This morning’s chapel service was led by Chapel Team 2. After the national anthem, the Lord’s Prayer and the Land Acknowledgement, we entered into a time of musical worship with the singing of “Little By Little” – a song that expresses the joy of slowly being transformed to be more like Jesus.
Next, representatives from our Grade 5 classes announced our January Care & Share event. We will be collecting NEW mittens and gloves for adults (men/ women) and children (boys & girls). These will be donated to unhoused individuals through City Street Outreach. Please send in your donation of new mittens and/or gloves during the week of January 19-23. Those who contribute will be able to wear casual clothes on Thursday, January 29th.
This week, Mrs. Liu played the role of Medieval royalty. Dressed in a sparkling snowflake shawl with a crown on her head and a snowflake sceptre in hand, she introduced herself as “Lady Liu from the Land of Grade 2”. With great enthusiasm, she reviewed the theme verse and the different components of God’s armour. Emphasis was put on our current sub-theme, Armour up with Faith with the Shield of Faith. She then led the students through a prayer and invited specific grades to read a selection of Bible passages that focused on faith.
Our second praise song was “Forever”, a song that shares that God is forever faithful, strong and with us. The Chapel Leaders then welcomed our guest speaker, Pastor Ian from EastRidge Church in Stouffville.
Pastor Ian began with defining faith as “believing in something even if you don’t have 100% proof on how it works.” He gave examples from every day life – a plane, a remote control, and heat in the house. For each of these items, we do something (e.g. get in the plane, press the button on the remote, turn the dial on the thermostat) and believe it will work even if we don’t know exactly how it works. He also defined faith as “an active trust and confidence in God based on His character and our relationship with Him.” This is through God’s consistent pattern of behaviour. When we wake up each morning, we realize that God has given us breath. He has given us so many blessings that we often take Him for granted. As a result, we need to be thankful for how much He loves us and blesses us. Being grateful to God gives us a purpose. Even if we are not 100% sure of things, God’s consistent pattern of love and provision proves that we can trust Him and know that His way is better. Pastor Ian then spent some time explaining that God has already shown us what “His Way” is all about and how we should live out our faith. He referenced two Bible passages:
- “Greatest Commandment” – which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself.
- “Great Commission” – to make disciples of all nations.
Before concluding with a prayer that reflected his message, Pastor Ian emphasized two points again:
- Be thankful (don’t take blessings for granted)
- Grow your faith by loving God (with all your heart, soul, mind and strength), loving others and sharing the message of Jesus with those around you.
The Chapel Team then led the students in singing a response song, “Lord, Reign in Me”. This was followed by the benediction before the students were dismissed to start their academic day.
