The second day of the VBS held on Tuesday, 28th March ended on a high note, with another blessed opportunity for our children to experience the love of God.
Following the opening prayer by Mrs. Shantha Simon, as usual the evening started with the singing session, with the kids learning some new songs viz. Super wonderful God and Yeshu enne kandu. The VBS students were dressed up as various Bible characters, the Gems of the Bible (Moses, Mother Mary, David, Queen Eshther, et al.) which was the highlight of the day.
The Bishop of the CSI Madhya Kerala Diocese, Rt. Rev. Dr. Malayil Sabu Koshy Cherian and Dr. Jessy Sara Koshy Kochamma attended the former part of the VBS session. In his address to the gathering, the Bishop congratulated the organisors of the VBS for the excellent arrangements done. He also briefly spoke about our various mission fields, the Mysore Mission and Rev. Bijin John Varghese (Missionary in charge, Mysore Mission) in particular. In his message, the Bishop mentioned that, we as precious gems of God, are expected to shine like stars wherever we are placed. Taking cue from the singing team, the Bishop referred to the lines of the song "God So Loved" ("Bring all your failures, bring your addictions, come lay them down at the foot of the cross...") and mentioned that Jesus can help us to be a perfect shining star, if we surrender our sins and burdens to Him.
The common sessions focused on the day's theme "Diamond: Life in Christ" led by the VBS Director, Rev. Bijin John Varghese. Speaking on the theme, Achen narrated the story of Joseph - the prince of Egypt, (Gen. 37) who was found to be trustworthy in God's presence, was ultimately honoured and made to oversee all Egypt by the Pharaoh. In this world, we have lot of opportunities to do sins, but like Joseph, we should be bold to say "No" to sin. Our identity is that we are the children of God throughout our life. However, in our secret lives, we tend to forget our identity as the child of God. If we have God's presence 24 x 7 we have God's power with us. We do not have value, without trustworthiness in Christ. To underscore his point, Achen used the analogy of the "Pizza in the box". Without the Pizza, the box has no value, similarly without Jesus inside us, we don't have any value on our own.
Further, the students learned the verse of the day Romans 8:18 ("I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.") It was a fun filled evening with kids also participating in games and activities during the common session.
The second day of the VBS ended with closing prayer by Mrs. Sheila John.
VBS 2023 - Day 2 Photo Gallery : www.csidubai.com/gallery/43/vbs-2023
Day 2 highlights video link : Facebook Link