God's Messengers Of Faith, Hope, And Love
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This program is ideal for a January meeting of a women's group, youth event, or congregational fellowship night. It may also serve as an Advent or Christmas program since its three key characters are angels.
A leader introduces the program and each angel: the Angel of Faith, the Angel of Hope, and the Angel of Love. Each angel can dress with a different halo. Each wears a sign around her neck to tell which angel she is. If one person is doing the entire program, this switching of halos and signs enables that person to switch the characters.
Props
Angel of Faith: Halo, sign (Angel of Faith), and three signs which she puts up as she talks (1: Declare! Announce! Proclaim God's Promise, 2: To Rescue or Save God's Elect, and 3: To Bless).
Angel of Hope: Halo, sign (Angel of Hope), and three signs she puts up as she states those she visited (1: Gideon, 2: Manoah and Wife, and 3: Zechariah and Elizabeth).
Angel of Love: Halo, sign (Angel of Love), and three signs which wind up her talk (1: Let Faith Grow, 2: Receive God's Love Jesus!, and 3: Hang Tight to Hope Jesus!).
Additional
If time allows, the leader can bring forth three statues of angels representing Faith, Hope, and Love. She can invite participants to tell about people in their lives who have served as these angels, and how they brought them faith, gave them hope, and showed love.
Program
Leader: At Christmas time we sing carols such as "Hark! The herald Angels sing, glory to the new born king," or "Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains." What about "It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from Angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold"? And of course, "Angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight o'er all the earth. Once you sang creation's story, now proclaim Messiah's birth"? Christmas angels - spiritual beings; winged creatures singing God's praise; bringing tidings of peace and joy to all people. Medieval and Renaissance artists have pictured these beings as chubby cherubs with golden harps. But one must not be lulled into a limited vision of God's heavenly messengers and their mission. Most denominations recognize the ministry of angels among us as we celebrate Saint Michael and All Angels on September 29. The prayer for that day states that God has ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals. This presentation will look at what that ministry might entail as we hear from three of God's heavenly messengers, Faith, Hope, and Love. Angel #1, would you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your ministry?
Angel of Faith: Hello. I am the Angel of Faith. Throughout history, God has been at work inspiring his people to have faith. He has sent angels as his messengers to speak in the authority of his name and to work wonders among his people. Now you may chuckle at the divine pictures of chunky cherubim in paintings or the graceful, female versions which adorn Christmas cards or tops of trees, but human beings do not really see us as we are. When we come to earth, we usually take on the form of a male human. No offense, girls, but in all recorded instances of angels appearing to humankind, we have not taken the form of a woman yet. Today God is making an exception as I stand here before you to talk about my ministry of faith.
I was with two others as we came with a divine message in Genesis 18. Abraham was a great host, setting the example the writer of Hebrews reminds you to do as far as hospitality goes: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). We came to reveal the news that a son would be born to Abraham's wife, Sarah, within a year, and also to reveal that God's judgment was about to fall upon sinful Sodom and Gomorrah. That is the first part of my ministry - to declare, to announce, to proclaim God's promise (sign). A mixed blessing for those of faith. We like to hear good news even if it is far-fetched. Now Sarah looked at her body and her husband's and laughed at our announcement. They were too old. But remember, with God, all things are possible when combined with faith. Abraham looked at the twin cities of evil and grieved. Then he bargained with us to spare them if we could find ten righteous folk living there. What a limited view humans have of God's grace. God knows the heart. He knew that when two of us entered the city, evil men would even seek to sexually assault us. There actually was only one good person in that city, Lot, Abraham's nephew, and we did rescue him.
The second part of my ministry is to rescue or to save God's elect (sign). We reached out our hands and pulled Lot in from those who sought to harm him and us. Then we led him, his wife, and two daughters out before destroying the town. We told them not to look back, but sometimes humans do not listen to us. Lot's wife didn't. Her curiosity got the most of her, and she turned to look. At once she became a pillar of salt. There are dire consequences when you choose to disobey God's voice. What God promises to do, he will do, yet he will have mercy on those who are in right relationship with him.
Faith is a key part in the story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah tried to secure that son for herself by giving her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to her husband. Remember that Old Testament story? That affair only caused trouble as Sarah took matters into her own hands. I was sent twice to Hagar. The first time with an announcement that her child would become a mighty nation, and she was to call him Ishmael. Of course, since this child was not the child of Promise, he would be at odds throughout the centuries with the true heir of Abraham, Isaac. Today you see this with the factions of Muslims (the sons of Ishmael) warring against Jews and Christians (the sons of Isaac). When the promise of a son was realized, and Isaac was born, Sarah had Abraham expel the slave girl and her son from their midst, but God sent me to rescue them in chapter 22. Abandoned in the desert, Hagar set the boy aside so she would not see him die. She cried out, and God sent me once again to instill faith into her grieving spirit. I opened her eyes to her surroundings, and she saw water. It had always been there, but in her grief and pity, she did not see it. How true this is of most people. They become blinded by circumstances and do not see God's presence in the midst of difficulty. Yet God is faithful and will rescue those who cry out to him.
But God was not finished with my ministry of instilling faith in Abraham's life. For when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, I was present. By faith Abraham had believed he would have a son. By faith he believed that God would even raise this son from the dead if need be to fulfill the promise God had made with him of making him a great nation. I called out to Abraham on that mountain and stopped him from killing Isaac. That is when I performed my third part of ministry - to bless (sign). Since Abraham had demonstrated great faith in not withholding his son, I was given the authority from God to bless him and to make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore. You are the heirs to that blessing. God has planted faith in your hearts. He has given you a promise in baptism - to become his child. He has rescued you from the power of sin and death. All who turn to his Son, Jesus, who was our ultimate sacrifice, and believe in him as Lord and Savior, God blesses with eternal life. Receive my ministry among you today. Hear by faith the promise, allow God to rescue you from sin and whatever difficult situation you may be in, and be blessed with his presence. Stretch your faith today and see God perform miracles in our midst. Shalom.
Leader: Let us now hear from our second messenger from God, the Angel of Hope.
Angel of Hope: It is very exciting to be with you today. I am the Angel of Hope. What a privilege it has been to be sent forth from God to inspire and instill hope in his people. I especially like to come to people who see no way out of their dilemmas.
One of those I visited was Gideon (sign). It was fun to sit under that oak tree at Ophrah and watch the young Hebrew beating out wheat and then hiding it from his enemies, the Midianites. When I brought him greetings from the Lord, he was perplexed and asked, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?" God had promised to be with Israel, but the nation had sinned. They needed a deliverer. I was there 1 - to instill once more God's promise of hope; and 2 - to rescue and deliver Israel from the hands of their enemies. Humans often lose sight of God's promise in the midst of dire straits. Gideon and his people had. But God sent me to commission this young warrior. His response was normal, "How can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
But remember, with God all things are possible. Maybe you've cried out like Gideon for help. Then when God says, "It's time to stop praying and to start acting," your response is, "Who? Me, Lord? You can't mean I'm to do it? I'm not able." That's when I come to give you hope for it's not by your own power but the power of Christ in you that you can accomplish what God has called you to do.
Of course, Gideon needed his faith bolstered so he asked for a sign that God's favor was with him. So I provided it. I touched his offering with my staff and fire leapt out to consume it. He was impressed, to say nothing of his fear of having seen an angel face to face. Those face-to-face encounters do startle mortals.
I remember the time God sent me on another assignment: to bring hope to Manoah and his wife (sign). They were childless, and God sent me to bring the good news that they would have a son, Samson, who would be powerful like Gideon and rescue his people from their enemies. I planted hope in their hearts, and they were good parents.
Their son, Samson, however, was a different case. If God simply relied on loyal angels, how smoothly things would run. But God chooses mortals through whom to work, and sometimes they do stray from his paths. However, even after Samson had been seduced and betrayed by Delilah, and captured and blinded by the Philistines, God did not abandon him. God's promise to be with us to the end is something we can trust in. He had rescued the couple from their childless state and blessed them with a mighty son and judge over Israel. What a sign to heathen nations as the chained and blind Samson once again demonstrated God's power as God restored his strength! The Philistines were crushed as he toppled the pillars of their temple.
That reminds me of another childless couple I was sent to give hope to and confirmed it with a sign. Zechariah and Elizabeth (sign), an old couple like Abraham and Sarah, and Manoah and his wife, were childless. God sent me to Zechariah to bring hope. I made him a promise that his wife would bear a son. Of course, he didn't believe so I gave him a sign. He would remain mute until the day God's promise was fulfilled. John the Baptist, their son, was a blessing to an entire generation as he prepared the way for Jesus' ministry.
It is exciting to see how hope springs up within God's people to believe in his promises, to respond to his love and to be rescued from enemies or situations like childlessness, economic difficulties, and so forth. God knows your deepest need and is waiting for you to call out to him. What blessings occur when you open yourself up to my ministry among you of bringing hope! May the hope planted in your hearts today carry you through times of difficulty as well as times of joy as you trust in God and Christ Jesus, his Son. Shalom.
Leader: The Angel of Faith and the Angel of Hope have both told us of the three-fold ministry they have of declaring God's promise to us, of rescuing us, and of blessing us. Let us hear what the Angel of Love has to say.
Angel of Love: 1 Corinthians 13:13 states that "faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love." Now I don't negate the ministry of my two friends, Faith and Hope, but I do know that we all work together to bring God's message of love to the world. God has been with his people since the beginning of time when he chose them to be his people. He sent me to Moses and look what happened. All those wonders astounded the Egyptians. I declared God's message of love and promised to be with them, to deliver them, to rescue them out of their bondage. God did it.
Then the Lord blessed them by sending me before them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In Exodus 23 God told Moses specifically that he would send an angel to guard them on their way to the Promised Land because he loved them. They were to be attentive to me and listen to my voice. Their enemies would be defeated if they obeyed me. They would be blessed for their faith and hope as they trusted in God's promise to be with them. Of course, we all know they never received their full inheritance because of sin and unbelief. I did my best at ministering to them. Battles were fought, and the heavenly hosts of heaven did supernatural things. Satan had a field day at times, but with God in control, the victory is sure.
God sent me to minister love to his own Son. After all those temptations, Jesus had the victory but was exhausted in the wilderness. The Lord quickly dispatched me to minister love. No one likes wilderness experiences. The Israelites didn't, Jesus didn't, and I'm sure you don't. But they are faith-building times, and there is hope in them, for God is there in the wilderness with us.
And the good news is that his love does not stop - even if ours does. Look at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus cried out to God to take the cup of suffering away, but asked that not his will but God's be done. God sent me to be with Jesus to minister the Father's love and to bring him strength for what was ahead. Even on the Cross, Satan cried out to Christ, "He rescued others, but he can't save himself." The host of angels stood ready to wipe the mockers out, but God loved the world so much that he allowed Christ to suffer and die that all who believe in him might have eternal life. That is your promise. That is your rescue from the power of sin. That is your blessing.
What a joy it was to greet Mary Magdalene in the garden that Easter morning. She had never seen an angel, but I appeared to her to recall God's promises that he would rise and bless others with the Good News of salvation. All because God loved him. Jesus loved Mary and chose to reveal himself to her.
Jesus loves you and has chosen to reveal himself to each of you through the power of his Spirit. He has made you a promise - that when you turn from your sin and receive him as Lord, he will rescue you and forgive your sins. Jesus will bless you with new life as you surrender yourself unto him.
Let the three of us minister God's gifts of faith, hope, and love in your lives today. Let Faith grow (sign), hang tight to the Hope you have in Jesus (sign), and receive God's Love poured out in Jesus' death and resurrection (sign). Call upon Jesus to be with you daily and for us to be there also, for God sends his angels to minister to those he loves. May the joy of God be with each of you today and forevermore. Go in the peace of the Lord and under the protection and ministry of his angels. Amen.
This program is ideal for a January meeting of a women's group, youth event, or congregational fellowship night. It may also serve as an Advent or Christmas program since its three key characters are angels.
A leader introduces the program and each angel: the Angel of Faith, the Angel of Hope, and the Angel of Love. Each angel can dress with a different halo. Each wears a sign around her neck to tell which angel she is. If one person is doing the entire program, this switching of halos and signs enables that person to switch the characters.
Props
Angel of Faith: Halo, sign (Angel of Faith), and three signs which she puts up as she talks (1: Declare! Announce! Proclaim God's Promise, 2: To Rescue or Save God's Elect, and 3: To Bless).
Angel of Hope: Halo, sign (Angel of Hope), and three signs she puts up as she states those she visited (1: Gideon, 2: Manoah and Wife, and 3: Zechariah and Elizabeth).
Angel of Love: Halo, sign (Angel of Love), and three signs which wind up her talk (1: Let Faith Grow, 2: Receive God's Love Jesus!, and 3: Hang Tight to Hope Jesus!).
Additional
If time allows, the leader can bring forth three statues of angels representing Faith, Hope, and Love. She can invite participants to tell about people in their lives who have served as these angels, and how they brought them faith, gave them hope, and showed love.
Program
Leader: At Christmas time we sing carols such as "Hark! The herald Angels sing, glory to the new born king," or "Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains." What about "It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from Angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold"? And of course, "Angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight o'er all the earth. Once you sang creation's story, now proclaim Messiah's birth"? Christmas angels - spiritual beings; winged creatures singing God's praise; bringing tidings of peace and joy to all people. Medieval and Renaissance artists have pictured these beings as chubby cherubs with golden harps. But one must not be lulled into a limited vision of God's heavenly messengers and their mission. Most denominations recognize the ministry of angels among us as we celebrate Saint Michael and All Angels on September 29. The prayer for that day states that God has ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals. This presentation will look at what that ministry might entail as we hear from three of God's heavenly messengers, Faith, Hope, and Love. Angel #1, would you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your ministry?
Angel of Faith: Hello. I am the Angel of Faith. Throughout history, God has been at work inspiring his people to have faith. He has sent angels as his messengers to speak in the authority of his name and to work wonders among his people. Now you may chuckle at the divine pictures of chunky cherubim in paintings or the graceful, female versions which adorn Christmas cards or tops of trees, but human beings do not really see us as we are. When we come to earth, we usually take on the form of a male human. No offense, girls, but in all recorded instances of angels appearing to humankind, we have not taken the form of a woman yet. Today God is making an exception as I stand here before you to talk about my ministry of faith.
I was with two others as we came with a divine message in Genesis 18. Abraham was a great host, setting the example the writer of Hebrews reminds you to do as far as hospitality goes: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2). We came to reveal the news that a son would be born to Abraham's wife, Sarah, within a year, and also to reveal that God's judgment was about to fall upon sinful Sodom and Gomorrah. That is the first part of my ministry - to declare, to announce, to proclaim God's promise (sign). A mixed blessing for those of faith. We like to hear good news even if it is far-fetched. Now Sarah looked at her body and her husband's and laughed at our announcement. They were too old. But remember, with God, all things are possible when combined with faith. Abraham looked at the twin cities of evil and grieved. Then he bargained with us to spare them if we could find ten righteous folk living there. What a limited view humans have of God's grace. God knows the heart. He knew that when two of us entered the city, evil men would even seek to sexually assault us. There actually was only one good person in that city, Lot, Abraham's nephew, and we did rescue him.
The second part of my ministry is to rescue or to save God's elect (sign). We reached out our hands and pulled Lot in from those who sought to harm him and us. Then we led him, his wife, and two daughters out before destroying the town. We told them not to look back, but sometimes humans do not listen to us. Lot's wife didn't. Her curiosity got the most of her, and she turned to look. At once she became a pillar of salt. There are dire consequences when you choose to disobey God's voice. What God promises to do, he will do, yet he will have mercy on those who are in right relationship with him.
Faith is a key part in the story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah tried to secure that son for herself by giving her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to her husband. Remember that Old Testament story? That affair only caused trouble as Sarah took matters into her own hands. I was sent twice to Hagar. The first time with an announcement that her child would become a mighty nation, and she was to call him Ishmael. Of course, since this child was not the child of Promise, he would be at odds throughout the centuries with the true heir of Abraham, Isaac. Today you see this with the factions of Muslims (the sons of Ishmael) warring against Jews and Christians (the sons of Isaac). When the promise of a son was realized, and Isaac was born, Sarah had Abraham expel the slave girl and her son from their midst, but God sent me to rescue them in chapter 22. Abandoned in the desert, Hagar set the boy aside so she would not see him die. She cried out, and God sent me once again to instill faith into her grieving spirit. I opened her eyes to her surroundings, and she saw water. It had always been there, but in her grief and pity, she did not see it. How true this is of most people. They become blinded by circumstances and do not see God's presence in the midst of difficulty. Yet God is faithful and will rescue those who cry out to him.
But God was not finished with my ministry of instilling faith in Abraham's life. For when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, I was present. By faith Abraham had believed he would have a son. By faith he believed that God would even raise this son from the dead if need be to fulfill the promise God had made with him of making him a great nation. I called out to Abraham on that mountain and stopped him from killing Isaac. That is when I performed my third part of ministry - to bless (sign). Since Abraham had demonstrated great faith in not withholding his son, I was given the authority from God to bless him and to make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore. You are the heirs to that blessing. God has planted faith in your hearts. He has given you a promise in baptism - to become his child. He has rescued you from the power of sin and death. All who turn to his Son, Jesus, who was our ultimate sacrifice, and believe in him as Lord and Savior, God blesses with eternal life. Receive my ministry among you today. Hear by faith the promise, allow God to rescue you from sin and whatever difficult situation you may be in, and be blessed with his presence. Stretch your faith today and see God perform miracles in our midst. Shalom.
Leader: Let us now hear from our second messenger from God, the Angel of Hope.
Angel of Hope: It is very exciting to be with you today. I am the Angel of Hope. What a privilege it has been to be sent forth from God to inspire and instill hope in his people. I especially like to come to people who see no way out of their dilemmas.
One of those I visited was Gideon (sign). It was fun to sit under that oak tree at Ophrah and watch the young Hebrew beating out wheat and then hiding it from his enemies, the Midianites. When I brought him greetings from the Lord, he was perplexed and asked, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?" God had promised to be with Israel, but the nation had sinned. They needed a deliverer. I was there 1 - to instill once more God's promise of hope; and 2 - to rescue and deliver Israel from the hands of their enemies. Humans often lose sight of God's promise in the midst of dire straits. Gideon and his people had. But God sent me to commission this young warrior. His response was normal, "How can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
But remember, with God all things are possible. Maybe you've cried out like Gideon for help. Then when God says, "It's time to stop praying and to start acting," your response is, "Who? Me, Lord? You can't mean I'm to do it? I'm not able." That's when I come to give you hope for it's not by your own power but the power of Christ in you that you can accomplish what God has called you to do.
Of course, Gideon needed his faith bolstered so he asked for a sign that God's favor was with him. So I provided it. I touched his offering with my staff and fire leapt out to consume it. He was impressed, to say nothing of his fear of having seen an angel face to face. Those face-to-face encounters do startle mortals.
I remember the time God sent me on another assignment: to bring hope to Manoah and his wife (sign). They were childless, and God sent me to bring the good news that they would have a son, Samson, who would be powerful like Gideon and rescue his people from their enemies. I planted hope in their hearts, and they were good parents.
Their son, Samson, however, was a different case. If God simply relied on loyal angels, how smoothly things would run. But God chooses mortals through whom to work, and sometimes they do stray from his paths. However, even after Samson had been seduced and betrayed by Delilah, and captured and blinded by the Philistines, God did not abandon him. God's promise to be with us to the end is something we can trust in. He had rescued the couple from their childless state and blessed them with a mighty son and judge over Israel. What a sign to heathen nations as the chained and blind Samson once again demonstrated God's power as God restored his strength! The Philistines were crushed as he toppled the pillars of their temple.
That reminds me of another childless couple I was sent to give hope to and confirmed it with a sign. Zechariah and Elizabeth (sign), an old couple like Abraham and Sarah, and Manoah and his wife, were childless. God sent me to Zechariah to bring hope. I made him a promise that his wife would bear a son. Of course, he didn't believe so I gave him a sign. He would remain mute until the day God's promise was fulfilled. John the Baptist, their son, was a blessing to an entire generation as he prepared the way for Jesus' ministry.
It is exciting to see how hope springs up within God's people to believe in his promises, to respond to his love and to be rescued from enemies or situations like childlessness, economic difficulties, and so forth. God knows your deepest need and is waiting for you to call out to him. What blessings occur when you open yourself up to my ministry among you of bringing hope! May the hope planted in your hearts today carry you through times of difficulty as well as times of joy as you trust in God and Christ Jesus, his Son. Shalom.
Leader: The Angel of Faith and the Angel of Hope have both told us of the three-fold ministry they have of declaring God's promise to us, of rescuing us, and of blessing us. Let us hear what the Angel of Love has to say.
Angel of Love: 1 Corinthians 13:13 states that "faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love." Now I don't negate the ministry of my two friends, Faith and Hope, but I do know that we all work together to bring God's message of love to the world. God has been with his people since the beginning of time when he chose them to be his people. He sent me to Moses and look what happened. All those wonders astounded the Egyptians. I declared God's message of love and promised to be with them, to deliver them, to rescue them out of their bondage. God did it.
Then the Lord blessed them by sending me before them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In Exodus 23 God told Moses specifically that he would send an angel to guard them on their way to the Promised Land because he loved them. They were to be attentive to me and listen to my voice. Their enemies would be defeated if they obeyed me. They would be blessed for their faith and hope as they trusted in God's promise to be with them. Of course, we all know they never received their full inheritance because of sin and unbelief. I did my best at ministering to them. Battles were fought, and the heavenly hosts of heaven did supernatural things. Satan had a field day at times, but with God in control, the victory is sure.
God sent me to minister love to his own Son. After all those temptations, Jesus had the victory but was exhausted in the wilderness. The Lord quickly dispatched me to minister love. No one likes wilderness experiences. The Israelites didn't, Jesus didn't, and I'm sure you don't. But they are faith-building times, and there is hope in them, for God is there in the wilderness with us.
And the good news is that his love does not stop - even if ours does. Look at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus cried out to God to take the cup of suffering away, but asked that not his will but God's be done. God sent me to be with Jesus to minister the Father's love and to bring him strength for what was ahead. Even on the Cross, Satan cried out to Christ, "He rescued others, but he can't save himself." The host of angels stood ready to wipe the mockers out, but God loved the world so much that he allowed Christ to suffer and die that all who believe in him might have eternal life. That is your promise. That is your rescue from the power of sin. That is your blessing.
What a joy it was to greet Mary Magdalene in the garden that Easter morning. She had never seen an angel, but I appeared to her to recall God's promises that he would rise and bless others with the Good News of salvation. All because God loved him. Jesus loved Mary and chose to reveal himself to her.
Jesus loves you and has chosen to reveal himself to each of you through the power of his Spirit. He has made you a promise - that when you turn from your sin and receive him as Lord, he will rescue you and forgive your sins. Jesus will bless you with new life as you surrender yourself unto him.
Let the three of us minister God's gifts of faith, hope, and love in your lives today. Let Faith grow (sign), hang tight to the Hope you have in Jesus (sign), and receive God's Love poured out in Jesus' death and resurrection (sign). Call upon Jesus to be with you daily and for us to be there also, for God sends his angels to minister to those he loves. May the joy of God be with each of you today and forevermore. Go in the peace of the Lord and under the protection and ministry of his angels. Amen.
