MessagesofLove_FortheLoveofaSon

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Women’s Ministries Programs

Theme:

“Messages of Love”

For The Love of a Son

Kris L. Augenstein

Worship—May 2008

Worship Center

Cover a table with a lace tablecloth. On it place pictures of the women’s loved ones or women’s ministry members who have been promoted to Glory. A small Tiffany type lamp on the table could be used to make this area look cozy and inviting.

Program Ideas

A Time of Sharing

Invite the women to share something about their loved one whose picture is displayed. This could be a special memory or how this person influenced their life.

Panel Discussion

Set up a panel of widows or women who have lost a child to share how they learned to cope after the death of their loved one.

Refreshments

Have two tables for refreshments. The first table should have no utensils, tablecloth, napkins or centerpiece. Serve leftover food from this table. On the second table use a cloth tablecloth, napkins and an attractive centerpiece. At this table serve finger sandwiches, a vegetable tray and spiced apple cider.

Draw numbers to determine which women will take their refreshments from the meager table and which from the plentiful table. Explain to the women getting their refreshments from the first table that they are widows and the other women eating from the second table are married, from affluent families.

Invite the women to get their refreshments but before they actually start to eat, ask those women assigned to the widows’ table how they feel about their treatment. Then ask the other women the same question. Did they feel uncomfortable about how their friends were being treated?

Read 1 Timothy 5:3–5. Explain that in biblical times there was no social security, life insurance or pension plans. They were very few jobs available for women and so widows were usually unable to provide for themselves and were dependent upon their families

for support. A widow with no children or other family members was doomed to a life of poverty. One of the procedures set up by the early Christian church was looking after the widows (see Acts 6:1).

At the conclusion of this time, have the affluent women share their refreshments with the widows.

Devotions

The Compassion of Jesus

Our youngest daughter was born with many critical health problems. When she was four days old, one of her lungs collapsed, which necessitated a med–flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota, Children’s Hospital. The doctors told us to be prepared for her to die. I know how we felt that day—scared and in pain. Two months later when the doctors were preparing to do open heart surgery on our daughter, we were told to take pictures of her

in case she did not make it through the surgery. Those were trying times. But our prayers were answered and our daughter lived. God gave us back our daughter, and so I feel that I can relate to the widow of Nain. This story is recorded in Luke 7:11–17. (Read this portion of Scripture at this time.)

How do people react to the death of a friend or loved one? (Solicit responses from the women.)We react in many different ways, don’t we?

Honoring the dead was very important in Jewish tradition. The relatives formed a funeral procession. The body was wrapped up and carried through town on a type of stretcher. Bystanders were expected to join in the funeral procession. Some families hired professional mourners to draw attention to the funeral procession. It was a badge of honor to have many people mourn your loved one, crying loudly. In our culture, we do many different things to mourn our loved ones, but there are still some parallels to the old Jewish traditions of mourning. We put a notice in the newspaper about our loved one’s death. We plan a funeral, with special songs, flowers and a message. We even get pallbearers to carry the body out of the funeral home.

The Scripture in Luke tells how Jesus and His disciples saw the funeral procession of the only son of the widow of Nain. We read that Christ had great compassion on the widow. His compassion was great and He gave her son back to her. To understand how significant this was we need to understand the situation of widows in Christ’s time. They were among the most vulnerable of people. A widow looked to her male children for protection and financial support. Unless a relative took pity on this widow, she did not have much of a future. She would end up begging for food on the streets, stealing or selling herself as either a slave or a prostitute.

But the good news is that Jesus came to save the lost and to restore hope to the hopeless. That is what He does for all of us when He offers salvation, full and free. The widow of Nain did nothing to deserve Jesus’ compassion, yet He saw her need and met it.

Sometimes the Lord works miracles on our behalf. He looks upon us with mercy and grace and intervenes to return to us something that is very precious. On other occasions, He gives us comfort in our time of loss. In the widow’s case her son, her sole means of support, had died. For my husband and me it is our daughter who came so close to death

and who now blesses us daily. We testify to the power of believers’ prayers and God’s intervention on our behalf.

Jesus is alive and well and meets needs today as he did 2,000 years ago. He has mercy for all who call upon His name. Praise Him today!