This morning, Ms. Donkor and representatives from our PK1 class led the pledges, O Canada and the Lord’s Prayer to kick-off our ELC chapel service in the cafeteria. Ms. Donkor then launched into musical worship with three familiar songs of thanksgiving and praise – “Give Thanks”, “Hosanna” and “I Might be Small (But My God is Big)”. Students waved, jumped and followed the actions to the songs as they sang and praised God.
Before she started her message, Ms. Donkor prefaced by saying that the lesson today would be short and simple. She gave it the title, “The Presence of God in Our Lives”. She began by explaining that we can feel the presence of God in our lives when we do the following: pray, read the Bible, believe in God and invite the Holy Spirit to live in us.
Next, she brought out two water bottles – one with water in it and the other without. On the empty water bottle, she started putting labels with various negative feelings written on them. She explained that there is a lot going on in the world that can bring us down. Words like “sad”, “afraid”, “rejected”, “lonely” and “failure” started to appear on the bottle. She continued by saying that all of those emotions can make our hearts heavy and distressed. Then, with one hand, she crushed the empty water bottle. As the children watched in amazement, she explained that she was able to do this because there was nothing in the bottle. She emphasized that our lives are like that when we are empty, without God. Ms. Donkor continued with the object lesson and pulled out the full water bottle. She put all the labels with the negative feelings on it. However, this time, when she tried to crush it, she was unable to do so. She explained that when the water bottle is full, it is like being full of God’s grace and presence. We cannot be crushed when God is with us. God gives us strength and helps us make good choices when we invite His Holy Spirit into our hearts.
Ms. Donkor reaffirmed her message using Scripture. She shared two verses – Isaiah 41:10 and Philippians 4:13 – with the students, emphasizing that God will carry us through life’s difficulties when He is with us. To respond to Ms. Donkor’s short but simple lesson, the students sang “I Will Trust in You God With All My Heart”. Lifting their hands in the air, they declared their trust in the Lord before quieting down and getting their hearts ready for prayer. Ms. Donkor led them, thanking the Lord for His Word, His presence and for allowing us to put our trust in HIm.
