By: Payton Arnett
Last week here at Auburn Adventist Academy we had our first week of prayer, and we were blessed to have our chaplain Pastor Eddy Darisme speak every day Monday through Sabbath! Many of our past week of prayers here at Auburn centered around identity, after all that is probably the most pressing issue facing high schoolers today. In my four years at Auburn however, I have never seen an identity series like this one.
Something Pastor Eddy focused on quite a lot was “being enough”. As people we often feel that we are undeserving of love or that our past has tainted us. The thing is, by ourselves, we aren't enough. The entire Gospel in a nutshell is that we aren't enough, but we don’t have to be because HE is! Pastor Eddy’s talks last week are a great reminder that we are enough because and only because HE is enough! What CHRIST did on that cross was making it so that we don’t have to be perfect to be enough.
We are made worthy of love through the cross, we are enough because of the cross! As Christians let us never buy into the lie that we are not enough or not worthy. Like the song Beautiful by MercyMe says “For all the lies you've held inside so long And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross.”
One of the standouts of this past week were the demonstrations. Pastor Eddy came up with some great visuals to add to his point. He even went as far as to clip ropes to his back and have students pull on them to show the weight and pressures we often feel. The best part of that illustration was when Kelsy came through representing CHRIST using big scissors to cut all the ropes pulling him down. HE is, after all, a chain breaker.
Pastor Eddy showed us last week what it feels like to be “not enough” and then he used some great demonstrations to show us how, through CHRIST, we are enough, and we are worthy of love.
Another thing that really made Week of Prayer great this year was actually the theme song, Casting Crowns’ song Who I Am. A particular set of lyrics stood out to me and was a perfect summary of the theme of the week. “Not because of who I am, But because of what YOU’VE done, Not because of what I’ve done, But because of who YOU are.” Ending each day of week of prayer with that song was perfect and really made many students feel closer to The LORD.
With the powerful message, great demonstrations and perfect music Pastor Eddy and the Campus Ministries crew was able to allow GOD to use them in an amazing way this week of prayer
This article is just a quick summary, there is so much more that happened during the week, with the neon colored prayer request boards, the paintings by Rylee and Christian, the music by each of our classes and ASB, to the panel at vespers on Friday night where a number of students and staff discussed some serious issues when it comes to identity, Last week’s Week of Prayer is a great reminder that GOD is definitely working here at Auburn!
Pastor Eddy’s Summary of the week:
(Monday)
Staying tethered to God's descriptions of us is what frees us to truly just be ourselves.
(Tuesday)
The comparison game will kill your joy, it will steal your peace, and it will suffocate your sanity.
(Wednesday)
A cluttered schedule leads to a cluttered identity.
(Thursday)
Most of what you are dealing with didn't start with you. The things we learn in our family systems bleed into our relationships, friendships, and they make it hard to believe that we are enough.
(Friday)
A dysfunctional family cannot stop God from functioning. God is ready to release you from the family ties that are holding you back from stepping into your purpose and identity.
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