This month we are discovering what is means to be Idolatry Discerning.
What does it mean to discern? To distinguish between...
what is wise and what is not wise...
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. Proverbs 3:13, 14
Today, we had Pastor Jim Dekker come and speak to us about making wise choices.
He gave us different scenarios and had us think about what we would do. Here are just a few:
If you had lots and lots of money and needed a house for you and your dog,
what kind of house would you build?
Your little brother follows you everywhere when you're having 3 friends for a sleep over.
What would you do?
And then we looked at some people in the Bible:
Solomon: asked for wisdom, built the temple, had many wives, allowed idol worship - which were wise choices, what were not?
Moses: lead the Israelites, murdered a man, led them through the Red Sea.
And finally, Jesus. He also had many difficult choices to make and had perfect discernment. His choices were selfless and wise.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:13
Our throughline for this month is idolatry discerning.
We tend to think that we don't have an issue with this as we don't make golden calves to worship.
But this month, we will take a closer look at what our modern day idols are.
Video games, sports, appearance, popularity, money, homes.
These are some things that can cover our hearts....
...and crowd out the thing that should be in our heart.
Who discerns idols? The great prophets like Jeremiah, Nathan, Zechariah and
John the Baptist to name a few.
But that's not all! Evan, Abbey, Matthew, Leah, Adam and YOU also need to discern idols.
Today in chapel we heard that idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false god. Our modern idols are many and varied. Even for those who do not bow physically before a statue, idolatry is a matter of the heart:
Pride, self-centredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possession and rebellion against God.
Is it any wonder that God hates it?
We need to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind.
Our students were challenged to bring in an average of 5 pounds per student for Community Care. Each pound brought in also raised up to $4 per pound.
Our students and their parents took the challenge to heart and brought in an amazing, whopping 1465 pounds of food! This translates into $5860 for our school. Amazing!
A special congratulations to our JK class who brought in an average of 12.66 pounds per person! Wow!!
Will you meet the challenge of our JK students and bring 12.66 pounds or more to the auction?
We have blessed those in our community and our own school community as well!
In Bible in Grade Two we talked about how Jesus tells us not to worry.
We read through Matthew 6: 25-34:
If God loves the birds and the flowers, how much more does He care for us?
What an amazing thought!
We then thought about what that looks like for us in Grade Two and drew a scene of how God cares for us each and every day. The song God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall is a perfect song to go with this passage.
Our food drive for Community Care and for Beacon is underway. We have 4 more days to collect all the food that we can! This is an excellent opportunity with multiple benefits!
The food we bring in will bless those in our community that are experiencing difficult times.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Thanks to Mr. Louis VandenBurg and another generous donor, every pound of food brought in for Community Care will earn up to $4 for our school! This is so exciting for our organization!
Also, classes who have met the challenge of an average of 5 pound per student will also receive a treat. What's not to love about this arrangement?
It's not too late! Student have until Friday morning to fill up their classroom barrels to overflowing!
The class with the highest average of food will win the challenge and receive and extra special treat! And remember, you are not limited to just 5 pounds. The more we gather, the more we all benefit!
Here's where we stand so far...:
JK - 85 lb...challenge completed! But they're hoping to fill the barrel to the top. Awesome!
SK - 75 lb...need 30 lbs
Gr. 1 100 lbs - the leader so far! Challenge completed! (But will they keep the lead?)
Gr. 2 - 50 lb...need 10 lbs
Gr. 3 - 80 lb...need 20 lbs
Gr. 4 - 25 lb...need 40 lbs
Gr. 5 - 55 lb...need
Gr. 6 - 20 lb...need 75 lbs
Gr. 7 - 65 lb...need 35 ;bs
Gr. 8 - 90 lb...need 5 lbs!
Great work so far!! Who will bring the most? Stay tuned!
