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 2018 Christ s Birthday Observance By: Shelly Short A CHRISTMAS TEA CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF CHRIST Christ Birthday Festival Theme: Great Joy for All Scripture: Luke 2:10: But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Prepare: This year s Christ Birthday Observance celebrates with great joy, the birth of Jesus with a ladies tea entitled Christ s Birthday Festival. The celebration will include a time of fellowship with tea and homemade or purchased desserts. Feel free to make this event casual or formal, fun, and informative. As you prepare for your ladies tea, make a list of festive desserts. I suggest gathering at your church, community center, or home. Create an inviting celebratory environment where all women will feel welcome and special. If you plan a large gathering, assign a hostess for each table and have each host decorate her table. Each person invited could bring a teacup and 2

3 saucer. For a larger event, have each hostess bring teacups, saucers, and plate settings (if desired) to her table. Each hostess should invite a friend to assist with the table set up. I recommend an Internet or Pinterest search for Advent tea table décor to assist you in finding festive Advent design ideas. This event provides an excellent opportunity for your group to reach out to ladies who may benefit from your companionship. Consider inviting those who do not attend a church and welcome them into this festive gathering. This is an excellent time to act upon Christian Women Connection s vision, mission, and core values. Vision A place for every woman where every woman takes her place. Mission Encourage women to form relationships with God and each other; equipping through discipleship; empowering to serve and share the gospel. Core Values Peace building; reconciliation; Christocentric; leadership development; relationship building; service focus; alignment with Church of God; Bible-based. Immerse: As you welcome the ladies to the tea, play instrumental Christmas music in the background. To get started, have the hostess at each table engage in some of the following icebreakers to jump-start the celebration. Print these ahead of time on colorful paper and place at each table setting along with your program for the event. 3

4 Christmas Icebreaker Questions 1. Do you have a favorite Christmas memory? 2. Tell us about a particular Christmas family tradition. 3. Do you have a favorite Christmas song or carol? 4. What is one present you gave to another person that had special meaning to both you and the person receiving the gift? 5. Thinking of the birth of Jesus and what a special gift this was to all of us, tell us about your own spiritual birthday. Do you remember the date, the place? Did you pray with someone? 6. Tell your testimony around the table(s). Invite each table to partake in different kinds of teas and desserts. Large gatherings should consider numbering the tables and inviting a few tables at a time to partake of the festive desserts and teas. As the women settle in with their plates of scrumptious treats and teas, consider having the coordinator share the following story of Christ s Birthday Observance beginnings. In 1949 the Church of God s Women Society, now known as Christian Women Connection, began to pray, think, and plan ways to emphasize the real meaning of Christmas, and so started Christ s Birthday Observance. There was much commercialism surrounding Christmas in 1949, and there is even more today. Christ Birthday Observance provides resources, prayer calendars, and devotions for Advent, the liturgical season leading up to Christmas. Consider having Christ s Birthday Observance material readily available for the ladies who participate. These can be purchased ahead of time online at 4

5 The following may be appropriate for a Bible study for a small gathering or in a message by your speaker. Your speaker should feel free to create the message around his or her own thoughts but should stay focused on Advent and the great joy of Christ s birth, Luke 2:10, or related verses. Advent is a time for adoring Jesus, waiting, watching, and having hopeful expectations. We remember the first coming of Jesus, we celebrate his presence, and we pray for his glorious return. One of the ways Christian Women Connection helps you to keep Jesus at the center of the Christmas season is by offering a meditation journal and prayer guide. Dive into his living word each day and come away with something to feed your joy. We live in tumultuous times filled with uncertainties. As we celebrate Christ s birthday, remember that He is our source of Living Water and can quench all our concerns. As I ponder Advent, I think of Anna, a prophetess from the Bible in Luke 2: Her name means favor or grace and originates from the Hebrew chanan, meaning to bend or stoop in kindness, to find favor and show favor. When Anna encounters the infant Jesus in the temple, we see that her life is indeed overflowing with favor and grace at the fulfillment of much prayer, prophecy, and the first advent of Christ s birth. I am sure after Anna saw Jesus she felt great joy. All the waiting, watching, and having hopeful expectations for so many years had finally been fulfilled for her aged eyes to see. Anna had only been married for seven years when she became a widow, and she remained as such for the rest of her life. From what little we know about Anna, it is believed by scholars that she was eighty-four years old when she met Jesus. However, it is also possible to translate the text to mean Anna had lived eighty-four years after her husband died. Women in Anna s era married at the age of twelve to thirteen. If Anna married at the age of thirteen, she would have been at least 104 years old. We can see that Anna spent the vast majority of her life without a husband and spent 5

6 her time ministering before the Lord in the temple. Anna dedicated herself wholly to the Lord after becoming a widow. She spent her days at the temple in Jerusalem worshipping, fasting, and praying. It is possible that she would have been given living quarters at the temple because of her designation as a prophetess, or perhaps she lived nearby. What stands out is that she faithfully devoted most of her life, and her commitment is rewarded with an encounter. Mary and Joseph journeyed to the temple with the baby Jesus to comply with the Old Testament law. They needed to make the purification offering and to present Jesus as their firstborn before God. While there, a man named Simeon holds the Lord Jesus in his arms, praises God, and pronounces a prophecy regarding Jesus and Mary. At this instant, Anna enters the temple and immediately recognizes Jesus as the long-awaited Savior and begins thanking God. Anna, the prophetess, is one of the first few to bring honor to baby Jesus born in a stable. Anna shares the good news with everyone. I imagine Anna taking the baby Jesus in her arms, cradling him, and telling all the people of God s faithfulness. What great joy for all the people who are receiving the good news of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Savior. Anna s anointed ministry during her later years of life holds a promise for older and younger women. There is always ministry in store for the sensitive, obedient, and pure; a ministry that can influence and shape the upcoming generations. Share the good news of Christ s birth and spread the joy to all the people. 6

7 Reflection: Your Bible study facilitator or speaker can now lead a time of discussion or reflection. 1. Do you have personal examples of God s favor in your own lives? 2. Have you waited a long time with expectant hope for a prayer to be answered? If so, does Anna s testimony encourage your faith? 3. How could we incorporate the story of Christ s birth and the advent season during our family gatherings for the month of December? 4. Consider reading Luke 2:1-20 from your Bible or a children s Bible to your family and friends during your holiday gatherings. The best gift of all is the birth, life, and death of Jesus on the cross for the atonement of our sins. Think of ways you can invite new people into your church and Christian Women Connection groups to share the love of Christ. Engage: Mission Project: Consider having a spokesperson from a local mission that your church or group may already support or one that you have a desire to assist. The spokesperson from the mission based ministry can present a brief presentation (ten minutes) at the end or beginning of your time together. Ask the ladies to bring items to the tea that will aid the selected mission project. Or select a separate date and time to serve at a mission-based ministry of your choice by volunteering your time. Have a signup sheet available at your event for ladies to participate and serve together in your community. Smaller Gatherings: Participate in Secret Angels, which is much like Secret Sisters or Secret Santa for a gift exchange. As you invite ladies to join you for Christ s Birthday Festival, ask them to bring a small gift costing no 7

8 more than $5 (you can set the amount) or bring something they have crafted or an item they already have to give away at the gathering. Larger Gatherings: A silent auction with gift baskets may add fun and interest to the celebration. Ask volunteers several weeks before your event to assemble gift baskets for the festival. Area businesses may desire to contribute items or gift certificates to this project. The proceeds can benefit the mission project. You may also, want to include an offering designated for Christ Birthday Observance. Conclusion: End with prayer and a Christmas hymn or worship song. Invite a worship leader or search the Internet for contemporary or traditional classic Advent and Christmas songs, carols, and hymns. Please feel free to incorporate any creative ideas you may have into this celebration. Resources: Speaker/Bible Study Content: Kingdom Dynamics Spirit Filled Bible. 8

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10 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.

11 NOTES RE:CONNECT WITH LIVING WATER 11

12 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?

13 P.O. Box 2328 Anderson, IN (toll free) (local) (fax) 13