Women s Ministry Sunday

Come and Get It! Women s Ministry Sunday Holiness Meeting Message Introduction: Come and Get It! Image Bonanza, Hop Sing, calling the Cartwright boys to meals. The familiar call, come and get it has echoed through neighborhoods since the beginning of time. It s time to eat and dinner is being served. We see it in the story of the people of Israel receiving manna each day. It is evident in Elijah s story, as the angel fed him. In the life of Jesus, we see emphasis placed upon breaking bread, upon hunger and thirst and being satisfied. As we look at Jesus actions, we can see that He could very well have uttered the words, come and get it! I. Come A. Recognition of hunger 1. Being in touch with longings 2. Psalms 42 B. Invitation to eat 1. Woman at the well John 4:10: If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water. 2. Feeding of 5,000 John 6:1 13: Tell everyone to sit down... 3. The Last Supper Luke 22:14 4. Road to Emmaus Luke 24:30,31 5. Peter, after the resurrection John 21:12: Now come and have some breakfast. 6. The marriage feast of the Lamb Revelation 22:17 has a long spoon strapped to their hand. They are able to reach the food on the table, but the spoon is too long for them to reach their mouth with it. Therefore, they sit starving at the banquet table. In contrast, heaven is the same picture, but with one difference; each person is willing to extend their spoonful of food to feed another person so that no one goes hungry. Holiness Meeting Outline Prepared by Major JoAnn A. Shade Call to Worship As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Ps. 42:1, 2a). Praise and Worship Thy Word, Meadowgreen Music, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant, As the Deer, Maranatha Music, Martin Nystrom Prayer and the Lord s Prayer Song 578/411, Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah Presentation of Offerings III. It (Bread) A. Recognition of what is being offered John 6:22 40, I am the Bread of Life. B. Partaking 1. Bread of heaven 2. Living water 3. Lord s supper symbolic meal shared 4. Spiritual disciplines prayer, scripture, fellowship, service. C. Being satisfied 1. Dilemma we re not home yet, but we are on the way. 2. Yearning for heaven but feeling content here. 3. Philippians 3:17 21, 4:11 12 Conclusion Christ extends to each of us the Bread of Life, the table is spread before us. Come and Get It! Closing Prayer Chorus: Fill My Cup, YPSB 141. II. Get (Receive) A. Recognition of inability to satisfy self we try to fill up the longings of our soul with all kinds of things: 1. Distractions 2. Idolatry 3. Busyness 4. Addictions substance abuse, workaholism, food abuse. B. Movement toward the table 1. Extending hands 2. The importance of community. The story is told of the difference between heaven and hell. Hell is described as a bountiful banquet table, with many people sitting at the table. Each person Children s Five Special Music Options Band Selection, Bread of Heaven (Roswell) Let Us Break Bread Together, Ensemble Series 1997 Vocal, The Lord s Prayer Responsive Scripture Reading John 6:25 38 Message Come and Get It! Song, Feed Me With the Bread of Heaven (Shade) (Music on page 55) 51

Lord Let Me Dream Lord, let me dream of higher ground, Challenge my thinking, show me Thy way, Let not contentment keep me bound, Or fear defeat me, Lord I pray. Give me new vision for the lost, Suffering, broken, hungry, afraid, I am Thy servant at any cost, Renew my life, begin today. Then, as an eagle, let me soar, From earthly care, to heaven s heights, Feast at the table, bow and adore, O lift the veil, I would see Christ. By JoAnn Shade Bread by JoAnn Shade elements wheat and chaff sifted, separated, grain to be ground, grist for the mill, a widow s jar, oil enough for the day, Zarephath s perpetual sign of provision, kingdom of heaven yeast, infinite, absence keen in passover s unleavened loaf. bread desert manna, as morning dew, frosting arid ground, wonder bread of miracle life, white as snow, melt in the mouth wafer, Eucharistic gift, crusty sourdough, fragment torn from the whole, taste to savor, memory to embrace body dry bones of death valley, breathed into life, sinews cross strained to the breaking, flesh ripped, fractured and devoured, blood spilt, flooding over redeemed covenant, heart of God exposed, naked in agape yearning "The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life... John 6:54 The Message Children s Five Do you think you can guess what is in my brown bag today? You guessed it bread. I brought a loaf of my favorite kind of bread, Wonder Bread! It reminds me of the way Jesus taught us to pray, when he said, Give us this day our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). It was a simple way to remind us that we can ask God for what we need for each day. Sometimes we get confused between what we need and what we want. We need food each day. We may want pizza at every meal, but we don t need pizza. We need shoes to wear. We may want the most expensive Nike sneakers, but we don t need them. It is a good thing to think and talk about what we really need, so that we don t become selfish or greedy. God knows what His children need. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread our daily needs and to trust God to provide them. I hope that you will be reminded when you see a loaf of bread that God will take care of us by providing what we need for each day. Sometimes He even surprises us and gives us what we want! The Bread of Life Responsive Reading Leader: Jesus answered, you ve come looking for Me not because you saw God in My actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs and for free. People: But Jesus, we are hungry! Leader: Don t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what He does are guaranteed by God the Father to last. People: Well, what do we do then to get in on God s works? Leader: Jesus said, Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of commitment gets you in on God s works. People: They waffled: Why don t you give us a clue about who You are, just a hint of what s going on? When we see what s up, we ll commit ourselves. Show us what You can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures; He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Leader: Jesus responded, The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that My Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world. People: Master, give us this bread, now and forever! Leader: Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with Me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen Me in action, you don t really believe Me. Every person the Father gives Me eventually comes running to Me. And once that person is with Me, I hold on and don t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow My own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent Me. (The Message John 6:26 38) 52

Bread Fresh from the Oven The smell of baking bread is one that is absolutely wonderful. When we smell it, we want to grab the jar of strawberry jam and dig in! In the same way, the fragrance of precious Christian fellowship, especially among women, is something to be cherished and enjoyed. As you know, before the days of bread machines, the smell of baking bread did not come to be without quite a bit of work. The ingredients had to be gathered, mixed and prepared before it was ready to be baked. In the same way, Christian fellowship among women takes work. I d like to use the image of baking bread to consider the role of the leader in bringing women together. Selecting ingredients When baking bread, it is important to gather together the ingredients that are needed. Flour, yeast, milk, sugar and salt are the ingredients my cookbook lists for basic white bread. Without any one of those items, the bread making would be a failure. In the same way, when we plan programs or gatherings for women of faith, we first need to gather the necessary ingredients. 1. people who will benefit from this, who will contribute to the program. 2. ideas be aware of we ve always done it this way. 3. materials adequate resources, a pleasant meeting area and items needed for the program. 4. prayer pray regularly for the women involved and for the activities planned. Mixing It is necessary to mix together the ingredients that have been gathered and in the right order. This also applies to programs for women. People need to be mixed with ideas that are of interest to them. What may interest women in their 60s and 70s may not interest women in their 20s. Good leaders need to be on time, be prepared and have the necessary items for the program. Good leaders help people to mix in a group. They are masters at inclusion and look for the one or two who may always sit alone or may not know anyone. Perhaps a good way to consider that is to think, How would I feel if I were walking into this room for the first time and did not know anyone? Rising Perhaps the hardest part of making bread is in giving it adequate time to rise (rest) so that the yeast can do its vital job. So too with women s programming there will be times of waiting. This may mean: waiting for the woman to come out of the door when you pick her up. waiting for a program to catch on. waiting for the Lord s direction to be clear. Kneading Kneading the dough will take effort. Of course, with the modern bread machine, the fun is taken out of it. But kneading the dough is another essential part of making bread. In giving leadership to women s ministry, there are times when some kneading is necessary. This can be seen as: Helping women to face conflicts in a biblical way. Massaging the program to better fit the needs of those involved. Baking Applying heat is what changes the dough to bread. In comparison, heat could be considered to be a number of things in women s ministry: Continued prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that sometimes heat Leader s Recognition Program Welcome Corps Officer or Women s Ministry Leader Luncheon Recognition of Leaders (Present leaders with small loaves of bread, colorfully wrapped) Mime or Sacred Dance Presentation How Beautiful from the album, Twila Paris, by Twila Paris Bread Fresh from the Oven needs to be gently applied to help people to change. The actual interaction between people is the real key to ministry. Eating Bread sitting in the breadbox is absolutely no good! Bread fresh from the oven, spread with homemade jelly or jam, applesauce, peanut butter, or just plain placed in the mouth and enjoyed is at its best. The proof is in the pudding. With bread, the proof is in the eating. In the same way with women s ministry, the proof is in the doing, in being together, learning, worshiping, serving, laughing, crying and studying the Word. The activity is judged by whether there is flavor, sustenance, and joy! The effective women s ministry leader will look for those signs, and if they are not present, will return to the selecting of ingredients, mixing, rising, kneading, and baking, so that ultimately, women will know that when they have been together, they have been fed with bread hot and fresh from the oven. 53

Sunday Evening Service Sleeping With Bread During World War II, orphan children would sleep with a crust of bread in their hands to reassure themselves that they would eat tomorrow as they did today. The concept of sleeping with bread involves taking time at the end of each day to reflect upon what we were most grateful for that day and what we were least grateful for. In his book, Sleeping with Bread, Dennis Linn tells the story of inviting guests for a meal soon after he had moved into the housing project on the Rosebud Sioux Indian reservation. He boiled soup bones and then added a cup of rice. Since in his words, it seemed to disappear, he decided to add the entire box of rice. That didn t seem to be enough, so he borrowed two additional boxes of rice from his neighbors and added them to the soup. He left the pot simmering on the stove and went on to the school where he was teaching. When he returned home with the eight students he had invited, he was met at the door by the rice. Some of the students stayed to help shovel the rice, while the rest went to invite others to come and help eat it. It was this night that Dennis began the spiritual practice that he and his brother and sister have entitled, sleeping with bread. He set aside the format he had planned for a time of worship and instead shared the experience of the rice. He had not felt grateful for the mess but was deeply grateful for the people who came to share it. I. Daily reflection A. What brought me the most pleasure today? When did I feel most alive today? 1. Colossians 1:3, Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgiving. (The Message) 2. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, give thanks... 3. Song #396 Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done; Count your blessings, name them one by one; And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. 4. The importance of naming what brings gratitude. 5. Henri Nouwen wrote, Gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. B. What brought me the least gratitude today? When did I most feel life draining out of me? 1. Where did I experience frustration? Where did I respond sinfully? 2. Psalm 139, O Lord, you have searched me... II. What can I learn about myself by this daily reflection? A. Do I tend to look at the positive or negative? B. What do I need to concentrate on? What do I need to avoid? C. How can I develop an attitude of gratitude? III. How can I give what bread I have away? The story is told of a wise woman who was traveling in the mountains. She found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler Sunday Evening Meeting Outline Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again Ecclesiastes 11:1 Music for Praise and Worship Let Us Break Bread Together on our Knees Afro American Spiritual, Lillenas Publishing Give Thanks Integrity s Hosanna!, Music, Henry Smith We Are One in the Bond of Love Lillenas Publishing, Otis Skillings (All found in Sing to the Lord Hymnal, Lillenas Publishing) Prayer Weekly Announcements and Offerings Song 409, Am I What I Ought to Be? Scripture Reading Acts 2:42 47 Sleeping with Bread A Time of Witness Sharing of Bread Song 512, My Life Must be Christ s Broken Bread who was hungry and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. I ve been thinking, he said. I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone. As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. I tell you the truth, He said, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on Luke 21:1 4. 54

Feed Me with the Bread of Heaven Copyright JoAnn Shade 2000 55