JUPITER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL – To kick off the new year of 2024, the school decided to give the MS students some encouragement through Spiritual Emphasis Week. This week was dedicated to helping MS students grow in their faith, develop deeper roots in God, and they even gave us a little treat after each message. A youth pastor, Jordan Arce, came from Colorado to tell all the MS students his story and about how God has changed his life, and how God can change ours too.
Pastor Jordan Arce began the week with talking about how we are CALLED. He said, “God’s purpose is to be united with His people.” This means that God loves and cares about us and wants to spend time with us like any good father would. He continued to talk about how we are CALLED to be a new creation, meaning that through Christ Jesus we are made new and get a fresh start because God forgives us and makes us brand new.
Next, the message was all about how we are CALLED to a new kingdom. Pastor Jordan said, “Sin not only separates us from God, but it also poisons the world around us.” This statement reminds me of the idea that ‘sin splatters’, meaning that sin does not just affect us, but the people around us also have to suffer the consequences.
The next day was all about being CALLED to a new community. Pastor Jordan stated, “God’s house is a gift to God’s people.” When he talked about being CALLED to a new community, he was talking about the body of Christ and the church, and also being around other Christians and believers.
Finally, the last day of the week was all focused on being CALLED to a new commission. Pastor Jordan said a lot of very meaningful words, but one of the most important things that he said was, “When God CALLS us to FOLLOW Him there is nothing more important than our obedience.” Pastor Bill also shared at the end that, “God doesn’t want what’s good for us; He wants what’s best for us.” This message was probably the main one that stuck out to me and really felt meaningful and worth my time.
To sum it all up, Spiritual Emphasis Week was such a great way to kick off our new year! This week helped us focus on what’s important and what matters. This week also helped us focus on what and who we are CALLED to FOLLOW!
