Jesus replied, If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.

Transcription

1 Jesus replied, If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. JOHN 4:10 NLT

2 Spiritual Birthday By: Cassandra Escue PREPARE Objectives: 1. Experience and share the joy of celebrating one s spiritual birthday. 2. Teach others the importance of celebrating their spiritual birthdays each year and how they can give a gift back to Jesus for the gift that He gave to us on the cross. 3. Take a moment to share the plan of salvation. Materials Needed: 1.The following supplies are needed to make a spiritual birthday offering jar: A) Quart or pint size Mason jar with a slit cut in the lid to allow change to go through like a bank B) Ribbon or twine C) Glue 2

3 D) Small self-sticking foam cut outs E) Labels to put name & title on the jar F) Permanent markers 2. Tables and chairs set up for the craft station 3. Thank You cards, envelopes, and pens 4. Chairs set up in an area for the reflection and prayer time 5. Balloons and birthday party decorations 6. Christian music to play during meet and greet 7. Refreshments such as cupcakes 8. Multiple small birthday candles for each lady Two months before the event: 1. Plan a Spiritual Birthday party. 2. Secure a date and location for the event. 3. Organize a team to help with the planning, preparations, and clean up. 4. Encourage all the women and leadership to be in prayer and fasting for the event. A month before the event: 1. Invite women to attend the event. 2. Publicize the event via the church bulletin, announcement, social media, and personal interaction. Make it an outreach for friends and family that normally do not attend women s ministry gatherings, so they can be introduced to Jesus. Make this an evangelistic event. It s ok if someone doesn t have a spiritual birthday, what better way to celebrate this event than by having a salvation! 3

4 Two weeks before the event: 1. Choose someone to lead in prayer. 2. Choose a couple of women to read the John 4:3-42 passage of scripture. This can be broken down in 3 readers: Jesus, the woman at the well, and the disciples. 3. Have altar call workers available who are comfortable giving the plan of salvation. At the event: 1. Set up the craft area with all needed materials and the cards with pens. 2. Set up the refreshments. 3. Have an area set up for an altar call with prayer counselors ready. 4. Have a couple of ladies taking care of getting the cupcakes and candles ready. After the event: 1. Have clean-up crew ready. 2. Give thank you notes to all ladies that participated. IMMERSE As women arrive, have your team greet them. Have name tags for everyone. When it is time to start, invite everyone to the reflection area for the service. 4

5 LIVING WATER AND SPIRITUAL BIRTHDAY Open with Prayer. Birthdays we all have one and we celebrate it every year. The older we get the more we try to forget about our birthdays, but someone always seems to remember and spoil the secret. It is so much fun to try to plan a birthday celebration: the cake, the invitations, the food, the people, and the perfect gift. Let me ask you a question what about our spiritual birthdays? It is great to celebrate our physical birth into this world, but shouldn t we celebrate the date that we were born into the family of God? It should be a time when we reflect on what the Lord is doing in our lives, how He blesses us daily, and how the Holy Spirit is with us constantly. Today we are going to learn about a very unique spiritual party that reached an entire town. This story is found in John 4:3-42, and I am reading from the Message Bible. There is so much to learn from this encounter with Jesus. Today we are going to see 3 different types of people at this party. First there were the Party Skippers. Have you ever planned a birthday party, paying special attention to every detail? Picking the perfect theme, food, and invitations, only to have 2 of 5

6 the 15 people you invited show up? It s a great party and you know deep down that the party skippers have missed out. You continue as planned and the three of you have a wonderful party experience. In this passage of scripture, Jesus and the disciples had been traveling for some time; Jesus was tired and stopped at the well. The disciples, however, continued on to the town to get food for lunch. They missed the birthday party. They missed the chance to be present at the birthing of a new Christian. You see, they put their physical needs above THEIR spiritual needs, but even more so they put their physical needs above HER emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. Sometimes as Christians we have a tendency to do that. We get so involved with doing that we skip the fact that we are supposed to introduce others to the Living Water. We forget that not everyone has a spiritual birthday and that we should be introducing Jesus to everyone we meet. Secondly there is the Party Thrower. Back to your party, the two people that did show up are the center of attention. You want to make sure they have a good time, that an impact will be made that will leave them with the memory of the best party ever! Our party thrower here is Jesus. He met the woman and struck up a conversation by asking for a drink of water. The party escalated from there. Jesus lovingly let her know that He knew who she was, what she had done, what she was doing, and yet He invited her to the party. Jesus has two types of invitations a general invite, where he invites everyone, and a specific invite, which He gave to the woman at the well by saying, Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst (v 14). He offered her Living Water. She became the center of attention, and an impact was made, leaving her with the memory of the best party ever! Finally, there is the Birthday Girl. This woman was an outcast, ostracized by her own people. She had been immoral by having five husbands, and she was now living with a sixth man. She had been rejected by so many: husbands, the people of her town, even the disciples. However, this man, this Jewish man who went in depth about her lifestyle, lovingly brought her sin to light and accepted her with the expectation of a lifestyle change. She left the well and ran to town to tell everyone about this man saying, Come, see a man who told me every- 6

7 thing I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? (v 29). Not only was this woman changed on the inside, but there was obviously a significant change in her outward demeanor because all the people in town followed her to see Jesus and stayed for two days. Because of this woman, many became believers. Personal Invite Who are you today? Are you the skipper; quickly going through your spiritual journey, missing people accepting Christ because you are too busy working, or maybe judging an outward appearance? Are you sharing the Living Water with others? Are you the thrower? Are you being like Jesus and actively seeking those that need the Living Water? Are you looking for the fields that are white with harvest? Maybe today you realize you are the woman at the well and you need Jesus. Do you want to be the birthday girl? Would you like to accept the Living Water today and never thirst again? Now is your chance. (At this time, have an altar call and a time of prayer.) ENGAGE Take a look at the following verses and decide if the invite from Jesus is General or Specific: 1) Titus 2:11: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 2) John 12:32: And I, when lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. 3) Luke 23:43: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. 4) John 3:3: Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. 5) John 3:16: Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 6) John 8:11: Go now and leave your life of sin. Think of ways that you can be more Harvest Field minded. Here are some examples: work as a group to maybe set up a visitation schedule for new ladies to the church. Visit a shut-in at home or in a nursing home and take the opportunity to talk with them about their lost loved one. Try visiting peo- 7

8 ple you know at the hospital and as you leave drop off at the nurses station a thank you card with the Romans Road in it. There is a retractable pen that each time you click on it a different verse from Romans Road comes up. You could order the pens and make sure each lady has several to give out. These are just suggestions. Try to come up with 5 things to work on. SPIRITUAL BIRTHDAY JAR Create a jar that serves as a piggy bank. Have each person decorate it and decide how much she would like to give daily for the year. Each lady can decide whom to give her Spiritual Birthday offering to: Missions, a specific missionary, Christ Birthday offering, etc. THANK YOU CARDS Give each lady a thank you card and have her write a note to Jesus, thanking Him for the precious gift of Living Water. 8

9 REFRESHMENTS Have a cupcake for each lady. There are small numbered candles that you can purchase cheaply, or you can have each lady bring her own candle to put on her cupcake. Be sure to have a few zeros in case you have a salvation. Light them all and sing Happy Birthday. Dismiss in prayer Sites visited: Pinterest, Today s Christian Woman, Keep Believing Ministries 9

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11 Cassandra Escue Cassie was raised in a Christian home and at the age of 6 accepted Jesus as her Savior on April 2, She has followed Jesus most of her life. She is the CARE Ministry director at her home church Teays Valley Church of God in Scott Depot WV under the leadership of Dr. Melissa Pratt. She is the WV State CWC President/Coordinator. She actively travels and speaks at CWC events and churches. Cassie has been married to her husband Doug for 29 years and loves serving the Lord with him. He is known around the WV CWC s as her chauffeur and guitarist. She loves traveling with him. They have three children; DJ 28 married to Jessica, Zachary 25 and Cara 23 married to Yuri. They have three grandchildren Mallory 6, Darren 1 and James 2 months. They are truly gifts from God. Cassie s passion for others is seen through her ministries, and her love of Jesus is shown in her daily walk. Shelly Short Shelly is the Ministry Coordinator of Programming at Christian Women Connection. Shelly is an ordained minister through the Church of God. She attended Ball State University Muncie, IN and has a Bachelor of Ministry Degree from Christian Leadership University Cheektowaga, NY. Currently, Shelly is pursuing a Master of Christian Leadership. Shelly s passion is preaching, teaching, and writing. She is a Leadership Focus Coach for Church of God and enjoys building ministry leaders. In 2004 she founded Hidden Treasures Ministries and planted a church she co-pastored with her husband Clint for six years. Shelly and Clint are former chaplains for the Madison County Fire Rescue House. She and her husband, Clint, have been married for thirty-seven years, and they are proud parents of one grown son and two dogs. Melanie Thigpen Writers Melanie is the Ministry Coordinator of Communications at Christian Women Connection. An ordained minister in the Church of God, she serves on the Board of Children of Promise and serves as 2nd Vice Chair with the Department of Ministry Services for Indiana Ministries. She is creative, loves learning and teaching the Word of God. She is a writer, designer, and she has considerable expertise in women s ministry through her work with CWC, her local congregations, and national efforts. She and Michael have four beautiful daughters and one handsome grandson.

12 NOTES RE:CONNECT WITH LIVING WATER 12

13 EVALUATION: Living Water Please fill out and return to: Christian Women Connection Attn: re:connect P.O. Box 2328 Anderson, Indiana 1. Did the curriculum meet your expectation for providing opportunities to build relationships, spiritual formation, and service, both personally and in community? Why or why not? 2. What did you enjoy the most about your experience? What did you least like about your experience? 3. What kinds of ministry resources would you like to see offered by Christian Women Connection in the future? 4. What could have made this study more rewarding for you or your group? 5. Do you plan to use re:connect ministry resources again in the future? 6. Would you recommend this study to others? Why or Why not?

14 P.O. Box 2328 Anderson, IN (toll free) (local) (fax) 14