Women’s Ministries Sunday

Leader Recognition and Food Event

Theme: Confident Faith

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Captain Harryette O’Brien

 

Scripture: Hebrews 11:23, Exodus 2:1-10

Menu

Tacos! Look into hiring a Taco Food truck, or local pop-up taco vendor. Ask your Advisory Board, Corps Council, and Chamber of Commerce for any recommendations. If this is not an option for you then put in a catering order at your local/favorite taco shop.

Decoration and Centerpiece Ideas

Place large cloth napkins unfolded in 2-3 shades of blue on the center of the table to represent water. Fill a tall vase with a bouquet of flowers from the grocery store. Make sure the flowers are not obstructing anyone’s view of one another from across the table. If so, get a small wooden decorative box and place the vase on top of the box and the box at the center of the napkins. Using the same 2-3 blue color scheme for the centerpiece alternate napkins for the attendees around the table. Use clear cutlery, plates, and cups.

Around the bottom of the podium, or on a small table next to the podium, place a large woven basket to represent the basket Jochebed and Miriam placed Moses in. If you have extra flowers cut the flower from the stem and place them eclectically around the front of the basket facing the crowd.

Welcome/Opening Prayer

Poem: Till Now by Carol A. Andrews

https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/user/carol-a-andrews/

Meal

Dismiss the tables one at a time to go to the taco buffet line. To make things equal, have a representative pick a number between 1-100, the closest to whatever number you picked goes first. Dismiss the second closest, and so on until all the tables have been dismissed.

Leader and Volunteer Recognition

I want to take this time to formally thank you for all you have done and will continue to do at the Corps. Our ministry to women is so vital. You play a very important part in keeping that ministry moving. Thank you for the phone calls you have made, centerpieces you have assembled, tables you have set-up and cleared, events you have helped to plan, letters you have written, prayers you have prayed, visits you have made, tears you have cried, and love that you have shared. We are all a part of the body of Christ, and it is crucial that we all do our jobs. Because of your support and encouragement women in this community have come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ! As I call your name, please stand so we can show our appreciation (call names and start the round of applause).

Testimony

Ask a woman who is part of your ministry group to share a testimony of how faith has played an important role in her life.

Activity

Remaining Confident posters.

Give each woman a piece of white copy paper, or poster board (depending on how much space you have available). Have different colored markers available on the tables (at least one per women). Have the women write their names in the middle of the paper. Put on some Christian music and instruct the women to walk around the room and write a note of encouragement on the posters of the other women. These can be memories, Bible verses, quotes, anything that points to encouragement to keep the faith in hard times. After the women have commented on most of the posters tell the ladies to go back to their seats and read what others have said to them. Encourage the women to keep the papers and put them up in their homes or offices.

Motherhood

I first became a mother in 2010. It was something that I wanted for so long, to have it happen was overwhelming. After the hype at the hospital, the visits from friends, calls, and texts from loved ones, and help from the doctors and nurses it was time to go home. However, going home, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I checked the mounds of paperwork that the hospital provided for me to take home, but there was not one single “How to Parent Your Child” manual at all. I was at a loss. I kind of knew how to change a diaper, I had the fundamentals of breastfeeding, and I figured bathing a baby was similar to washing a dog (the only previous experience I had) but I wasn’t as confident as I thought a new mom should be. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. It wasn’t until I had been home with my baby for a few days that we were able to create a rhythm and figure life out. My instincts kicked in, and I cared for my baby the very best way I knew how.

In Exodus chapter 2 we are introduced to Moses’ mom, Jochebed (we find out her name in Exodus 6:20; also, Numbers 26:59). We don’t know too much about her, but what we do know is foundational. “But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.” Exodus 2:3

Some background to this verse…The King of Egypt was getting stressed out about all of the Hebrews that were populating “his” region. He soon grew paranoid that they were overtake the Egyptians in number and power. This paranoia led to a decree that all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed. Jochebed hid Moses for as long as she could. When the time came, she took him, put him in a basket and placed him in the Nile River. Moses’s sister, Miriam stood guard and watched. She later helped to keep him safe in the protection of the Pharaoh’s daughter. Once Moses is found, Miriam inserts herself into the situation and offers to get a Hebrew woman to help nurse Moses – she then gets her mother.

As a mom, this story causes me to stress out, and I rejoice in a happy ending. In the end, Moses was saved and Jochebed was able to stay a part of his life. Who would have thought … only God.

Have you ever been in a situation where the odds were stacked against you? You may have thought that there was no way out? Maybe you even thought, “Where is the manual for how to succeed in this?” I am sure that is what Jochebed was thinking as well. However, she kept the faith. She knew that her son would be protected. For that protection to take place, she knew the best thing for her baby was to let him go and to trust. The minute she let him go, God orchestrated the situation to allow Moses to find his way back to his mom.

When times are tough, I encourage you to hold onto the faith. Hold onto those instincts that direct you where to go. Hold on. There is no manual, but that is okay. Our “manual” is prayer. It is the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit in us. Trust as the Lord leads.

Prayer Groups: In table groups encourage the woman to share about a time when they had to trust God and keep going. After every woman has shared, have them pray for one another.

Craft: Basket weaving. Go online and purchase some basket making kits (or supplies and directions from Pinterest). Have the ladies spend some time making their own basket to take home and remind them to remain faithful and brave.

Closing Prayer: Have someone close in prayer.