Head of school News
Happy New Year (can we still say that in mid January?!)
On Monday, January 5 I had the opportunity to share a short devotion to start the year with our staff. The following is a short excerpt of this devotion. I pray that it can be a blessing to you as you start this new school year. (It’s a little longer, so settle in 🙂).
I believe that Christian Education, why we do what we do, is all within a context. As Christians, we all find ourselves in a time of restoration and renewal. We are all part of God’s Grand Story!
Creation
This is the very character of our God… I love New Years because I can remind people of this
Revelation 21 is the pivotal chapter in the Apostle John’s final vision. It depicts the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises offering a powerful and hopeful vision for the future:
We serve an amazing God who’s ultimate desire is to make everything new!
I don’t know about you, but this is what I long for, to live into this type of restorative living , and new years are great opportunities to be reminded of this . So here we are at the start of a new year:
This is such a hopeful time and the Lord is Making All Things New. May you experience this to start this new year and always!
In His Hope,
Julius Siebenga
Head of School
On Monday, January 5 I had the opportunity to share a short devotion to start the year with our staff. The following is a short excerpt of this devotion. I pray that it can be a blessing to you as you start this new school year. (It’s a little longer, so settle in 🙂).
I believe that Christian Education, why we do what we do, is all within a context. As Christians, we all find ourselves in a time of restoration and renewal. We are all part of God’s Grand Story!
Creation
- An amazing time in our history - when God created the heavens and earth - we all know the story of Genesis
- Incredible story of God filling the void with unbelievable beauty - including humankind in his own likeness in the garden of Eden?
- And what did we do with His likeness?
- We thought we could be God Himself, leading to the Fall and to sin…with a promise of redemption of his people
- And then God enters into an amazing relationship with His chosen people (Israelites) that is like the greatest love story or soap opera ever told
- We just celebrated the redemption. God sent His son in the form of a baby--Christmas
- His son conquered death and sin, redeeming all of us
- Soon after, through the Holy Spirit working through God’s chosen people, is when the church was built creating a world movement of following Him and striving towards wholeness till God comes again.
- And then …
- At the end of the Bible is when God gives us some pretty clear images / metaphors about the next part of the story …
- And I believe this is what we are all living / working towards
- This is the very point of Christian Education. We are preparing children, made in God’s image, to go out and restore this world back to Him
- We do this by preparing them for this world
- This whole restorative part is what maybe even separates us a bit from other Christian schools around us. We aren't just a Christian school that wants to prepare kids for university so that they can get a good job in this world and we’ll sing a bunch of songs and read a bunch of scripture and teach them to be good. No…it’s more!
- We want them to understand the story that I just talked about and then be able to clearly articulate, not only their place in God’s Story, but also clearly articulate how they are going to contribute to this Grand Story in amazing ways. What an amazing calling that all of us have - and an amazing responsibility at the same time.
- This is what gets me up in the morning - knowing that we want to be this type of school.
This is the very character of our God… I love New Years because I can remind people of this
Revelation 21 is the pivotal chapter in the Apostle John’s final vision. It depicts the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises offering a powerful and hopeful vision for the future:
- There’s going to be a new heaven and a new earth
- There’s going to be a new Jerusalem - or a new Holy City
- God will dwell among His people
- All tears, suffering, death, mourning, crying, and pain will fall away
- Verse 5 “I am making everything New!”
We serve an amazing God who’s ultimate desire is to make everything new!
I don’t know about you, but this is what I long for, to live into this type of restorative living , and new years are great opportunities to be reminded of this . So here we are at the start of a new year:
- Where are you at, in striving towards restoration? Personally? With your students? Are you helping them understand their place in God’s Story and that they have a roll to play in the restoration process? This can happen in every subject and in every moment of the day.
- Math and physics is the beautiful manifestation of God’s perfect order
- He is the deep beauty in art the holds the pigments to the canvas
- He is the master artist creating buoyant beauty of music
- History is the story of God’s faithfulness and the profound human need for it
- Literature is our imaginative expression of our need for grace
- Science is the story that God’s creation just keeps on telling
- PE is the beautiful acknowledgement that our bodies are temples of the Lord
- Of course in Bible classes we hear the story of His lost sheep.
- Are you living into a time of restoration - working towards God’s promise that He Will Make All things new?
This is such a hopeful time and the Lord is Making All Things New. May you experience this to start this new year and always!
In His Hope,
Julius Siebenga
Head of School