All of life is worship

All of life is worship, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at this week's chapel.

As an example, spiritual life director Gord Park used the story of the Israelites who were facing an attack from their fierce opponents, the Moabites and Ammonites, as told in 2 Chronicles 20.

In response to the threat, the people sought help from God, and were told: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

God still asked his people to meet their enemies on the battlefield, Park said, which they obeyed -- "but they put the worshippers out in front" leading the way.

"That's faith," Park said. "They go out thanking God for what he promised them he is going to do.

"We read these stories knowing how it's going to end, but they didn't. Of course they were afraid! They were normal human beings."

Park said our lives are often like that. We can face difficulties, despair, evil, or other troubles, but the promise spoken by the messenger Jahaziel "belongs to you too."

The battle is not yours, but God's," Park said. "We are more than conquerors," (Romans 8:37), and nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39).

God invites us into intimacy with him, into a relationship, Park said. When we encounter God, his omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience are revealed and we become aware of his greatness. He becomes present in our lives and offers us healing and hope. But doing this is an act of will. God does not force us to worship him — it's a decision we make.

"When you are having a bad day and it's hard to worship, you just don't feel like it, that's the best time to worship," Park said.

How you write a test, how you are with your friends, all of life is worship, Park said. We are to be living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1).  

He then issued a challenge to students to consider ways in which they are gifted, whether it's in art, music, drama, dance or any other way in which they can lead others into worship.

He said the March 11 chapel will be a worship chapel, led by students who are feeling nudged to write a song, paint a picture or to share in any other way they can.

"Do you feel a nudge?" Park asked. "Allow the Spirit of God to lead you in presenting something."

Park said he is "amazed" by the talent and gifts of the students at Smithville Christian High School, and by the atmosphere that lives at school.

"You guys are awesome and the Spirit is alive here," he said. "There are gifts, creativity and boldness that I have not seen for a long time. I urge you to let God be God. This is a safe and loving place and this chapel will be a day in which we all declare together: How great is our God!"

Members of a student praise team also led in worship with "One Thing Remains," "The Stand" and "Grace Like Rain."

Chapel is held every Wednesday at 9 a.m. and everyone is welcome.

No one wants to grow up to be an addict

Addiction does not discriminate against Christians, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at this week's chapel.

John Kowtecky, a chemical engineer and a manufacturing management consultant, told students his impressive credentials aren't the reason he was qualified to speak to them. Rather, he was at school, he told them, because he is an alcoholic "with a story to tell."

Kowtecky, who, in addition to running a successful company, also works with support agency Family Outreach Ontario, said alcohol addiction is "a terrible horrendous experience to live through" and even if we aren't alcoholics ourselves, most of us have or will have a family member or friend who is.

Kowtecky said he wants to prepare students to be able to talk about addiction with their family members, friends, "or people God has placed in your life."

He described his childhood, growing up in a Bible-believing, church-attending family, his leadership in his church and his success as a student — both in high school and at the University of Waterloo.

"From the outside looking in, you would say I had my act together," he said. "But inside, I was very much a scared and insecure person, and my pride would not let me expose those doubts to anyone."

He experimented with alcohol as a high school student, but didn't drink much. As a university student, he began drinking more because he "liked the escape it gave me from the pressures of performance. It allowed me to relax and forget about the pressure."

Looking back, Kowtecky now knows that's when the desire for alcohol became embedded in his soul.

He got married to the sweetheart he had met in Sunday school, graduated from university, got a good job and embarked on a career that saw promotions and advancement. His children were born, his family was churchgoing and everything seemed to be going well.

But Kowtecky was drinking more and more, consuming hard liquor from a mickey in big gulps to get through the day. He denied that he was doing it, telling "creative stories to hide the truth,"  reassuring himself he could quit at any time. But actually he was caught in a downward spiral of hypocrisy and denial.

"I fooled everyone, and myself," he said. "But I had crossed the invisible line — I was totally dependent on alcohol."

By 2000, when he was 45 years old, he had "hit bottom." He was drinking 26 ounces of hard liquor a day, 40 ounces on the weekend. His marriage was "all but over" and his children despised him.

"I couldn't get drunk and I couldn't get sober."

He had prayed for willpower many times in the past, but this time, his prayer was different.

"I totally surrendered," he said. " I admitted I couldn't manage my life anymore. And with that prayer of submission my journey of recovery began."

The next day, his boss confronted him and told him that if he didn't stop drinking, one of three things was going to happen. He was either going to die young, or worse, he would die old, but be alone and estranged. Or he could choose to join Alcoholics Anonymous and live a normal life.

Kowtecky joined AA and spent three months dealing with the tremors and pain of withdrawal. His family was loving and supportive and "by God's grace I was given another chance."

Then, at Christmas, he thought it would be fine to have another drink, "and within three months I was drinking as much as before."

That spring, his wife and boss confronted him again. His boss said he was going to lose his job and "this time my wife really was going to leave. My kids were disgusted with me and never wanted to see me again."

He entered rehab again and this time, through counselling, he learned that his mistake had been relying on his own strength. If he was going to make it, he had to "give control back to God."

He has been sober since May 27, 2001. "Jesus Christ was my higher power and did something I could never do for myself," he said. "He replaced the desire for alcohol with the desire to know him better." Through Bible study and prayer, Kowtecky says he has been healed.

"Jesus healed my marriage, my wife is now my dearest friend," Kowtecky said."He restored my relationship with my children. I had to accept the fact that I am an alcoholic in nature but not in identity. Today my identity is in Jesus Christ and I thank God every day."

Kowtecky said he doesn't like telling his story, "because it exposes more of myself than I prefer. But I am doing it to give you permission to talk about it," he told students. He said they are almost certainly going to have to make decisions about alcohol use, if they haven't already.

Kowtecky said 83% of Grade 12 students in Ontario admit to drinking, with 49% admitting to binge drinking.

43% of college and university students are binge drinkers, while 81%  of students living in college or university residence are binge drinkers.

Heavy drinkers are two times more likely to die of heart disease, two times more likely to die of cancer, 12 times more likely to die of cirrhosis of the liver, three times more likely to die in a traffic accident and six times more likely to commit suicide, he said.  "A lot of people are affected by alcohol," and the Christian community is no different, he said.

"If something you are doing hurts you or hurts someone you love, there is a good chance you are addicted to it," Kowtecky said. "No one desires to grow up and become an alcoholic. It happens slowly and it happens without you knowing it."

Principal Ted Harris said he hoped students would talk about this topic among themselves.

"Many of you are already confronted with questions about alcohol and drugs," Harris said, urging students to make good decisions and to support each other in making good decisions. He encouraged them to "shine the light of Christ."

Kowtecky said Family Outreach Ontario's website has information about alcohol and drug addiction and a toll-free number to reach out for help or more information for yourself, a family member or friend.  Visit familyoutreachontario.com,  call 1-888-809-0464 or email info@familyoutreachontario.com.

Career Day Advice: take risks, expect the unexpected

There's a good chance the career path you choose or the field of study you pursue won't be where you end up, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at the Career Day Chapel.

"Over 70% of college and university students change their major within the first two years," said Heidi Kooiman Vanderkwaak (Class of 1998), who described how "torn" she felt about abandoning her long-held plan to be a teacher. "I felt that switching my major meant failure. Had I known that at the time, I would have been comforted knowing that I was far from the only one who made discoveries about my future" along the way.

Kooiman Vanderkwaak, who now works for the City of Hamilton as a Program Review Officer in the Ontario Works department, told students there is no clear vantage point from which they can see the road ahead. But she shared seven "Ah-Ha!" moments she had in the 17 years since she graduated from Smithville Christian High School.

#1 Do your research. If you have a career path in mind, investigate it, practice it, shadow someone who has been working in the field, interview people practicing in that profession. If you don't have a particular career in mind, find out about more jobs that you are interested in by reading, shadowing a professional, interviewing your parents' friends. Get a real idea of what each job is like on a day-to-day basis.

#2 Listen to others. There are people in your life who know you very well: they have seen you grow up, they know your strengths and weaknesses. Ask for their opinion and advice about your career path. Listen to a variety of opinions.

#3 Expect change. God will take you in directions that you can't see at the time. He'll  use decisions and sidetracks that you take to your advantage. You may graduate with one degree or as an apprentice in a trade and five years later be doing something completely out of your field. Your degree, your apprenticeship, your experience is not wasted. Almost everything you learned in life will come in handy at one point or another.

#4 Travel. It doesn't matter where you go — spending three or more months in another part of the world learning alongside your peers will change your life immeasurably for the better, even though it could be really difficult at the time. It will open up desires and passions you didn't know you had, and it will open a world of possibility and understanding that will serve you well wherever you go.

#5 Take risks. Try things you've never tried before. Step out of your comfort zone. God will speak to you as you learn what you love and have gifts at. If you don't try something, you may not discover a hidden talent or gift or passion you have. This means you have to try something that you are not normally drawn to, but it will stretch and challenge you.

#6 Rely on your values. Ensure your career or job complements your values -- which are shaped by your faith. For Kooiman Vanderkwaak and her husband, that meant taking an unpaid leave of absence from their jobs and travelling with their two children on a year-long bicycle tour of North America, cycling from Hamilton to Vancouver, to Panama and then back up the eastern seaboard through Washington, D.C. and New York City to home. "Throughout our year off employment, we deepened our relationships with each other and learned so much about God and his calling for how to serve him in our community in Hamilton."

#7 Be still and listen to God. God doesn't usually directly tell you what to do. It is not very likely that the heavens will open up and you will hear a loud voice commanding you to choose a specific career path. A relationship with Him means you are asking through prayer and questioning and listening through His word and his direction through other people in your life, and through the passions and gifts he has given you. Kooiman Vanderkwaak said God has often spoken to her through people in circumstances that at first appeared to be mere coincidences. "He spoke in my discovery of things that I am good at, and the gifts that developed as a result of practice and use. You often don't realize the 'God-is-speaking-to-me' moments until after they've happened, but if you tune in to Him, you'll start to hear it while it's happening and it's one of the most amazing and wonderful experiences."

Kooiman Vanderkwaak said she loves her job, "one I didn't even know existed when I was sitting where you are." She told the students she hopes the same for them.

"I want to wish each of you God's richest blessing as you make discoveries and enrich your understanding of who you are, who the Creator is, and how you are called to serve in this world."

A student praise team led in worship with "Oceans," "I Lift My Hands," and "Not Ashamed."

Career Day continued with workshops on topics such as:

• Rights in the Workforce
• Apprenticeships
• Transition to Life After High School
• English as a Second Language at the Post-Secondary Level
• Vocational Inventories
• Selling Yourself
• Finding A Job
• Interview Skills
• Applying for OSAP and 
• Discerning God's Will for Your Life.

After lunch, students each attended three different sessions with presenters from 35 different jobs or careers.

How much does God love you?

Q. How much does God love you?

A. Jesus.

You might be having a bad day, and, when your mother tells you that she loves you, not even that helps, said Smithville Christian High School's spiritual life director, Gord Park.

"Because that's her job," you might retort.

That's true, Park told students at the Thursday chapel of Spiritual Emphasis Week. But there is one friend who loves you because it was his choice: Jesus.

Park quoted Jesus from John 15:15: "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends."  

Park told a story of an 11-year-old boy who was undergoing chemotherapy, and whose classmates all shaved their heads to match his.

"They identified with their friend, they chose to be with their friend," Park said. In the same way, Jesus becoming human was God identifying with you, choosing to be with you, he said,

"He didn't have to do it, but he chose to take on my sins and my shame. Why? So we could have atonement, so we could be at one with God."

Jesus atoned for all our shortcomings so we can stand in perfection before God for all eternity, Park said, but it's not just about what happens after we die. It's about who sits enthroned in your life right now.

"We don't become Christians to go to heaven, we become Christians to bring heaven to earth," he said.

The point of Jesus' resurrection is to change your life right now, "so you can live in the resurrection power today, to experience all that joy today. He wants us to know his joy, to live with creativity, whatever you do.

"You were created to live and love this life, to drink deep and seize the day."

But there's more, he said.

"Love Jesus in such a way that you are empowered to love others."

Park read 2 Cor. 13: 4-7.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Park said he doesn't get very high marks for succeeding at that kind of love, "and most of us are not going to get a gold star." But the point is Jesus loves like that, and when we have Jesus in us, we can love like that, he said.

"My goal to is to be committed to Christ in such a way so that I can live out his commandments.

"How great is our God? He chooses you to take it all on the cross and he chooses you to live in love. Receive all the benefits of his marvelous grace and then share."

In friendships, in dating relationships, in family relationships "don't just give your love, give His love."

"How great is our God? He chooses you, he loves you, he identifies with you.

"Believe it.
"Receive it.
"Share it."

A student praise team led in worship with "Not Ashamed," "The Stand," "Holy Spirit" and "Build Your Kingdom Here."

The enormity of God

As creator of the universe God is beyond our comprehension, said spiritual life director Gord Park at Wednesday's chapel, but he's for you.

Park said he has always been fascinated by space and inspired by its immensity — from the Star Trek television show, to Star Wars movies, to laying in the backyard with his son and looking at a night sky full of stars.

"Stars have always inspired me," Park said, "the infinite nature of stars."

Park shared some amazing facts and figures about stars, such as:

The sun travels 220 km/second.

It takes the sun 225-250 million years to complete an orbit of the centre of the Milky Way.

The sun is 149,600,000 km away.

The star Betelgeuse is 427 light years away and the star Canis Majoris is 2,500 light years away. The Whirlpool Galaxy, with its 300 billion stars, is 31 million light years away. "And it is only one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the known universe," Park said. "The more you know, the more you are blown away. It staggers the imagination."

Park compares a golf ball sized earth to the enormity of the sun.

And God made it all, Park said, quoting Nehemiah 9:6

⁶ You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

And quoting  Psalm 33:6

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Yet God, the creator of the universe, did it for you, Park told students, quoting Psalm 8.

³ When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
⁴ what is humankind that you are mindful of them,
    a son of man that you care for him?

He did it for you, Park said, quoting Psalm 139.

¹³For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

"You are created in the image of God," Park said. "You are created to be creative," and whatever form that creativity takes, whether it's repairing an engine, writing a song, acting in  a play or nurturing a friendship, "do it so that your creativity worships him."

Park challenged students to live lives that worship God, that worship creatively, and that take care of God's creation — both of the earth and of themselves.

He also told students to look for God: "When you pay attention, you won't miss him, and when you take care of yourself, you honour God."

A student praise team led worship with "Whom Shall I Fear God of Angel Armies," "How Great is Our God/How Great Thou Art," and "Build Your Kingdom Here."

The glory of God

God is glorious but he lives in you, spiritual life director Gord Park told students at the second chapel of Smithville Christian High School's spiritual emphasis week.

Park began Tuesday's chapel message by reading an account of Isaiah's vision of God, taken from Isaiah 6:1-8.

¹"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Park said Isaiah's vision comes at a time in the history of the people of Israel when their king has just died and the nation is in disarray. But the vision begins with the certainty that God is still on the throne, that the real king is still the king.

The name of the Lord, "Adonai," which is translated as LORD, indicates that Isaiah saw God as the "suffering servant," Park said. "God has always been enthroned and when he chooses to reveal himself, it is as Jesus."

The "train of his robe (that) filled the temple" indicates the majesty and glory of God, just as the 
train of a wedding gown brings honour to a bride, or the length of the tassles on a prayer shawl signifies righteousness, Park said, using a prayer shawl to demonstrate.

"You are the temple of the Lord," Park told students, "and if God is in you, his glory fills you.
The symbolism of the train of God's robe filling the temple "is hugely important. The glory of God is so overwhelming that the train of his robe fills the temple. When you are in the presence of God, there is nothing else.

"And if you allow God to sit enthroned in your life, there will be nothing in life that he will not be victorious over, " Park said, "even death." Bad stuff may still happen, but as Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah's vision emphasizes the holiness of God, but the hot coal taken from the altar fire — where the sacrificial blood of atonement is poured — indicates that Isaiah is cleansed from his sin and is now also holy.

And so are we, Park said, if we accept the forgiveness God offers.

"The challenge for each of us today is to recognize that you are a temple of God, and you can be the one standing at the altar in communion with him, thanking him and praising him," he said.

And at the end of the vision, God asks for a volunteer, and Isaiah steps up.

"Who has God called you to be?" Park asked the students. "What is God calling you to do?"

"We know who sits enthroned in heaven, but who sits enthroned in your life?" he asked. "You are the temple of the Lord but you have a choice to make: who sits enthroned in your life?"  

A student praise team led in worship with "Mountaintop," "Dare you to move," "Oceans" and "Great I Am/Our God is Greater."

Chapel is every morning at 9 a.m. and everyone is invited.

Here's the praise team with "Great I Am/Our God is Greater."

How big is your God?

What do you think of God?

How do you picture him?

Smithville Christian High School's spiritual life director Gord Park started this year's Spiritual Emphasis Week by telling students that when we picture God, we tend to reduce him, to make him smaller than he really is.

Sometimes we see God as a kindly old man with a flowing beard, or as having a voice like Morgan Freeman, Park said. Some people, like Albert Einstein, say they don't believe in a personal God, or like Paul McCartney, who said. "If God is out there, he's hiding someplace."

But it's not God who is hiding, Park said, it's humans who are the ones who hide from God, just as Adam and Eve did when they sinned and felt they had something to hide. The truth is, it's God who comes looking for us, Park said, but many people want to hide from God.

Like a child hiding behind a tree, we think we can successfully hide from him, or we hide because God doesn't fit the version of reality that we find comfortable.

But as it says is Psalm 139: 7, 8, there is no place we can hide from God's spirit, no place we can go where God is not present.

And God revealed himself most tangibly to us in the person of Jesus who embodies the infinite God in a finite human, Park said.

Jesus invites us to look at him and to see God, just as Peter did when he said "You are the Christ, the son of the living God," or as Paul does in the letter to the Colossians, revealing Jesus as a man, our Saviour, the creator and the reason the world was created.

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Col. 1:15-20)

But it's not easy, Park said. Just like the six blind men who encountered an elephant and reached different conclusions about what an elephant is like, we can form our opinions about God based on what we've read, or heard, or experienced.

"But wait," Park said, "there's so much more! Whatever you think about God, there's so much more."

God invites us to grow in the knowledge of him, Park said, through his Word, creation, people, service, devotion and obedience. And while it might be scary, it's also freeing, because God's loving kindness envelopes us. And the God we worship is "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God," who deserves our "honour and glory forever and ever." (I Timothy 1:17)

In fact, we can never stop growing in the knowledge of God because if we can ever figure God out "he's not worth worshipping," Park said.

A student praise team led in worship with "I Will Follow," "Holy," and "One Thing Remains."

Chapel will be held every day this week at 9 a.m. Everyone is welcome.