F a c e to F a c e. with. Women Who Served. Her Story

Transcription

1 F a c e to F a c e with Women Who Served First Day Her Story But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord. We are transformed in ever-increasing splendor into His own image, and this is the work of the Lord who is the Spirit. (II Corinthians 3:18 PHILLIPS) This week we will be looking at the stories of six different women whose lives were unique and yet who had one thing in common they loved and served their Savior. Service is the heart s response of gratitude and love. As we look at these women, we will see that service is not one-dimensional nor is it necessarily easily defined. It comes in many shapes and sizes just like we do! We will begin today by looking at what Scripture tells us about these women. This is their story. Following the name of each woman listed, read the verses given and, in a few sentences, summarize the events described there: Anna Luke 2:36-38 Dorcas Acts 9:36-42 Lois and Eunice Acts 16:1-2; II Timothy 1:5; 3:

2 Lydia Acts 16:9-15, 40 Priscilla Acts 18:1-3, 18, Romans 16:3-5 Choose one of the women whose stories you have just read and answer the following: What was her trial? What was her blessing? What did she learn? Second Day Her Manner Who is She? Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to selfcontrol perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (II Peter 1:5-7) Today we will be looking at the character of each of the women we are studying this week. Reread each woman s Scripture passage and use the following words to describe her: 2

3 Anna s name means favor or grace. o Her strength o Her weakness Dorcas name means gazelle. o Her strength o Her weakness Lois name means agreeable or desirable; Eunice s name means conquering well. o Their strengths o Their weaknesses Lydia s name means bending. o Her strength o Her weakness Priscilla s name means worthy or venerable. o Her strength o Her weakness Which of today s characters do you most admire and why? o Do you have any similarities to this woman? o What might you need to do to be more like her? 3

4 Third Day Her Hope And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:45 NAS) Today we re going to consider just one of our godly women in regard to her hope. We will be looking at Anna. Anna s story comes to us in the midst of the story of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus When the time came for Jesus to be presented to the Lord in Jerusalem, there were two significant people present in the temple that day: The first was Simeon, a just and devout man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel, or in other words, the Messiah. On that very day he was led by the Spirit to the temple and saw with his own eyes the answer to his longing heart, the baby Jesus, the Messiah of God. The second significant person was Anna the prophetess, the widow who never left the temple, but served God night and day with fastings and prayers. The Bible tells us that Anna came in that instant: in that same instant that Mary and Joseph were presenting Jesus to the Lord, and in that same instant that Simeon held Him in his arms and prophesied over Him. o What two things are we told Anna did when she saw the baby Jesus? Luke 2:38 In light of the darkness of that time and Anna s hope for her people, we look at Anna the individual: (You ll need to put your thinking caps on!) What was her need? What was her hope? What was God s promise? o Why do you think Anna and Simeon were included in the privileged few that got to see the baby Jesus and recognize Him as the Messiah? In the midst of the darkness of his day and his own personal suffering the righteous Job expressed his hope with these words in Job 19, For I know that my Redeemer lives. And he went on to say, Whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Memory Verse: Are you looking for Jesus? Do you expect to see Him - if not in this world, in the future resurrection? Job believed he would see His Savior. Anna and Simeon were present for His advent. We look toward His second coming. The point is we should be waiting, hoping, looking, and believing For the Scripture says, Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 10:11 NASB). This is our memory verse this week begin memorizing it today! 4

5 Fourth Day Her Gifts One of the greatest challenges facing the Christian woman in this new millennium is that of discovering and using her specific spiritual gift(s). Daily personal Bible study and prayer can help us unwrap our unique gifts of the Spirit, and so can the counsel of family and friends who see us differently than we see ourselves. Since God has sovereignly selected and assigned spiritual gifts for each of His children, it is incumbent upon every believer to discover, develop, and use her personal gifts for God s service. While this is a lifetime pursuit, the most important thing to remember is that in the eyes of the Lord it is not the particular gift He values so much as the individual s faithfulness to use that gift unselfishly for the edification of the church. In this particular lesson we have the benefit of seeing six women whose circumstances were different, but each had a unique talent, temperament, and spiritual gift; and all ministered to the Lord. Today s study will involve a look back at these women. Before turning the page, see if you can recall a little bit about each of the women you have studied this week and what they contributed in their service to the Lord. Anna What was her gift? How did she use her gift to serve the Lord? In what way did the body of Christ (the church) benefit from her gift? Dorcas What was her gift? How did she use her gift to serve the Lord? In what way did the body of Christ benefit from her gift? Lois and Eunice What was their gift? How did they use their gift to serve the Lord? 5

6 In what way did the body of Christ benefit from their gift? Lydia What was her gift? How did she use her gift to serve the Lord? In what way did the body of Christ benefit from her gift? Priscilla What was her gift? How did she use her gift to serve the Lord? In what way did the body of Christ benefit from her gift? Paul the Apostle used his second letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, as the occasion to remind Timothy of several important things: he had faith a spiritual inheritance from his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice; he had a spiritual gift he received when Paul laid hands on him; he had the God-given gift of power, love and a sound mind. Paul needed to remind Timothy of these things because it seems he had become fearful in his walk, timid in his testimony, and lax about using his spiritual gift. In essence, he had lost his effectiveness. What about you? Have you perhaps lost your effectiveness as a Christian? Paul s words are as true to you as they were to Timothy: remember the genuine faith that is in you; stir up the gift of God which is in you; God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind; and do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but share in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God. If God has reminded you of something today that will again ignite your heart and make you more effective in your walk with Him, record it here with the date. Then make it a matter of personal prayer between you and Him. Tell the Lord that you desire above all else to hear Him one day say to you: Well done good and faithful servant! 6

7 Fifth Day Her Legacy For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4) How will you be remembered? How would you like to be remembered? What will you leave behind of benefit for others? What you do and say today will leave imprints for others to view tomorrow. Taking a closer look. o Which of the serving women from your lesson this week impressed you the most? Why? o How might her example impact women in today s world? Taking a personal look. o Which of these women would you most like to have as a mentor and what would you hope to learn from her? o Which of these women would you most like to have alongside you as a friend in a crisis? Why? Passing it on. o Which of these women left you with the clearest object lesson about life that you desire to pass on to someone else? What is that lesson and how would it be helpful? 7

8 Sixth Day Your Prayer Each day this week you have examined up close face to face a woman of the Bible: her story and manner; her promise and hope; her gifts and legacy. Throughout the process, as you learned about her, you also learned about yourself. Now the focus shifts to Your Prayer. Each week during your group time you will have the opportunity to pray in agreement with the other ladies for the things you write down on this personalized page. Keep an updated account in the Praise list each week as God answers your petitions. This year let s come boldly to His throne and learn to pray the BIG PRAYER with expectancy! The only prerequisite for such boldness is being humble and real in His presence. Prayer: Prayer: Write out your prayer for each of the following I praise God for (an aspect of His marvelous character) I confess to God I thank God for I ask God for Promise: Promise: Write out this week s promise in the space provided and learn to pray this promise from Scripture. Praise: Praise: If God has answered a prayer request for you this week or fulfilled a desire of your heart, please write it out and date it as a stone of remembrance. 8

9 Notes 2001 Janis Vance and Linda Osborne, Harvest Women's Bible Fellowship, 6115 Arlington, Riverside, CA

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