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Anger, malice and the overflow of your heart in your words

8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Colossians 3:8

At our school we want to our students to be students who SERVE. The R stands for RESPECT. You see respect in the way that people speak to one another. However the Bible says that the words that you speak are simply the product of your heart…

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#Forgiveness #Peace #Relationship #Respect #Words

Respect - Not Revenge

Respect – Not Revenge

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Roman 12:17-18

We want our students to be students who SERVE. The R stands for respect. Often we are called to behave respectfully to people that we don’t like, or who we think have wronged us. This sometimes happens with our peers,…

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#Love #Peace #Respect #sacrifice

Trusting God's Perspective

Trusting God’s Perspective

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Sometimes we need to look at an event from a different perspective. God’s perspective on an event is quite likely to be different to our perspective.

The Bible describes the account of Joseph, who was hated by his brothers. His brothers faked his death, and…

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#Faith #Gods goodness #Perspectives #Salvation

Safety in Speech

Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome (‘unhealthy’) talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

At our school we want students to feel safe. A basic way that we create a safe environment is the way that we speak to and about each other.

Ephesians 4 could be paraphrased, “If you don’t have…

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#safety #Speech #Tongue #Words

Excellence is a Habit

Proverbs 22:29

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

We want our students to be students who SERVE. The second E stands for EXCELLENCE.

Aristotle once said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit.”

Habits are actions that are ingrained. They have become natural through continued repetition. They…

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#Excellence #Habits

Running for a Goal

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Today is our cross country. Distance running is a difficult sport that requires a lot of…

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#Cross Country #Fruit of the Spirit #Goals #perseverance

Greater Love

Romans 5:6-9 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Every year we pause on ANZAC day to remember those who made the ultimate…

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#ANZAC #Love #sacrifice

R is for Respect

At our school we want our students to be students who S-E-R-V-E.

The R stands for Respect. We want our students to be students who demonstrate respect in all their relationships – towards peers, towards adults, and towards God.

The Bible says that we should “show proper respect to all people” (1 Peter 2:17).

It is popular to say we don’t GIVE respect, people should EARN respect. This is not…

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E is for Effort

Our School is a S-E-R-V-E school. The E stands for Effort. We want our students to be students who put in their best effort in all aspects of school life.

The Bible gives Christians a spiritual motivation for this. Paul tells us that we should be working hard because God is our master and we want to please him. Ephesians 6:7 tells us to “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord…

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#Diligence #Effort #Learning #Work

Compassion

Today the group “Compassion will be speaking to each of the Senior School Students. Their slogan is ‘Compassion in Jesus’ Name.” The Bible promotes compassion as a key key feature of Christian life.

The Bible tells those who have received mercy from Jesus that the appropriate response is to pass on compassion to other people. Colossians 3:12 says:

So, as those who have been chosen of God,…

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#Community #Compassion #Love

Fires that destroy relationships

AT our school we want our students to be students who S-E-R-V-E.

The S stands for Safety. Safety can be both physical and social. We want students to feel comfortable coming to school, because they are safe here. One way this can be destroyed is when people bring each other down with their words. This can be through jokes, teasing or lies. The writer of Proverbs paints a vivid picture of how…

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#gossip #Peace #proverbs #safety

Making yourself rich

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. Proverbs 13:7

Many people spend their time trying to become rich. Some student’s motivation for working hard at school is so that they can get a ‘good’ job, i.e. one that will make them lots of money. Maybe this is you. That wouldn’t be surprising, it is a common way of thinking for many…

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#Diligence #Generousity #Money #sacrifice #Service #Wealth #Work

Fallow ground and injustice

Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste. Proverbs 13:26

God gives many gifts that go unused due to a lack of justice. Fallow ground is unploughed and unsown. If the poor man had ground, and it was fallow, it was only because he didn’t have enough money to buy seed. This meant that he would starve. The sad thing is that if someone invested in the…

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#Generousity #Investment #Justice #Mercy #Poverty #Service

Idle Chatter

In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty (Proverbs 14:23)

The Bible commends hard work. Practically speaking, the basic secret to a successful life is diligence and hard work. It doesn’t matter what you start with; if you diligently apply the gifts that God has given you will grow personally, and in your standing in the community.

The opposite to diligence is ‘idle…

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Get a Bigger Goal

(I had the privilege of addressing our graduating year 12 students. My challenge to them is below)

Congratulations to our year 12 Graduates. This is, officially, the final day of your schooling journey. You have come to the end. Well done.

You are leaving behind the classroom, uniform, school diaries, classes you didn’t choose, assignment deadlines and the little lecture desks in D-Block.

I…

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#Ambition #Goals #Graduation #Learning #Work

Wisdom is Growth

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:9

If you are wise, then you will look to be instructed by other people. That is the Bible’s basic mode of growth, both in knowledge and maturity.

This requires an attitude of humility on your part. In order to grow, you have to believe that your teachers (whether in,…

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#Community #Growth #Self Control #Wisdom #Work

The Wisdom of Listening

To answer before listening – that is folly and shame. (Proverbs 18:13)

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and you cant finish your sentence because they are already saying what they think before you’ve finished? Or maybe you are honest enough to realise that sometimes you do this?

This proverb warns that we need to learn to bite our tongues and listen to other people. When we…

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#Friendship #Growth #Humility #Listening

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