RUF at UGA: Recent Episodes
RUF at UGA
Our senior class nominates 2 guys and 2 girls to speak on their behalf of the good things God has done during their time at UGA RUF. The Class of 2026 nominated Susanna Johnson, John Hopkins, Price Andersen, and Widener Norris.
Here are the timestamps of when each speaker begins speaking:
- Susannah Johnson: 0:00
- John Hopkins: 9:20
- Price Andersen: 13:26
- Widener Norris: 17:54
- Caysie Ashton (Charge to Senior Class): 25:20
- Ben Coppedge (Prayer for Seniors): 38:50
Rev. Joel May from Resurrection Presbyterian Church here in Athens joined us tonight to preach from Psalm 32.
We apologize for the poor audio quality of these first two sermons in our Leviticus series. We've encountered a series of technical glitches that have since been resolved. Thanks for your patience with us!
Rev. Mark Bates from Mission to the World (MTW) joined us tonight to preach on God's heart for and call to world missions. You can learn more about RUF+MTW summer missions opportunities here.
Rev. Rob Edwards, the Campus Minister who planted UGA RUF back in 1999 joined us to preach again for the first time in 15 years at RUF. His sermon was titled "Remembering and Reproducing What We Received" and was based in 1 Thess 1:2-10.
The sermon begins at the 23:00 minute mark.
Our dear friend Rev. Nathan Parker of Faith Presbyterian joined us tonight to deliver the sermon. We're grateful for you Nathan and Nicole!
It was a gift to have Rev. Morgan Angert of Good Shepherd Presbyterian with us tonight to continue our Free Again series from Galatians.
Sorry! The very beginning of the scripture passage (Ezek 36:16-27 NLT) did not record properly.
This message was shared in the aftermath of the tragic deaths of two dear UGA students many of us knew and loved.
Rev. Nathan Parker of Faith Presbyterian Church here in Athens, Georgia joined us to deliver this message on Psalm 73.
As mentioned in the intro, I'm indebted to the insights of Justin Whitmel Earley from his recent book "Made for People" and the preaching of Tim Keller on the topic of friendship.
Regrettably, the scripture reading was not properly recorded and is not included in this episode. You can access it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%3A25-37&version=NIV
Deuteronomy 11:16-19, Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-4, Romans 8:14-16
I'm indebted to Tim Keller's teaching on this subject for shaping my thoughts. His insights and my interaction with his insights form the backdrop of this sermon.
- The scripture reading didn't record, unfortunately. The passage and translation we taught from was Rom 12:1-8 (NIV).
One of our beloved graduating seniors, Bella Kerbers, shares of God's work in her life during her time at UGA. She speaks on behalf of all of our December grads this year: Anna Mercer Willingham, Katie Lemon, Robert Becky, Tryggvi McDonald, Marshall Danner, and Andrew Yount. We love y'all and will miss you!
Rev. Morgan Angert from Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church joins us to teach from James 3:13-18.
Deep, formative, inclusive community isn't just something of our dreams. God is populating a group of people right here in the midst of our lonely world who meet people where they are but never leave them stuck there. He's building a dynamic community that's headed toward renewal and growth. It's a fellowship of men and women collectively in awe of Him. And it's one where things regularly happen that can only be explained as super-natural works of God's spirit. This community has a name: God calls it his "church".
RUF is not A church, but we ARE an arm of THE Church reaching out in love toward UGA's campus. We don't look entirely like the community pictured in Acts 2, but that's where we're resolutely aimed. Listen in as Ben describes how you can help us move in that direction.
Tonight, the word of God and witness to his resurrection power comes from some of our beloved seniors.
Timestamps For Speakers
- Hannah Blair 00:05
- Stephen Smith 05:50
- Sarah Harrison 14:10
- Charley Sun 21:25
- Heather Perry 30:07
- Caysie Ashton 36:33
- Ben Coppedge 44:38
I'm indebted to Rev. Rankin Wilbourne for his insights on this passage and his reference of Jacques Ellul's quote.
I'm indebted to Rev. Rankin Wilbourne for his remarkable insights that helped me grasp the meaning and application of Ecclesiastes 3.
Giving credit where it's due: I'm indebted to David Zahl (author of "Seculosity"), Zack Eswine (author of "Recovering Eden"), and Matt Howell (former RUF CM at UT Knoxville) for key insights I gleaned from them regarding this passage.
This is one of our favorite nights of the year at UGA RUF! We spend a week inviting hundreds and hundreds of our friends across UGA's campus and pack out the UGA Chapel on North Campus to sing Christmas carols, hear advent passages read, and a brief message.
- Please forgive the audio quality.
Rev. Jared Bryant from Resurrection Presbyterian Church here in Athens joins us to continue our series on "Counter Kingdoms: The Sermon on the Mount"
Rev. Morgan Anghert from Good Shepherd Pres in Athens joins us tonight to preach from Jesus' words on anger from his Sermon on the Mount.
Tonight, we don't have a message FOR our students and their lives. Instead, our students and their lives ARE the message (2 Cor 3:2). These six seniors, Kelly Tims, Colin Stevens, Emily Cartledge, Drew Bohannon, Alexa Taylor, and Hunter Burnett share stories of God's work as significant and eternal as his work in the lives of people we're used to meeting in the Bible... like a woman at a well, or a short-statured bureaucrat climbing a tree, or an anonymous fisherman. Their stories are sacred and bear divine fingerprints. And their stories speak on behalf of their 40 other UGA RUF Senior Class classmates. Enjoy their stories, and enjoy Christ all the more as you reflect on his patient love for his people.
A lot has happened this past month, but as hard as it's been it can't eclipse the awesome things we got to experience together this year. Join Trevor, Caysie and Ben as they reflect back on their highlights from 2019-2020 school year. Special thanks to Colin Stevens for including original recordings of our top-2 voted songs from Large Group this year. Enjoy!
*This episode includes worship music from UGA RUF, scripture reading, prayer, and our weekly message.
*This file includes UGA RUF worship music, scripture readings, and our weekly message. We hope it's a blessing to you!
- This file contains UGA RUF large group worship songs, scripture reading, prayer, and our message from Ruth 2.
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This file includes a student-lead scripture reading of Ruth 1, a recording of "Come Thou Fount" by UGA RUF worship team leader Colin Stevens, a time of prayer, and our message on Ruth chapter 1.
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Credit and gratitude is due Paul Miller (author of A Loving Live) for the sermon title.
The arrival of Coronavirus has literally changed everything in our lives and the sand is shifting beneath our feet--from shopping and friendships to our finances and health. God invites us to tell him of our troubles as these changes bring uncertainties, troubles, suffering, and fear. But he also tells us of a rock that still sits underneath our feet--a rock that hasn't changed and isn't shifting though the rest of the earth gives way. So, what is the Christian's response in the initial days of a pandemic, when we're still trying to wrap our heads around it's magnitude? We cry out to God because of all that's changed and we stand firm in all that's not changed--specifically, God's redeeming and renewing work accomplished in Jesus and applied by his Spirit even tonight as sickness spreads.
Our beloved intern, Trevor Heffner, takes us through one of the darkest chapters of Israel's relationship with God and helps us see Gospel light.
First Israel was distracted from God. Then their distractions became their god. Then God became a burdensome distraction from their gods. This is the dark pathology of half-hearted discipleship. And our whole-hearted, covenantal God is heaven-bent on delivering us from it.
Do you see your weakness as an obstacle to the Spirit's work in you or an opportunity for it?
This is a brief preface to Ben's message on Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish recorded in Jonah 2. It was aimed at addressing a few questions on the historical reliability of the events described in the text before Ben preached from this passage.