By Sammy Mull and Taylor Mills, Shield Editors
NRCA hosted its annual Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) from Sept. 23-25. The band, led by Matt Buckland, opened up SEW on Monday by playing a multitude of songs, and students energetically joined in worship. After the music ended and the students got back to their seats after rushing down to the stage to worship Jesus, Josh Leonard, Dean of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship, announced the first of NRCA’s guest speakers for the week.
During Monday’s chapel service, pastor and speaker Chris Dew led the students through four main views people have of Jesus:
Is God important but irrelevant to my life?
Is God a liar, lunatic, or Lord?
Is Jesus just merely a means to a political end?
Is He the one we are all looking for?
Student Leadership Academy member Finley Mull said that her favorite part of SEW was worship. She appreciates that it’s a different type of worship than the rest of the year.
Mull noted that the services create an opportunity for students to experience transformation through the gospel message. “I think it’s really important for people who are on the edge or give excuses not to come to give it a chance. I watched someone I know choose to change their life and be bold in front of a lot of people, so if you go and have been holding back, just commit to Jesus, have confidence, and you won’t regret it,” she said.
Alongside the school day services led by Dew, NRCA opened the doors for all students, staff, and parents to attend an evening event on Monday and Tuesday nights, starting at 7:00, to hear pastor and speaker Shaq Hardy.
Hardy traveled from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to speak at this year’s Spiritual Emphasis. “Shaq Hardy was an incredible Spiritual Emphasis speaker with an undeniable godly presence. His messages were impactful and genuine, and I am thankful that God placed him here to speak this week,” senior Sunshine Cawthorne said.
The purpose behind SEW is to guide students toward giving their lives to Christ and continuing to pursue that relationship. Mercer Gill said, “A moment from Spiritual Emphasis that stood out to me was Shaq’s metaphor that we get to wake up every morning and say ‘yes’ to God. This stood out to me because it shows that we have the option every day to choose to follow God. This daily choice is the most important one of our lives and will dictate what our future looks like.”
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