Lessons
For Christian Ladies
This
Series Of Lessons Was Taught By
Mrs.
James Modlish
Chocolate
Extravaganza
 
For the past few years the men
of our church have been hosting what they call a
"Beast
Feast" in which they
provide wild game of every sort in a masculine dinner
setting (paper plates and plastic tableware!). The main
focus of this dinner is to invite unsaved men and present
them with the gospel. The outstanding success of this dinner
caused me to consider a similar outreach aimed just at lost
women...without the wild meat, of course!
After pondering several avenues
in how to approach this, we came up with what we called a
"Chocolate
Extravaganza",
primarily because we couldn't think of any women we knew who
didn't like chocolate! We had 80 ladies in attendance with
about 30 of them unsaved; the following are just some of the
steps we took and program we followed in planning this
outreach.
[1]. Committees
- I knew it would be beneficial to include as many of our
women as possible in the planning and implementing
process. To that end, I provided a sign-up sheet with the
different committee choices on it, i.e. decorating, food
preparation, clean-up, etc. The response was very good,
and each individual was able to work in an area in which
she felt comfortable. It does help tremendously to have a
church full of women who work well together and have the
end result in mind all the time...the saving of lost
souls. From these sign-up sheets I chose one woman to be
the coordinator for that particular group. These ladies
met on their own and came to me with their final
ideas.
[2]. Invitations
- We have a man in our church who is quite clever in the
area of graphic arts, so we enlisted him in drawing up an
invitation for us which we then just copied on colored
paper and distributed to our women to pass out among
their friends. We asked them to give us the number of
guests they were expecting to bring a couple of weeks
before the event; this enabled us to determine how much
food would be needed.
[3]. Theme
- The Victorian theme for our event was determined by the
decorating committee, largely because collectively, they
had a lot of Victorian stuff!! It worked very well as we
decided to make this a very feminine party, similar to a
Victorian tea.
[4]. Decorations
- We rented round tables (we were able to fit about
eleven in our auditorium) since we felt this made for a
more formal look than our standard oblong tables. We were
also able to rent linen tablecloths for very little
money, and each table was decorated with several
Victorian objects such as vases, pictures, tiny figures,
dolls,etc. Our serving tables were adorned with topiaries
constructed by some of the women; these were clay pots
painted cream color and trimmed in pearls with flowers
and dried naturals in cream. They were very nice and will
serve double duty as I plan to use them at Christmas time
in the auditorium. We also scattered candles over the
serving tables.
In keeping with our theme,
we served tea in teapots at each table and provided each
table setting with a teacup and saucer. These were loaned
by our women with the only stipulation being that they
were in good shape and what you would call "fancy." It
was no easy task to assemble 80 cup and saucer sets, but
we did manage. However, we are now in the process of
collecting our own sets to be stored at the
church...everyone is on the lookout at garage sales,
thrift stores, etc. In addition, baskets of flavored teas
were set at each table so our guests could choose their
favorite.
[5]. Food
- The food committee did a lot a research on local
establishments who specialize in chocolate desserts, and
we purchased a few exotic creations from them. We live in
an area with a mint factory and featured some of their
candy as well. The more culinary-talented of our group
provided the rest of our chocolate offerings...they did
an outstanding job, but I will say it is essential to
have all this coordinated so that you end up with a wide
variety. We also prepared folded placecards in front of
each dessert to identify what it was. Also, on additional
placecards were humorous quotes regarding
chocolate.
In anticipation that we
might have guests who didn't like or were allergic to
chocolate, we provided a couple of other options.
[6]. Program
- In planning this event, it occurred to me that we just
couldn't sit there and eat chocolate until we were ill.
After all, we did want our unsaved guests to feel like
listening to a gospel devotion! The solution was to
stagger the "feeding" with different segments of our
program. This is how we did it:
A.
Welcome
- I included in this a short history of chocolate, its
nutrients, etc. We then welcomed guests and
prayed.
B.
First
Sampling - We had
already divided our desserts into small, sample-size
portions, thus allowing guests to try a few selections
without overloading. I told them ahead of time that
there would be several of these samplings over the
course of the evening.
C.
Chocolate
Math - One of our
ladies conducted a math quiz involving manipulating
numbers which would result in the final number being
the age of each woman doing the quiz. We found this on
the internet.
D.
Second
Sampling
E.
Chocolate
Interview - We
needed some humor in all this so I decided it would be
great to interview some kind of chocolate candy. I
found an M & M costume, but the only one I could
convince to wear it was my daughter! Since she was
about six months pregnant, it worked out really well!
We just researched the history of M&M's and based
our skit on that.
F.
Third
Sampling - (This
is getting a little harder!)
G.
Special
Music - Two of
our ladies presented special music that tied in with
my devotion.
H.
Fourth
Sampling - Only
the strongest were able to do this!
I.
Game
- We developed a game based on "Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire" and called it "Do You Want To Eat A
Million Dollar Chocolate Bar?" One of our more
gregarious ladies emceed this game, and it was a big
hit.
J.
Fifth
Sampling - This
told us who were the real "chocoholics!"
K.
Prizes!
- We played a quick and simple game involving raising
your hand if you had done or were a number of
outrageous things. For instance: won a hog-calling
contest, skydived, bungee-jumped, water-skied
barefoot, built your own house, etc. It was amazing
what some of these women have done!! The prized were
gift boxes which they were allowed to fill with our
chocolate treasures.
L.
Music
- One final song to set the mood before the devotion
presented by a young woman I knew I could trust to do
it in the proper way with no grandstanding.
M.
Devotion
- After giving much thought and prayer to how I would
approach this opportunity, the Lord very graciously
gave me this idea. The content of the devotion
follows:
Make
A Name For Yourself
Introduction:
We are encouraged by
society to seek a role, place, or name for ourselves.
Women especially are falling prey to this mind-set and
are striving to reach the top, be well-known, be a "name."
However, most importantly,
does God know you? We are comfortable in acknowledging
that God knows all about us... (Psa. 139) is full of
examples of how much God is aware of our sitting down and
rising up, our thoughts and our words. For example, I can
instantly get my 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class to
behave by reminding them that God is watching!
But does He know you and you
Him in an intimate, personal way? Let's compare it to the
parent/child relationship...you undoubtedly know other
children in a superficial way, but you have intimate, day
to day knowledge of your own child.
(Matt. 7:21-23) are some of
the most frightening verses in the Bible. Verse (23) is a
statement of passion and pain. In contrast, the
relationship between Jesus and those who answer His call
is one of personal, profound knowledge.
God uses many aspects of
nature to illustrate His relationship with us; seeds,
wheat and vines are but a few. One of the most gripping
and descriptive is that of the shepherd and his
sheep.
John
10
I. The
shepherd knows his sheep - (vs. 14)
A. The Masai
people of East Africa take great pride in the
shepherding.
[1]. More
than mere acquaintance; sheep known by name
[2]. Cares for sheep in great detail
[3]. Visitors will inquire about welfare of
sheep before family.
B. God knows you -
the number of hairs on your head, the thoughts and
intents of your heart. But in the end, will He say, "I
never knew you."?
C. Jesus called His
sheep by name:
[1].
Lazarus, come forth.
[2]. Philip, follow me.
[3]. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
forth.
D. God knows whether
you have an intimate relationship with Him or a
superficial one.
[1].
Unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians,
who consider themselves to be followers of Christ and
sheep of His flock are really strangers to His
voice.
II. The
Shepherd is willing to die for the sheep - (vs.
11)
A. A tourist in
Syria observed with interest how a shepherd drove all his
sheep into a sheep fold one evening. The fold was an
enclosing wall with only one opening. On that opening he
noticed that there was neither door nor gate. He remarked
to the shepherd, "Can't wild beasts get in there?" "No,"
answered the shepherd, " because I am the door. When the
sheep are in for the night, I lie down across that
doorway. No sheep can get out except over my body, and no
wolf or thief can get in except over me."
B. His body comes
between certain death and them.
C. Christ's death on
Calvary comes between you and the wages of sin. (Rom.
6:23)
D. Christ calls
Himself the door. (vs. 7-9)
[1]. The ONLY
way into the sheep fold
[2]. You can't climb over the walls of the
sheep fold:
(a). Your good
works
(b). Your family's Christian legacy
(c). The fact that you live in a Christian
nation
(d). Your church attendance
You must go through
the DOOR!
III. The
Shepherd seeks after the lost sheep - (vs.
27)
A. There's an
Old English term - cast or cast down which describes a
sheep who has laid down in a depression or hollow to
relax, then discovers it is unable to get up by itself.
Frustration, struggling and fright set in as the
situation worsens. The sheep is then vulnerable to
circulation problems, starvation or predators.
B. Fat sheep or those
with the heaviest coats are the most easily cast. We are
so materially "fat" in America, we have need of nothing.
(Rev. 3:17) says," Because thou sayest, I am rich and
increased with goods and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked."
C. Shepherd will
diligently count his sheep to determine if one is in need
of being "saved." Ninety and nine sheep were left so that
the Shepherd could look for one stray sheep.
No wonder God uses the
relationship between the shepherd and his sheep to
convince us of our need for Him. "All we like sheep have
gone astray." Like sheep, we go through life oblivious to
the persistent seeking of the Shepherd for us. The
Shepherd:
[1]. knows
his sheep
[2]. dies for the sheep
[3]. seeks after the sheep
There was a story of a
young Filipino who was visiting Chicago and checked into
the Hotel Sherman. He then went for a walk and becoming
lost, was unable to find the hotel again. He couldn't
remember the location or even the name of the hotel and
spent the next five days searching for it. When he
finally appealed to the authorities to aid in his
dilemma, he was astonished to find that the place he was
looking for, the Hotel Astor, was right next door to the
place where he was! This young man spent five days with
lost luggage, time and peace of mind, because he wouldn't
admit he was lost which was especially sad since help was
readily available.
If you were to slip
off into eternity today, would God say, "I never knew
you. I knew the number of hairs on your head, the
thoughts and intents of your heart, but I never knew
you." The Shepherd beckons to you - He gave His life for
you, but you must accept that sacrifice personally. (Eph.
2:8-9) tells us we are saved by grace and not through our
works...it doesn't matter if you are the best, most
well-behaved sheep or a cast one. The Shepherd is looking
for you.
Invitation:
We conducted an
invitation of sorts while the ladies were seated at the
tables. An opportunity was given to pray for salvation
silently while I lead the prayer verbally; at the close
several of our ladies waited in the lobby to give gospel
tracts to those who asked for them and indicated they had
trusted the Lord as their Saviour. We later discovered
that five guests had been saved that evening.
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