© By Danna Shirley
#33 - BOXES
“. . . that you, being rooted and grounded
in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to
know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:17-19)
That is quite
a feat . . . and quite a quest…to comprehend the love of Christ. The scriptures
tell us that being rooted and
grounded in love we can know the love
of Christ.
Another thing
to comprehend is not just the love of
Christ but--
. . . the width of His love
. . .the length of His love
. . .
the depth of His love
. . . the height of His love
These dimensions
describe a box! Some people and some
denominations try to put Christ in a box by laying down rules and regulations
that cannot be found in scripture . . . or they may disregard things that are
scriptural as not being true for today.
When the Word
tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then how can anything that He said or did be considered not true for
today?
As you read
and study the Word of God, let Him break out of the box of your thinking. He
wants you to be filled with all of His fullness. He has no limitations so don’t
limit Him in your life.
Props: Box
#34 - GOD GIVES
GIFTS
There are several
areas of giftedness in the human arena. If a child is athletic or musical or
vocal, we encourage practice to develop these gifts. Not only to become
proficient in them, but also for the pleasure they bring to others.
Our Heavenly Father
also encourages us to use our spiritual gifts . . .
Gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy (foretell*)
Ministry (compassionate love and service)
Teaching (instruction)
Exhortation (encouragement)
Giving (share, impart)
Leading (administration)
Mercy (compassion)
Gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Word of Wisdom (knowledge to regulate
circumstances)
Word of Knowledge (clear and exact)
Faith (truth in the Gospel)
Healing (to make whole)
Miracles (mighty power inherent in Christ)
Prophecy (foretell*)
Discernment (distinguish)
Tongues (language as a result of
supernatural intervention)
Interpretation of Tongues (translation)
Gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Tongues (language as a result of supernatural intervention)
Prophecy (foretell*)
Knowledge (clear and exact)
Faith (truth in the Gospel)
Giving (nourish, supply)
(* not to be confused with fortunetelling)
Gifts listed in Ephesians 4:8 and 11
Apostles (ambassadors)
Prophets (one to whom God reveals His purposes)
Evangelists (declarer of the Good News)
Pastors (shepherd of the flock)
Teachers (instructors)
Gifts listed in 1 Peter 4:8-9
Charity (love)
Hospitality (fondness toward guests)
As
Christians, we all have some degree of giftedness. God will open doors of
opportunity for us to use them and He encourages us to use them . . . to bring us pleasure,
as well as pleasure to the recipient.
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift
of God which is in you . . . for God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
As I get
older and my life changes, I have found that my gifts sometimes shift from an
area of strength to one of weakness. God moves us to different places and plants
us in different arenas so that we can either be a blessing or receive a
blessing. It may be for a lifetime or just for a season in our life, but
wherever we are planted, we are to use our God-given gifts for Him.
“As each one has received a gift, minister
it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God . . . that in
all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory
and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
(1 Peter 4:10-11)
Props: Gift boxes or gift bags. If you have a small
audience, you may want to give each of them a small token gift as a
remembrance; such as a bookmark or a scripture card.
#35 - WAKE UP CALL
“To everything there is a season, a time
for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecc 3:1)
He has made everything beautiful in its
time.” (Ecc 3:11)
Have you ever
wondered why God allows things to happen, when and for what
purpose? Our days are in His hands, His timetable, His
design! He knows the end from the beginning!
Season (in Hebrew) means an appointed occasion; time . . .
.
. . birth and birthdays
. . . church and school
. . . programs and plays
. . . sports and music lessons
. . . first love and first broken heart
. . . college and career
. . . marriage
. . . aging and
passing away
. . . birth and birthdays . . .
LIFE
GOES ON!!!
Everyone gets the
same . . .
. . . 24 hours in a
day
. . . 7 days a week
. . . 52 weeks a year
. . . for a lifetime.
Have you received
your wake up call from Jesus? In whichever season of life you may find
yourself, use it to the fullest for God’s glory, for . . .
“He has made everything beautiful in its
time.”
Props: Alarm clock that can be well seen.
#36 - A PIECE OF
THE PIE
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
What makes a
delicious pie? I guess it would be the ingredients but they must be added in
the proper amounts and sometimes added at the proper time. Too much sugar . . .
too sweet; not enough milk . . . too thick; too little flour . . . too
soupy!
God’s
ingredient list might look something like this:
Apples for Joy
Peaches for Peace
Pears for Longsuffering
Bananas for Kindness
Grapes for Faithfulness
Berries for
Gentleness
Kiwi for Self-control
All the fruit should be
perfectly blended, then baked in the pie shell called LOVE . . . because . . .
The greatest of these is LOVE . . . (1
Corinthians 13:13)
LOVE never fails . . . (1 Corinthians
13:8)
We might ask ourselves, “How
many pieces of God’s Fruit of the Spirit pie
am I serving to others today?” Be generous!
Props: Bring
a cooked pie crust and each of the above fruit (or whatever fruit you desire)
already cut up. Add to the pie crust as you speak. Explain how love holds them all together.
#37 - JESUS IS THE
TAP ROOT
“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.” (James 2:17)
“But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith
without works is dead?” (Js 2:20)
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.” (Js
2:26)
I have learned it
is very significant when the scriptures repeat something twice; but when they
speak of it three times, we are to SIT
UP and TAKE NOTICE!
Why does God
emphasize the need for “works” three
times in our text? The church needs workers . . . it’s a given fact! Everyone is needed and must work together to
keep the church and the ministries within the church operating. Who keeps it
all running smoothly? Who keeps everyone doing the work they are gifted and
talented and called to do?
Tap Root: A primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small
lateral roots; the central element in a line of growth or development.
JESUS CHRIST . . . Our Tap Root!
Props: Display a plant that has a good healthy root
system and describe each of your church’s ministries (Sunday School, Children’s
Church, Youth, Men’s and Women’s ministries; as well as kitchen, nursery,
usher/greeter, custodian, etc.) as a branch off of the Tap Root (Jesus). Even
someone who brings a glass of water to the pastor’s podium is in ministry (Mark
9:41).
#38 - TOUR OF DUTY
“For I also am a man placed under
authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. When Jesus heard these things, He
marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I
say to you, I have not found such great
faith, not even in Israel
Our military personnel are given orders and are taught to be obedient
without question. They are totally in the will of their superiors. They don’t
have the “big picture” of the battle but if they are obedient to their personal
assignment, there is victory . . . for
the soldier and for everyone else in the battle.
As Christians, we face our enemy (Satan) every day. We also need the
same . . .
. . . great faith
. . . obedience to our commander (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit)
. . . immersion into our personal assignment (God’s will)
. . . spirit of patriotism (commitment) . . .
to ‘go’ and ‘come’ and ‘do’ . . .
We may not get medals we can wear on our chest, or frame, or hang on a
wall but when we get to the end of our Tour of Duty, our Commander will say,
“Well done, good and faithful
servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
(Matthew 25:21)
Props: A medal or ribbon
#39 - TREASURE
Treasures on earth can be . . .
. . . art, riches, fame
. . . home, cars, profession
. . . children, fashion, beauty
Treasures on earth will
. . . rot and rust
. . . people will disobey and disappoint
. . . failures will come
. . . the mountaintop will plummet into
the sea.
Treasures
on earth will be a burdensome weight needing continual attention.
Treasures in Heaven can be
. . . ministry accomplishments
. . . witnessing to the lost (planting/watering
the Word)
. . . raising godly children
(physical and spiritual)
. . . teaching and evangelizing
. . . leading someone to Christ
Treasures in Heaven are a deposit in
eternity!
Where is your heart?
In the world or looking upward to Heaven!
Props: A treasure chest or a fancy jewelry box.
#40 - TEACUP
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees;
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside
are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew
23:27-28)
I’m sure
we’ve all met someone who was very attractive, having that beautiful outward
appearance. However, as we got to know them better, we realized they were not
very good-hearted. Their pleasant appearance did not overshadow their true
inner person.
Then there
are others we’ve met that may not be so attractive in appearance, however, once
we got to know them, we realized the goodness of their heart. It was easy to look
beyond appearance and take pleasure in knowing their inner person.
Consider this
. . .
It is not very attractive
to be ostentatious and neglect the inner man.
The inner man is attractive regardless
of the outward appearance.
Props: One
beautiful teacup and saucer filled with mud or dirt; a mug filled with spiced
tea. Demonstrate that it’s not the cup that’s desirable but what’s inside the
cup that attracts people to it.
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