This morning, our Chapel Team led the pledges, the Lord’s Prayer, O Canada and the Land Acknowledgement. Our first song was “Amazing Love (You are my King)” , and it was very nice to see our two new teachers – Mrs. Iun (Grade 4A) and Mrs. Baptiste (Grade 4B/5B) – help play the keyboard and lead the singing.
Next, we had two special announcements. First, two representatives from Grade 8 shared that Wednesday, January 31st, will be Wacky Wesley Day and the theme will “twins, triplets or group”. Students can come dressed in clothes or costumes that make them look like twins, triplets or part of a larger group with a specific theme. The second announcement came from two Grade 3 students reminding us of the upcoming Care and Share event for World Vision’s Baby Chick Program. On Thursday, January 25th, all funds collected will go to support this special program that will provide needy families in Central America with baby chicks that will eventually provide additional income and food for them, giving them a better life.
The chapel team then led us in singing two songs: “Make Me a Servant” and “Desert Song”. The singing filled the gym with praise before Pastor Jeremiah came to the front to share today’s message, which centred around James 4:8.
He wanted to encourage our students to “draw near to God so that He will draw near to you.” He explained that this can be done through prayer, which is essentially a conversation with God. We can share our thankfulness, tears, and struggles with Him. The more we talk to Him, the closer our relationship can be. Pastor Jeremiah also explained that drawing nearer to God can also come from reading the Bible, which is a love letter to us from God and a way to discover what He expects from us in our relationship with Him. The third way Pastor Jeremiah talked about was being kind and showing love to one another. By sharing or giving back to others some of the wonderful things God has provided or shown us, we are drawing closer to God. When we draw nearer to God, we can sense that God listens to us and guides us. There will be more evidence of His presence and His love. Pastor Jeremiah asked the students, “Why is this important?” He answered by explaining that Jesus died for us and He is our helpful Saviour who can shoulder our problems and worries. Furthermore, Jesus loves us from the moment we were fearfully and wonderfully knit together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14). Pastor Jeremiah challenged the audience to look to God, not only in the school year or 2024 but for our entire lives. He encouraged us to draw near to Him by praying, reading the Bible and loving others. He concluded in prayer, thanking God for being a friend, for being able to fill all the anxious and empty gaps in our lives, and for the opportunity to draw close to Him.
**************************
This morning, the Toddler class led the ELC worship service. Mrs. Chen and five students from the T1 class led the recitation of the pledges, the Lord’s prayer and the singing of O Canada. Miss Jerry had help from some of the older students in the ELC with the actions to the praise portion of the service and Miss Winder gave the message. She shared the story of “The Good Samaritan” which Jesus used to explain who is our neighbour. The students learned that everyone is our neighbour, not just the people beside us, and we need to love our neighbours as ourselves. After the story, Miss Winder connected it back to Luke 10:27. The students performed the actions to help them remember the verse, and most of all, to show love to God and others. They concluded their worship service with a very energetic singing of “The B-I-B-L-E!”
