Speeches for Girls II

In response to complaints about girls not being allowed to enter Preaching or Famous Speech, I always ask, "Have you tried Oratory?" If you've got a message you want to share but that doesn't quite fit the Illustrated Storytelling category, write what you want to say in the form of an oration.

I have uploaded two examples for you. Originally an essay, "Know the Disease! Know the Cure!" was a message I was passionate about and for which I gained a silver medal at South Pacific Student Convention (I've tweaked it a little bit, so maybe I'd get a gold for it now ). The other example, Singer Behind the Scenes, is a personal testimony which girls may use as a Famous Speech (if you're attending a South Pacific convention), or imitate the style for your Oratory text (which you write yourself).

Other tips on finding a suitable speech (male or female) are available here.


KNOW THE DISEASE! KNOW THE CURE!
Written by Narelle Worboys, aged 18

Thesis: All humanity has a life-threatening disease, but there is a cure provided.

We all know that cancer kills. But did you know that all humanity has a disease that kills? It’s called “sin.”

As Christians, we become so tolerant of the evil that surrounds us that we forget it is evil. Oh, maybe we know it’s wrong, but not perhaps evil.

God abhors evil, and this abhorrent evil surrounds us, creeps upon us unawares, permeating even the atmosphere. It is a disease. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Ephesians 5:16 says that the very days are evil.

And yet, as Christians, we must live godly in this present world. To stay healthy, we must keep in perspective. Proverbs tells us, “A wise man feareth and departeth from evil.” Why does he do this? Because “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day . . .” (Ephesians 6:13). Don’t let that evil penetrate you. Don’t let the disease affect you.

What protection can we possibly have against this disease if we were born with it? Psalm 14:3 tells us, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one,” and in our natural state we have no power to repel it. Thus the disease rages within us, and its rewards are dire. Psalm 34:16: “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” Romans 2:9: “Tribulation and anguish (cometh) upon every soul of man that doeth evil.”

Oh, but there’s a wonderful hope, friends, in Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians1v4). This is the cure! God’s saving grace; salvation from the wages of sin, which is death. All we have to do is turn away from the symptoms of our disease and trust in our Divine Saviour.

And having been cured, we are now instructed, “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10.) But how can we step away from it, for it surrounds us? Listen to Romans 12:21: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” And 2 Timothy 4:1-2: “I charge thee . . . preach the word . . . reprove, rebuke, exhort . . .” Here is something we must do. No, we cannot ignore it. You see, the world “considers not that they do evil” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). They don’t know! They don’t know they are sick. And how shall they know except someone tell them?

Matthew 5:13: “We are the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” You either stand or you fall: we have been commanded to stand against evil, but if we don’t, evil will tread on us and spread us out! (To stand is to obey. If you disobey, you will fall.) So, we are to be the salt and stand against evil. What happens when salt is applied to a wound? It hurts! The world won’t like what you tell them, but hey, did God say the world was going to love you? No! Matthew 10:22: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.”

We need to fight the disease with the weapons with which we have been provided. Fight the good fight of faith, remembering that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Apply God’s Word: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Friends, we must know the symptoms of the disease. They are well described in the first chapter of Romans: “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge . . . they become vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened . . . wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness . . . and a reprobate mind . . . because of the lusts of their own hearts.”

We must remember that the curing is in God’s hands, but our responsibilities are summed up in 1 Samuel 12:23: “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and right way.” Indeed, we must preach, teach, reprove, and rebuke . . . but don’t forget to pray. Pray that the way would be opened for God’s healing waters of life to wash the wounds of evil and save souls from death, for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Know the disease! Know the cure!