Monday, 18th March was the first day of the 2024 Vacation Bible School
The session started at 6 pm with the opening prayer, followed by the common sessions and class sessions. The children thoroughly enjoyed the singing session, including the theme song - 'Under His wings'.
The common sessions were led by Mr. Jacob Elias, separately, with the first session for seniors followed by the second session for juniors. He taught the story of Onesimus with reference to the verse John 1:12 which says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God". Onesimus, who was serving in Philemon’s house, was trusted and treated well. However, Onesimus was tempted and stole from his master's house and fled to Rome. In contradiction to the meaning of his name "profitable", Onesimus ended up worthless, after spending everything he had. Onesimus was eventually imprisoned. Paul was also in the same prison at the time, preaching the gospel. Paul too was once a sinner, but God changed his life. Our sins will be forgiven when we believe that Jesus died on the cross for us. There is no other way to forgiveness. Paul helped Onesimus learn of Jesus and become a child of God. When Onesimus was let free from prison, he didn’t have any place to go. Paul understood that Onesimus was afraid to go back to Philemon. Intervening to help, Paul wrote a letter to Philemon mentioning four things (Philemon 1:8-21) - The first message in the letter was that Onesimus received Christ. Secondly, he hadn't lived up to his name (which meant “profitable or useful”) before, but now he is profitable indeed once transformed by his faith in Jesus. Thirdly, accept Onesimus, not as a servant boy, but as a brother in Christ. Lastly, Paul asked Philemon to put whatever Onesimus owed him into Paul’s account and he would pay back Philemon. Sin separates us from God. All of us have sinned at least once, and one sin is enough to block our entry to heaven. Man is born into sinful nature, but the Lord sent his only son to deliver him from the punishment of sins. No one earns a place in heaven by their good deeds, but only by grace imparted through Jesus our lord.
The children were further taught a Powerful Practical Tip for Christian living (PPT-CL); accepting circumstances gracefully without complaining. We shouldn't complain or grumble about circumstances that we are put in, because when we do that, we are doubting God’s decisions. We should remember that grumbling about a situation will not help change it. God has a purpose for every circumstance in our life and will provide the strength to pass through it. Even the son of God didn't complain about the difficult situations, but fully submitted to God's will.
Games and activities added to the enthusiasm of the children. Later in the evening, the VBS students also attended separate classes as per their grades.
Rev. Prem Mithra (Chaplain, Holy Trinity Church) also attended the day 1 session, and joined in singing with the children which was a blessed experience.
The first day of the VBS ended with closing prayer.
VBS 2024 Day 1 Photo Gallery: https://www.csidubai.com/gallery/64/vbs-2024
VBS 2024 songs video link: https://wvbs24songsu