Our service this morning was led by Chapel Team 3. After singing O Canada, saying the Lord’s Prayer and listening to the Land Acknowledgement, the chapel team led a time of musical worship with “My Life is in You Lord“.
The speaker for today’s STEM focused chapel was Mrs. V. She began by recapping our sub-theme of Armouring Up with Faith, which had started before Christmas. She recounted how we learned about faith through the story of “Peter Walking on Water” and through last week’s message from Pastor Ian about “What is Faith?”
Next, she walked the students through the different stages (e.g. review of materials, hypothesis, experiment, analysis) of this week’s experiment which involved water, black pepper, and a cotton swap covered with dish soap. At each stage, the audience had a short period of time to discuss each step with their seat partners. Then, they finally watched the experiment play out and observed how the cotton swap covered with dish soap repelled the black pepper on the water surface.
Mrs. V explained that the pepper flakes floated on the water due to surface tension (water molecules strong attraction to each other). When a drop of soap was added, it broke the attraction and the surface tension in the area. This caused the water molecules to quickly pull away to restore the tension, taking the pepper with them as the moved.
Chapel Team 3 then led the audience in singing “Anchor” – a song about how our hope in Jesus is an anchor for our souls.
After the singing, Mrs. V discussed how we can use the information from the experiment to grow in our relationship with God. She focused on a verse taken from Matthew 17:20 in which Jesus states “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” To explain what this means, Mrs. V put on her “Literacy Teacher” hat. She explained some literary terms – metaphor and hyperbole – that were used in this verse. After some analysis, we could see that Jesus was explaining that we will see God work in unimaginable ways in this world and in our lives, even with a small amount of faith!
After a short break with singing “Build Your Kingdom Here“, Mrs. V shared some thoughts about what Jesus is saying about our faith:
- Focus on God’s power not the power of your own faith – Jesus is saying that our faith might be small (like a mustard seed), but it shows the power of God to use our faith, big or small, to further his Kingdom in this world (like moving a mountain)! In addition, faith isn’t about what we can do, but rather focusing on and trusting in the God’s power to do amazing things in this world.
- Our faith is meant to grow – Just like a small seed is meant to grow, our faith is meant to be nurtured with time spent with God, with friends and mentors that will encourage us in our faith, with reading God’s Word, praying, putting our faith in what God asks of us rather than relying on our own strength. We won’t just wake up and be a strong “faith tree” – it will take patience and time for this to happen!
- God uses our small faith to do BIG things in the the world – Small seeds grow into plants that make more seeds and those seeds become plants that make more seeds. That’s how God’s kingdom spreads – like a domino effect and by each small seed of faith doing what it can!
Lastly, Mrs. V explained how we can have more faith. She had three main points:
- Be a Desert Survivor – Mustard trees thrive in dry climates and harsh conditions, including extreme temperatures and low water availability, making it a vital component of desert ecosystems. When we go through hard times, cling to Jesus. When others have difficult times, be there with the love of Jesus for them.
- Choose to Grow – One of the most astonishing features of the mustard tree is its rapid growth. From a tiny mustard seed, it can grow into a substantial shrub or small tree. Choose to spend time with God reading the Bible, praying and surrounding yourself with other believers. This kind of nurturing will help your faith grow!
- Be an Oasis – A mustard plant is a “biodiversity oasis”. In other words, it attracts and is a safe place for other creatures. We can love and care for others and help them see how Jesus makes a difference.
Mrs. V then closed with a word of prayer and led the recitation of the benediction before students were dismissed for their morning classes.