Chapel Team 2 opened this morning’s elementary chapel service with the national anthem, the Lord’s Prayer and the Land Acknowledgement. They started musical worship with a song called “Forever”. This is a worship anthem centred on the eternal, steadfast love and faithfulness of God, primarily based on Psalm 136
Before leading the students in a second song called “Give Us Clean Hands”, the Chapel Leaders reviewed the six pieces of the Armour of God.
Then, dressed as “Sir Learns -a-lot” in knightly attire and arriving to the sound of royal trumpets, Mrs. V galloped to the front of the gym to conduct more review of this year’s theme, specifically, the sub-theme, Armour Up with Justice. Mrs. V gave a short quiz on the lessons from the Armour Up with Justice theme. It included asking about the Bible story (David and Goliath), the science experiment (Air Canon), as well as the lessons and practical application associated with the sub-theme.
After the review, the Chapel Leaders continued with musical worship and the song “Consuming Fire”. This song focuses on asking for the Holy Spirit to bring personal revival, purify hearts, and ignite a deeper passion for God.
Our guest speaker today was Pastor Jeremiah, who recapped our Armour Up with Justice theme. He started by sharing a childhood story about wearing a superman costume in Grade 1. This led to a discussion about what it feels like to put on a costume, armour or even our school uniforms. Then, he shared Isaiah 59:17. Pastor Jeremiah explained that before we put on armour, God did it first. However, God did not do it because He was scared. He did it because something was wrong. He was deeply troubled by the injustice He saw. No one was standing up for what was right. God put on the breastplate of righteousness, and He wants us to do the same. He doesn’t ask us to do something that He hasn’t already done.
Pastor Jeremiah transitioned to the story of David and Goliath. King Saul wanted David to wear his armour but it did not fit. Instead, David fought without physical armour and with God’s protection instead. Pastor Jeremiah also made mention of the Air Canon experiment that was conducted earlier in the fall. He pointed out that justice is not random, it is focused. However, he also acknowledged that armouring up with justice can be difficult. Sometimes, doing the right thing is not obvious. Even when it is obvious, it takes courage to actually do it. He spent some time going through a few examples of real life situations or online situations in which we can act justly when we see something wrong. He also recapped the following three sources of God’s wisdom that we can tap into.
- The Bible – God’s word is the source of wisdom. We must study it, trust it and share it.
- Godly Mentors – The people that we spend time with influence us. He used Proverbs 13:20 – (Walk with the wise and become wise) to encourage students to look around to see who makes good God honouring choices and to engage with those individuals. Those people are gifts from God.
- The Holy Spirit – When we give our life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us.
Pastor Jeremiah then challenged the students to practice armouring up with justice. He pointed out that David practiced keeping his flock safe by fighting off predators. When a giant appeared in his life, he was ready. When we read the Bible, pray and pay attention during chapel, we are training. We are learning to have courage not to follow the crowd (in person or online) and to stand up for what is right. God has seen the broken road so He put on the breastplate of righteousness. Jesus did the same and fought injustice during His ministry on earth. Now, He is handing the breastplate to us – children of God. Pastor Jeremiah concluded in prayer. He thanked God for being a God of justice, one who not only tells us but shows us. He also thanked God for Jesus’s example and asked that He provide us with the courage to want to be like Him, armouring up with justice for all.
Chapel Team 2 then led the audience in reading the benediction before dismissing everyone to start their academic day.