children:  John & Lydia Lee, Msn Samuel & Grace Yoon, and Msn Stephen & Petrah Chung.  Sunday morning, York UBF holds a CBF worship service at 9:00 am and the Main service is at 11:00 am.  As soon as the service ended, three large tables were brought in.  The entire ministry writes testimony together immediately after worship service for one half hour, and over lunch a few people share what they have written.  In the afternoon, Msn John & Lydia and I visited and prayed on the campus of York University, which has a population of 50,000 students.  That evening, Msn Joshua & Sarah Lee from Main Toronto UBF picked me up from York and took me to dinner at a Korean/ Japanese restaurant.  Afterward we prayed together, and Msn John dropped me off at the Park Hyatt Toronto for my conference.

By the grace of God, the believers community at MKS has grown to four:  me, Tom La Coppola, Justin Vanhartingsvelt and Jim Winder.  Tom did not attend the conference and Justin was busy with meetings and presentations this week, but the four of us have maintained a fellowship of Christian encouragement by email and in person for some time.  Jim and I were able to meet daily during the conference week for spiritual fellowship, helping both of us to keep our identities and to be a blessing to those with whom we had to interact.  Among all the people we pray for at work, we pray for Tammy and Tracy to come to Jesus & find life.

Jim is a salesperson and a musician serving his church as a Praise Team Leader.  For the past 7 years, together with a few other men, Jim has travelled around the country about twice a month performing a dramatic, musical score based on Pilgrim's Progress.  Before the MKS conference got started on Monday, Jim and I took a walk to the park around the corner and prayed together.  Tuesday night we met together, sang 5 worship songs together, and Jim sang three of his own original songs.  Wednesday night we intended to watch a DVD based on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but instead switched to watching Michael Card and Kim Walker YouTube worship videos.  I taught Jim a new Home Again worship song, and he sang another original song written for an infant dedication.  We are praying to perform a duet at the next sales conference, and to encourage our coworkers to express their faith in Jesus through practical living.

Exams next week at NIU!!!

Please Pray for

        Tim’s Exams-

                Microelectronics

                Semiconductors

                Signals and Systems

                Mechanical Engineering

        Josh’s Exams

                Philosophy

                Music

                German

                Biology

                Psychology

        Andre’s Exams

                History

PRAY THAT THEY CAN PASS THEIR EXAMS AND GLORIFY GOD TO THEIR CLASSMATES!

Dear Sponsors,

Thank you for donating money to World Vision. With your help Jennifer raised $362, Tim raised $296 and our church raised over $2000 for the World Vision Organization. I couldn’t have done it without you! $2000 can feed about six children for a year, giving them all food, medical supplies, vaccinations, and support in their life. We thank you on behalf of these kids for your support.

We started our famine at Triton College UBF in River Grove with about 16 participants on the 25^th of April

 and it lasted until 6:30 pm the next day. During that time, we volunteered at a local food pantry, we had Bible studies and we played a game called TRIBE, a series of mini games that we played to help us better understand what people without food or medical supplies have to go through, all while competing to be the best TRIBE. It was an eye opening experience, and we appreciate your help!

        Sincerely,

                                                                Jennifer Jesmer

Tim Sagel

2008 “Be Hungry” 30-Hour Famine Event, April 25^th to 26^th

By Jennifer Jesmer

World Vision is sponsoring a 30 Hour Famine fundraiser, in which participants fast for 30 hours, collecting donations to sponsor their fast. The money will go towards food, medical supplies and schooling for kids around the world who don’t have these things, mainly Africa.

Tim Sagel and Jennifer Jesmer are participating in this fundraiser, along with 11 other people from Triton Bible Club. Our goal is to raise $360 each. World Vision will then collect the money and use it to feed hungry children in Africa.

Global Statistics:

·       Before this day is over 29,000 children under age 5 will die because hunger, disease and poverty.

·       Every day 15,000 of those kids die from hunger alone, or one every 6 SECONDS

·       $1 can help feed and care for one child for a day

·       $30 can help feed and care for a child for one month

National fundraising goal is $13 million to help feed and care for more than 36,000 children around the world for one year

What is Daily Bread?

By Shepherdess Julie

“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years,

to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not

you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then

feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you

that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of

the LORD”.  – Deut 8:2-3

God created a people for himself through the descendants of Abraham, who lived by faith and accepted God’s covenant promise.  He called them Israel, after the name he gave Abraham’s grandson Jacob, who was the father of twelve tribes.  At Easter we celebrated the Passover, in remembrance of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt.  But what happened after that? Well, God used the prophet Moses to lead his people through the desert for 40 years, where he fed them manna from heaven morning by morning, and taught them to depend on God alone. Through this training, God tested them to know what was in their hearts, and whether or not they would obey his commands.  And when it was finished, he led them to take possession of the Promised Land, where they were to live by every word that came from the mouth of the Lord.  In the New Testament, our Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray The Lord’s Prayer, in which we pray to God for our daily bread.  Men and women do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  It was Jesus’ regular practice to pray early in the morning.

Morning by morning, our fellowship meets at the Jesmer Home for a “Daily Bread Meeting” from 6:30 – 7:00 am. We sing two hymns, read a passage from the bible, read the commentary from our devotional, share prayer topics and pray two by two.  Like the Israelites in the desert, we pray to hear what God wants us to hear daily and pledge obedience to his will and commands.  Through eating of the words of life, we find the strength and wisdom necessary to meet the demands of the day.  Like the disciples, we share prayer topics and pray to God for daily bread, both spiritual and physical, for ourselves and for one another.  All fruitful ministries are built on the foundations of early morning prayer laid by its core members. 

Many have already committed themselves to this spiritual discipline.  Won’t you do the same?

CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER

As part of the Triton-NIU Easter Celebration, David Ortega of Jews for Jesus led the congregation in celebrating the Jewish Seder.  As a Jewish convert to Christianity, Mr. Ortega explained the components of this holy holiday celebration, and how each speaks of the character and work of Jesus Christ as the one who fulfills the messianic prophecy of the Old Testament.  God has come and redeemed his people, and sent the Savior according to his promise!

The Meaning of the Jewish Seder

For over 2,000 years, the Jewish people have celebrated the Passover Seder  in the tradition known as the Haggadah.  The celebration contains many formal blessings over candles, cups and bread, and is generally centered on the meaning of the six foods contained in the Seder Plate.   Four questions are asked to promote discussion and illustrate the meaning of all the symbols and rituals, and four cups are drunk in remembrance of the meaning of the Passover.  Jews celebrate God’s grace of deliverance out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and ask his blessing on their homes and families.  The Seder contains a holy communion with bread and wine, and is filled with praise and expressions of the hope of redemption through the Messiah to come according to God’s promise. 

The Work of Jews for Jesus

Jews for Jesus is an evangelic ministry made up of Christ followers who maintain Jewish traditions and reach out to Jewish people through distributing tracks on the streets of major cities around the world.   Jews for Jesus believe God’s promise to bring salvation to the Jews, and are committed to both direct evangelism and the education of the greater Christian community.  Their experience has proven that that their greatest fear in accepting Jesus Christ is losing their national Jewish identity – which is entirely unfounded.  Jews are more open to discussion with Christians than to converted Jews, so we need to pray for the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ to come to the Jews.

Easter Celebration

Good Friday              7:00 pm through the Night

                                      The JOY Journey of Prayer @ Triton College

Saturday                     5:00 pm

                                      Jewish Sedar led by a representative

                                      From Jews for Jesus          @ Triton College

Easter Sunday           11:00am

                                       Worship Service @ Triton College                                                              

                                                 COME AND JOIN US!

Books I have been reading this year

By Shepherdess Julie

1. In An Instant.  Bob Woodruff is an ABC News Foreign Correspondent, who in 2006 was working in Iraq as a journalist embedded with the US Army, when he was struck by an IED.  The book chronicles his family’s journey through his recovery from injuries he sustained, which led him to establish a foundation to improve the treatment of brain injuries suffered by soldiers in war.  

2. In the Name of the Father.  The legacy of America’s first president, George Washington, lives on not only because of his personal heroism and historical nostalgia, but by the expressed intent of early American public figures.  The telling of his story came to serve the purpose of uniting the nation around common values, molding the balance of the current 2-party political system, and even laid the groundwork for the abolition of slavery.

3. Leap of Faith: Memoirs of An Unexpected Life.  Lisa Halabi graduated from the first female class at Princeton with a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning.  At the age of 26, she married 41 year old King Hussein of Jordan and became known as Queen Noor.  Hussein had 8 children from his previous 3 marriages, and the couple had 5 more children together.  Queen Noor became a suitable helper to the King, and at the same time used her office to restore the rich native culture of Jordan and improve international relations through children’s health and education programs.  

This week Pastor Kevin and I also watched a documentary called “Woodrow Wilson: The Reluctant Warrior”.  Woodrow Wilson began his public career as President of Princeton and Governor of Georgia.  As America’s 28^th President, he led the nation during WWI, and worked to establish the International League of Nations with the goal to eradicate the need for war forever.  His hopes were ambitious, but after suffering stroke was incapacitated for the remainder of his term in office.

Triton Bible Club Update

By Shepherdess Charisma Magno, Triton UBF (Triton College, River Grove Illinois)

I want to share with you both what God is doing here at Triton College since last week's event. In fact I was inspired to write this after surfing your website and reading all the reports posted. I realize how you gave glory to God by acknowledging and reporting about his work among you. I too needed to record God's work here. I hope that you will be encouraged.

Update report on today's NIU memorial Ceremony at Triton and TBC thanksgiving Topics

We had a great memorial ceremony for NIU today. Many people came (standing room only) and we had the opportunity to share the gospel of our Lord Jesus with them. We collaborated with other Christian groups on campus as well as administration. It was truly beautiful to see God's people coming together to offer comfort and counsel to our students. God's message was clear today that young people need to come back to the God of the Bible if we are to put an end to the kind of evil we saw last week at NIU. We pray by God's grace we may shepherd the broken among us and so intervene in Satan's plan to harm and destroy. This verse comes to mind...Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

I want to thank God for clear evidences of his Holy Spirit working among us.  Triton College Administration came to Triton UBF Bible Club asking for our help on this event.  God's people collaborated -- Campus Ministry and Campus Crusade for Christ became our dear fellow laborers in the harvest field at Triton today. God has raised several sincere student shepherds with passion for God among the Christian student leaders.  Tim, his brothers Jachin and Boaz, Christina, Hilary and Alease.  TBC celebrates its 5th anniversary this March!

In conclusion, I want to close with a quote Pastor Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF gave in his Message of Hope after the NIU shootings, last Thursday... "It is a wake up call for all of us. We can no longer neglect the inner lives of our young people. We need to intervene and be pre-emptive in our Christian love and our care for our young people. It is no longer appropriate for Christians to think only of themselves and their own. We as individuals, need to learn how to reach out to others around us, now! Even to troubled souls like the shooter. If we are called to be shepherds than we must re-dedicate our lives and our families to live as shepherds of God's flock. This wake up call is a good thing from God."

We are truly in the last days.  In these last days, we have seen the tragedy and devastation of human life all around us but God also promises the pouring out of his Holy Spirit upon his people. God is clearly pouring out his spirit on us at Triton as evidenced by the above. May we heed this wake up call as Pastor Kevin's shared and "rededicate our lives and our families to live as shepherds of God's flock" 

This thought came to mind today.... 'Imagine Charisma, where you could have been if God's servant did not intervene and invite you to Bible study.' I thought about how many young lives could be lost forever because I choose not to step in and intervene on God's behalf. So today, with a broken heart I asked God to forgive me and to use me and my family to shepherd God's flock at Triton. I quickly called and texted all my sheep and told them that I loved them and am here for them as their shepherd.

Augustine Jesmers 2008 Key Verse Testimony

Key Verse: 1John 4: 20-21

 “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does

   not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

  And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Part 1-2007

Last year, I had some prayer topics. My 1^st one was to read my one year bible every day. At first I guessed that I was doing pretty good, only missing 1-2 days every 1 or 2 weeks. Bu then my Mom gave my one year bible to one of her bible students and so I dropped off of it. But I hope to get a new one. My second prayer topic was to be a leader. I am new in 6^th grade so being a leader is going to be more important. For example, work groups need leaders. Partners for projects need some one to be a leader. Friends who are depressed or have problems at school or home need a leader to bring them to Jesus. That’s what I need to do in my middle school club. My 3^rd was to stay focused and not to be distracted. I am doing better on that. I pray that God will give me power to focus and get things finished with out procrastinating. My 4^th and 5^th were similar to each other. It was to be fully committed to Jesus and his word, and also to have a right attitude towards spiritual things. I am now leading Daily Bread in the mornings and I don’t complain when I get up like I used to. I also transferred from CBF to the adult’s group bible study .That shows that I am maturing.  I now lead singsparation more joyfully than I used to. I have grown to have a better attitude toward these things and I am committed to them. My 6^th was to serve my siblings, co-workers, and friends with love. I haven’t done much loving towards my siblings, but they are important to be so I should love them. I am pretty much getting along with my friends, with no problem. I also serve Tim Sagel and the people at Triton. They are our co-workers. Triton is fun to go to and to visit our friends. And Tim is just a cool guy.

Part 2-2008   

In 2008, I need to live up to my key verse (1 John 4:20-21) I need to practice Gods love toward everyone, especially Mark. I don’t want to become a bully. Mark even has a stress medical problem because of me. Kids should have a happy childhood, not someone beating down on them. I need to ask for forgiveness and repent of my sins and swallow all of my pride.