God is a wild God!

Students at Smithville Christian High School pray daily, but they don't always pray effectively, they learned at this week's chapel.

"You thank God for your day, you pray for God to bless your grandma," said educational assistant Ruth Thiessen, today's chapel speaker. "That is a good prayer, but that is just the beginnning."

Thiessen used examples from her own journey from unbelief to a joyful walk with God to show the secret to powerful prayer.

The secret is expecting God to answer, Thiessen said.

Thiessen said when she was young she prayed for a boy with dreamy eyes to ask her on a date, she prayed for high marks in classes in which she was a disruptive influence and did no work, and she prayed for God to bless her grandma.

In each case, God answered her, she said. The answers were "Nope," "Are you Kidding?" and "Yes!"

 

But in each case, Thiessen was too busy focusing on her friends or her activities to notice that God was, indeed, answering her. She turned away from God and the church.

In hindsight, Thiessen said she knows God was always with her and always communicating with her -- in dreams, visions, signs, other people and his word.

"I was given eyes to see God," she said. Once she could see God and once she began expecting him to answer, she saw him everywhere. "And he is a wild God, guys."

She shared stories of how God used her to have a positive influence on others -- a heroin addict, a member of her church, or an addiction program she was running. But she also admitted that each victory caused her to take pride in her own accomplishments instead of in God's love and power.

 

She also came to recognize that she was a judgmental person who criticized and condemned others.

"What God had done with grace in my life, I had taken and owned and turned it into judgment," she said. Her journey away from legalism "is still ongoing," she told the students. "When I get into trouble, I tend to lean to law, rather than lean to grace.

"But God never condemns," she said. "God will convict. Condemnation comes from law and conviction comes from grace.

God loves her and God pursues her, she said, and she continually sees evidence of God answering her prayers and working in her life.

"And God loves you," she told students.

"God does everything for you. You just have to ask and believe," she said. Our ability to pray and our ability to see God's answers comes from lining up our hearts with the word of God.

"God loves the socks off you," she said. "If you dwell in his love, you can ask anything and he will do it for you. And dwelling in that place is the best place in the world."

Thiessen closed by inviting each student to reflect on an issue in his or her heart, and to think about the feeling that goes along with that issue: whether it's fear, anger, insecurity, inadequacy or more.

"Take that feeling and focus on Jesus and who he is," she said. "He is love. He is gentleness. He is faithful and tenacious and can never let you go.

"And you are so valuable and important to him," she said. "God will guide you and protect you. You may be an ordinary person but you will live an extraordinary life."

 

Today's chapel began with Mr. Park's prayer of thanks to God that this is a school "where we recognize that there is something bigger going on."

A student praise team led us in worship with "I Am Free," "Give Me Your Eyes," and "I Am Not Ashamed." 

 

 

 

 

And then the winners of the school hockey tournament signed the Stanley Cup! 

 

Here's a short clip from today's chapel, in which Mrs. Thiessen describes "the first miracle" God worked in her life. Mr. Park says she sounds like Shrek!

 

 

 

Encouragement and advice for a fresh start

We began our second semester of the school year with a chapel on Thursday morning, at which we welcomed four new students -- Andy, Nick, Jason and Brianne -- and a new teacher, Mr. Eli Banta.

Principal Ted Harris gave students a brief account of his recent travels to California, when he and five other staff members visited High Tech High in San Diego.
Mr. Harris told students that High Tech High is world-renowned for its emphasis on project-based learning and the spirit of cooperation between students and teachers.

But he told students that their exhibitions at January's Open House and Presentations of Learning evening were equally amazing.

"Wow, did you ever impress us," he said. "You produce top-notch work."

(Displaying the Trails and Corridors Project at Presentations of Learning.)

And the Smithville Christian High School community also enjoys a tremendous spirit of cooperation, he said, "and we celebrate that."

He said the teachers who visited High Tech High came back with some inspiring ideas, and that all the teachers at Smithville Christian are committed and "eager to seek out the best ways to meet your needs as learners in the 21st century."

While students can expect to see changes, Mr. Harris said there are already great things going on in our school that are worth celebrating.

"You need to be aware of the blessing you have, of the potential you have and the opportunities you have."

As advice for a new semester, Spiritual Life Director Gord Park gave students eight rules to live by.

1. Have high expectations for yourself. Jeremiah 29:11

2. Try something new. 2 Timothy 1:7

3. Keep a positive outlook. Romans 8:38-39

4. Don't compare yourself to your peers. I Corinthians 12: 14-27

5. Be smart with social media. Proverbs 13:3

6. Don't give in to normal. Romans 12:2

7. Be kind and compassionate. Ephesians 4:32

8. When you dream, dream big. Psalm 37:4

Park said the advice is not about things like studying harder or not losing your notebooks.

"This is more about your character than your grades."

 

San Diego Update

While our students and colleagues write exams and battle the cold in Ontario, we are enjoying balmy temperatures and (mostly) sunny skies, walking to and from school every day.

The school we are attending is about two blocks from the hotel, and we have to be at school by 8:30 every morning, which is where we are served breakfast.

There are about 80 people attending the course, which has two tracks running simultaneously -- presentations and workshops or opportunities to wander among the various buildings on campus observing classrooms and talking to teachers and students.

One of the things that makes High Tech High remarkable in the American educational system is the fact that it is a charter school -- it is funded by the government but its founders were able to implement their vision for education that was authentic, hands-on and relevant. The students who attend this school are grateful to be here -- they have won the lottery, literally. While there are roughly 1,000 students between the three high schools, more than 8,000 apply every year, and the students are randomly selected by lottery.

During our stay, student ambassadors have toured us around campus, teachers have described the projects they have done with their students, and we have been awed by the amount of art and student work that is on display.

Teachers at High Tech High teach in teams, giving students opportunity to combine studies in science and humanities and leading them to produce innovative projects that use arts and technology to demonstrate science and math. We have seen beautiful artifacts, paintings, sculptures, podcasts, videos and many other examples of student ingenuity and creativity.

While High Tech High is doing groundbreaking and inspiring work, we are also realizing that so are the staff and students of Smithville Christian High School. There are lots of great ideas that we can implement at our school, but Smithville Christian is remarkable too. Our Portfolio Days, Sciencepalooza, Trails Project and the many other ways in which students are doing project-based learning are already innovative and authentic. We will be coming home with exciting ideas, but we are also grateful for the blessing of a talented and dedicated staff and students who seek to glorify God in all that they do.

Greetings from San Diego! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Mr. Harris, Mr. Lammers, Mrs. Greenham, Mr. Gerryts, Mr. T and Mrs. B

What we're hoping for.....

Our Christmas chapel featured lots of music and a reflection on hope.

Mr. Robb began his message with the lyrics of a song by the band For King And Country that had been on our school sign: "Endless hope, relentless joy, started with a baby boy."

 

 

He said it's normal for us to hope for things like good marks on tests, for acceptance from friends or for gifts for Christmas, such as the dog he once hoped for when he was a boy.

"Sometimes we are more certain than others of the things we hope for," he said. The Bible uses the word "hope" about 175 times, and "it's not just wishful thinking, it's much stronger than that."

Because of the promises of God, we have hope for the forgiveness of sins, for the strength to live our lives as Christ calls us to live, and for an eternal home free from the sin and suffering of this world, Robb said.

"Our hope is based on the character and promises of God, a God who cannot lie," he said.

We put our hope not in iPads or iPods or other I things, but in the God who loves us and who came to us as a baby boy, he said.

Hebrews 6:19 says "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." The image is of a ship at anchor, Robb said. "A storm may blow in tossing the ship about, but as long as the anchor holds, the ship is safe."

Similarly, the storms of life may toss us about, but as long as we have our hope in Christ, our anchor, we cannot be destroyed, he said.

Mr. Robb ended his reflection with the lyrics of the song "Baby Boy" by For King and Country:  

If you told me all about your sorrows
I'd tell you about a cure
If you told me you can't fight the battle
There's a Baby Boy who won the war
The war was won by a Baby Boy

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

Oh, before that silent night
No Savior and No Jesus Christ
The world cried out so desperately
And the Baby Boy was the reply,
Yes, Heaven's reply was a baby boy

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

See, the King is coming down
And He's here without a crown
The Baby Boy without a bed
Giving life back to the dead
And hear the angels shout it out
As the people are coming down
Unexpected majesty
Alleluia, what a King

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

Alleluia, we can sing it!
Alleluia, yeah, Heaven's ringing!
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

We sang What Child Is This, Angels We Have Heard on High and Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.

The choir performed "Hush," "Jesus What a Wonderful Child," "Sing Noel," "Testify to Love," "Wade in the Water" and an "Irish Blessing."Megan and Rachel sang "Do You See What I See?" Caleb sang "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Jon sang "All I Want for Christmas is You" and Samantha sang "Only Hope."

 

 

 

We were delighted to be joined by many guests and alumni. Next chapel is Wednesday, January 9 at 9 a.m. See you there!

Listen to Samantha sing "Only Hope."

Stop flexing your muscles, they are not that impressive to me

The final chapel of Smithville Christian High School's Spiritual Emphasis Week began with Susan Dunk, wife of Paul Dunk, saying that she was praying that students would see that following a movement only leads to emptiness.

Susan Dunk told students that theirs is a generation seeking a cause.

"But when you are looking for a movement to secure your value, meaning or significance, it will fail," she said. "God wants our movement to cease so we can find our rest in him," she said. Instead of us moving towards God, "it is God who is moving towards us."

 

 

"Most of our Christian experience focuses on works, on labour, on the things we need to do," she said. But if we move to secure something for ourselves, it will come up empty every time.

My prayer for you is that you will have a revelation of Jesus, she said, and when you have a revelation of Jesus "it will be like the Bible is decoded."

Paul Dunk then reminded students that their journey during spiritual Emphasis Week was one of putting God first, and of seeing the Bible as the greatest love story ever written with Jesus as the main hero. Dunk said Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) featured instructions for making Christian life even more difficult.

Our response to Jesus' teachings is "I can't do this," he said. "And Jesus says, 'Exactly. I will do it for you.'"

 

Dunk described himself as "a Superman freak" with a large collection of Superman T-shirts. But, he admitted, he not really at all like Superman.

"If there was a superhero that I am most like, it would not be Superman," he said. "Superman is always a good guy, and even Clark Kent is always a good guy."

Dunk said he is more like Tony Stark -- or Ironman -- a character who is self-absorbed, egotistical, arrogant and narcissistic, "only thinking about himself and only trying to bring pleasure to himself."

Dunk used the example of Jacob, who duped his brother and tricked his father into obtaining a birthright for himself.

"He was on a mission to mean something, and we do the same thing," Dunk said. "We all have our ways to mean something. It's us striving so someone will tell us that we are important."

After their father's death, Esau announces his intention to get revenge on his devious younger brother and vows to kill him (Genesis 27). That prompts Jacob to flee for his life.

Jacob marries and has children and many years pass, but he is still living in fear of his brother's revenge, Dunk said. As their reunion approaches, he cries out to God for help (Genesis 32).

"You would think God would say 'sorry, you made your bed, now lie in it,' but that's not God's answer, Dunk said. Instead God wrestles with Jacob, and at first it looks like Jacob is successfully holding his own.

 

 

But God shows Jacob "you are not as strong as you think," and reaches out to touch Jacob on the hip, and "poink," Jacob is crippled. "God says 'stop flexing your muscles, they are not that impressive to me,'" Dunk said. "And Jacob recognizes in an instant that it is God who is powerful and it is God who is in control."

The central message of that midnight battle is that Jacob starts out fighting God and ends up clinging to God, Dunk said. Just as Jacob fought for his birthright and fought for his life, we fight for Twitter followers or Facebook friends, he said. But we have to stop fighting for success, and start embracing God.

Dunk asked students to pray with him, inviting Jesus to do a deep work in them. "I need you more than I need the approval of the person sitting next to me," Dunk and the students prayed. "My future is bright because it's in you."

 

 

 

The biggest problem

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, he wasn't giving his audience a list of helpful hints about the benefits of being meek, humble and peaceful, said Paul Dunk at Smithville Christian High School's Thursday chapel during Spiritual Emphasis Week.

"The Beatitudes is not a list of things to do, it is a list of things that we CANNOT do," he said. "Jesus is not saying 'try your best, it's good enough.' Jesus has given us a list that is a glorious impossibility."

 

Similarly, with his references to the 10 Commandments, Jesus made it clear we would not measure up.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment,’ " said Dunk, reading excerpts from Matthew 5. "' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Jesus went on to say that if your eye is causing you to sin, you should pluck it out, or if your hand is causing you to sin, you should cut it off, Dunk said. But Jesus knows it's not our eyes or our hands that cause us to sin. "It's your heart that causes you to sin, and Jesus knows that," he said.

"Jesus is saying 'guys, this is deeper than you think,' " Dunk said. "The Pharisees think they are pulling it off, but they're not. We think we are pulling it off, but we're not."

"We try to soften what Jesus said to make it more do-able for us, we soften it into something we think we can do," he said, turning the Christian faith into a legalistic rulebook, and our churches into religious sweatshops. The result is that we are "driven into exhaustion" trying to achieve value, acceptance, belonging, meaning, fulfillment, purpose and peace by our own efforts.

"Your generation is chronically addicted to perform," Dunk told the students. "Why? Because your parents and grandparents were chronically addicted to perform. We are addicted to getting a gold star from heaven, from our parents, from our peers." But we're doomed to failure.

"We believe the greatest problem is outside us and the answer is inside us," he said. "We believe the greatest problem is outside us. But Jesus shows up and says the greatest problem is inside us."

"The bad news is, God is not honouring our progress, God only honours perfection," Dunk said. "The good news is, God provided perfection."

 

Many people believe in karma, he said, that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. But the truth is, we, and all the "heroes" of the Bible, "are bad, undeserving train wrecks, and God gives us what we don't deserve."

Our Christian lives are not about doing good works to earn God's approval, he said.

"You and I will bear fruit, and we will do good things. But all of this doing comes from being, and our being comes from Jesus Christ.

"The good news is Jesus says you will have a new heart, and when we rest in Jesus, we become like him and our lives transform. The way you get out of your sin is not by trying harder, but by looking at what Jesus did."

 

 

The best love story

"The Bible is predominantly a love story," said chapel speaker Paul Dunk. "We have the Bible to tell us about God."

In 1 John 4:19 the apostle Paul writes that "we love because he first loved us," Dunk said. "We love God because he first loved us. He moved first and he is always moving towards us."

Dunk said after God created the world and humans sinned by trusting in ourselves, God immediately announced that he had a rescue plan.

"And this is glorious, because it sets the tone," Dunk said, reading from Genesis 3 and the crushing curse on the serpent.

The story continues in Genesis 4, when Cain kills Abel, he said. God punishes Cain, but also offers protection when the punishment "is greater than (Cain) can bear."

"The story is not 'don't be like Cain,' the story is about the love of God," Dunk said. "The story is that we ARE Cain."

But we don't think we are that bad, so we don't "embrace the cross daily," he said. We can easily see that the prisoners in a maximum security prison "need all the blood of Jesus, but we only need a sprinkle."

The result is that we think of the Bible as a checklist, and we try to live up to that list and worry about what we are going to do with our lives.

That's the way the world lives, Dunk said. But we don't need to impress God because God already loves us and saved us.

"There is no version of this where you have to clean yourself up enough so he can use you. God does not need you to clean yourself up so he can do something with your life.

"This is the beauty of the gospel. There is a God in heaven whose love for you is so deep you can wake up every morning with peace because of who he is and who he is for YOU."

The Bible reveals how much God loves us, he said. "We are called to bear fruit by waking up every day thankful for Jesus."

When we do that "watch and see how the power of Christ transforms you from the inside out."

A student praise team led us in singing "Holy, Holy, Holy,"  "The Stand" and "The Desert Song."