“The antidote to busyness of soul is not sloth and indifference,” Christian author Kevin DeYoung writes in his book Crazy Busy. “The antidote is rest.” At each chapel gathering in Jackson Academy’s Lower, Middle, and Upper School, students and faculty pause in prayer amid a full school day to breathe in worship and reflect on a message drawn from the Bible. Last week, the Middle and Upper Schools joined together for an outdoor chapel service at the football field, and a day later, the Lower School held their first chapel of the year. The spiritual lessons learned during these gatherings permeate all other interactions at school, enriching our community with shared hope through the gospel.
In the first Lower School chapel of the year, Sarah Love, head of the Lower School, announced the theme for this year’s chapel messages: Growing in God’s Garden. She began the lesson by showing students pictures of unkempt, forgotten gardens overgrown with weeds and contrasted them with images of beautiful, lush gardens that a master gardener tended.
“Do you know that we are like a garden?” she asked. “We are growing and changing, and we have people that take care of us, and we have one particular person … in our lives that is the best and greatest gardener of all, and that’s God.”
This year, as the Lower School students talk about growing in God’s garden, they will focus on the message of Isaiah 58:11, which says: “The LORD will guide you continually. When you feel dried up and worthless, God will nourish you and give you strength, and you will grow like a well-tended garden.”
View the entire Lower School chapel message by clicking here.
Last Tuesday, the Upper School chapel band could be heard warming up on the football field during second period. Since 2018, students have taken an active role in leading the music portion of chapel services. After Head of Upper School Brandi Richardson led everyone in prayer, the student worship team led nearly 800 students in singing Graves Into Gardens by Elevation Worship and Way Maker by Leeland.
“If we can see something, we believe in it,” Ronnie Rogers, JA basketball coach, said as he began his message to students. Sharing the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, chapter 37, Rogers described how his own life experiences led him to have faith that God is working all things for good – even when you cannot understand how at the moment. He closed his message with these words: “People who trust in Christ Jesus as their Lord and savior and who truly come to him in true repentance and faith that expresses itself in humble living can live knowing this: you win.” Whatever life throws at you, God is in control, and he always wins.
After Rogers’ message, the chapel band returned to sing Yes I Will by Vertical Worship. Students were then dismissed, fueled for the week again by pausing and being filled with truth at chapel.
View the entire Middle and Upper School chapel message by clicking here.
