INTRO
Wherever we are, we make a difference. By you being somewhere, you’re making a difference. But that difference isn’t always a positive one. My challenge today is to make sure it is a positive difference… If you’ve seen anything like CSI on TV, you’ll know that you can leave your mark where you’ve been – it may be a fingerprint, a footprint, DNA and a scent.
When I worked as a temp at the medical records at the hospital, female staff not working on the wards would sometimes come in wearing strong perfume. You could actually follow where they’d been (after they’d left!) simply by sniffing the air and following their trail of perfume.
You have an impact on this school, your family and your community.
Optional CSI Clip – 01:45 mins in length
In the CSI clip, they are tracing a man in a Casino to find a killer. (Accessed January 2019)
SAY
As a Christian, I believe God has changed my life and called me to do good, and be what the Bible calls a ‘sweet smelling fragrance’ – a trail that people can see and follow and know that it leads to God. This explains all that I do and am. It’s not wussy and it’s not cheesy, it’s led me into some crazy places to meet some amazing people in interesting places..
“Jesus uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God…”
2 Corinthians 3.14-15, The Bible
CORN FACTS
The Bible talks about our lives being like a seed – seed is planted, then there is a time and then there is a harvest, when the seed has grown.
• An ear of corn averages 800 kernels in 16 rows.
• From a seed a single stalk arises that will reach from 2-20 feet
• A bushel of corn contains about 27,000 kernels.
• A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels.
• 100 bushels of corn produces approximately 7,280,000 kernels.
• Each year, a single U.S. farmer provides food and fiber for 129 people – 97 in the U.S. and 32 overseas.
• Your bacon and egg breakfast, glass of milk at lunch, or hamburger for supper were all produced with corn.
• Corn is a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, snack foods and soft drinks. In fact it’s used in more than 3000 grocery products.
• U.S. researchers have led the way in finding many uses for corn – like in vitamins and amino acids.
SAY
So there’s this tiny little corn seed which gets planted into the ground… From just one seed, there comes all this amazing stuff. That little seed can have no idea that when it grows into a corn plant, it will produce so much corn that will be used in so many areas across the world.
In the same way, every little thing you do is like a seed. You don’t know quite what impact what you say and do will have, so make sure that what you say and do is positive and builds people up. Then the ‘seed’ of your life will make a huge difference. You may not think about it now, but as you get older you will want your life to count. Doing good, making a difference, loving others is the way to do this.
PATRICK HENRY HUGHES VIDEO CLIP – 6mins58
This is a moving and inspiring story of Patrick Henry Hughes (accessed January 2019)
END
The clip and these stories let us know that no matter who we are, what we’re like and no matter how small the difference we think we’re making, it can be huge. Whether you just smile at someone, take time out to talk, don’t stab people in the back with your words or whether you do something huge, it all makes a difference and changes things around you for the better. As a Christian, I believe this is the kind of life that God wants.