During this morning’s elementary Easter service, after the recitation of the pledges, The Lord’s Prayer, O Canada and the Land Acknowledgement, one of our chapel leaders read the opening Bible passage taken from 1 Peter 1:3-4. Mr. Bailey then said a word of prayer before leading the audience in singing “What a Beautiful Name It Is”, which filled the gym with praise.
Before launching into the second song, Mr. Bailey described Easter as a time of mixed feelings – when we feel sad to think of Jesus’s horrific death on the cross but also wonderful joy to know that He rose again. He shared that his hope for the students would be that they will have some time to reflect and feel the range of those emotions this Easter.
He then announced that they would be singing a celebration song, “Prince of Peace – You are Holy”. Both the boys and girls belted out their separate parts and tried to “out sing” each other. After this song, instead of asking the students to sit down, Mr. Bailey asked the students to remain standing to welcome the guest speaker, Pastor Jeremiah. The reason why they did not sit down was Pastor Jeremiah wanted to lead the singing of “Gratitude”.
After the song, Pastor Jeremiah explained that Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died 2000 years ago because of what He was doing but also for the sake of future believers like each of us. Because Jesus paid the price for our sin, we can be forgiven and have a relationship with God. Pastor Jeremiah also shared that Jesus is not only meant to be explained but He is meant to be experienced. To give an example, he shared a very personal story about something he did when he was 7 years old. For years, he was embarrassed about it but finally he had a conversation with the person he had wronged. That person told him that he had already forgiven him and he had nothing to worry about. Pastor Jeremiah then asked the audience to think about the story of Peter, who had denied Jesus three times. Jesus later gave Peter a chance to publicly declare his love for Jesus three times. After this, Jesus asked him to take care of and feed his “sheep”. Jesus knew the guilt and burden Peter had been carrying and gave him a chance to make things right and be part of God’s kingdom. Peter eventually established the first church. Pastor Jeremiah explained that God knows that our failures are not the end of our stories. Then, Pastor Jeremiah shared 1 John 4:10. Later, he asked everyone to say ” Jesus offers everyone forgiveness” out loud twice. He also encouraged the students to think about two things this Easter weekend:
- What is keeping you from God’s love and forgiveness (e.g. a secret? can’t forgive yourself for something you did?)
- Consider making a choice to take a step forward towards God – talk to a teacher at Wesley or a church leader about it
He also asked the audience to reflect on how it feels to know that Jesus offers forgiveness to all, including yourself. He extended the question and asked if we are willing to share that same forgiveness with someone else. Pastor Jeremiah concluded the service in prayer, thanking God for His example of how we should love and forgive, and thanked Him for the gift of His Son, Jesus.