This morning, three of our Grade 8 students led the pledges, The Lord’s Prayer, O Canada, and the Land Acknowledgement. Our Chapel Leaders, Chapel Musicians, and the teachers then led the singing of our first song – “My Lighthouse” by Chris Llewellyn. As it was a very familiar song, the gym filled with praise.
After watching a short video about how CRISP leaders demonstrate perseverance, the Chapel Leaders led the reading of Romans 5:3-4. Together, the leaders and students then read a few slides about what leaders who persevere do or demonstrate.
The second song that was sung was also a favourite – “The Desert Song” by Brooke Ligertwood. The students sang the chorus with particular enthusiasm, with special emphasis on ” I will bring praise” and “I will rejoice”.
Next, the Wesley Chapel video that shares the thoughts of some our students about perseverance was showed. Quite a few students were featured, including some of the Grade 8 boys.
Our guest speaker today was Pastor Kevin from Cornerstone Community Church. He cleverly talked about perseverance through the example of caterpillars. He shared his own experience of raising his caterpillar, “Precious”, from larvae to caterpillar to butterfly. With tremendous comedic expression and animation, Pastor Kevin explained the different stages of metamorphosis. He used terms like “gooey” and “mush” to describe the transition from caterpillar to butterfly in the cocoon. Then, he refocused and made three important points:
- Never give up on your “gooeyest” day: Even when you feel like “mush” or really sad, don’t give up especially because we know God will change us to be all that we can be.
- “Keep on keeping on”: Most of us do not like going through hard times. However, God uses them to shape and mold us. A caterpillar needs to struggle through the cocoon in order to strengthen their wings. Without this struggle, they would not become butterflies.
- “You know who you are”: Just like butterflies know that they should fly south to Mexico, we know that we are children of God. God has plans for each of us.
To conclude, Pastor Kevin reminded the students that we have a good God who has a wonderful plan for them, even on their “gooeyest” day.
After the message, the Chapel Team and Mrs. V led the last song, “Not Be Shaken” by Norm Strauss and the reading of an aspirational passage, which is the hope of being a CRISP leader.