Ruth Week 1 • Ruth 1-4

Show Notes

Sunday, April 24th • Beau Bradberry

"In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons." — Ruth 1:1

–
Podcast: https://pod.link/willowridgechurch
Website: https://willowridgechurch.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/willowridgechurch
Facebook: https://facebook.com/willowridgechurch
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@willowridgechurch

Creators and Guests

Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.

Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.

We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear

the latest message. Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning. Glad that you guys are here with us. If you've got your Bibles with you,

go ahead and open up to Ruth chapter 4. All right, this is where we're going to begin as we begin our

series in the book of Ruth. Now, if you're wondering why we're beginning and we're going to the last

chapter in Ruth, we're going to do some things a little bit differently this morning. This past

January, we started our series in 1 Corinthians. And I don't know if y'all remember that day,

it was like, we're going to have a 200% chance of deadly ice storms. And then it lightly rained that

Sunday morning at like 45 degrees, all right? And we had made the decision ahead of time to go ahead

and just go through Zoom and Facebook Live and all the different things that we have and YouTube

and just do worship from home that day. And so, since we couldn't jump straight into 1 Corinthians that

were attached to our small groups, I made the decision that morning when I got up and doing my study

to kind of give us just an introductory lesson into 1 Corinthians so that we all could have an

understanding or groundwork of what we're studying in that letter. And what I heard back from everyone

or that gave me feedback on it was how beneficial it was to kind of see and understand and that we can

take those things and build from them and grow from them. And so, as we were looking at starting into

the book of Ruth, pretty much every spring, the beginning of the summer, I like to jump in and

kind of walk through one of these shorter Old Testament books with us together as a church.

And as I was looking at doing that, I thought, you know, that might be beneficial for us to do that

and to take a Sunday morning and just walk through that. And so, that's what we're going to do today.

Now, also on the rows that you're seated on, at the end of each one of them,

it is a card that's going to walk through each Sunday how we're walking through the book of Ruth

together on Sunday mornings. And so, I would just challenge you and encourage you to take that and

to use that, maybe build that into your weekly quiet time of reading that. I would also like to

challenge you to take the opportunity, if this isn't something that you do, to maybe begin to work

through and journal through that. See what the Lord's teaching you. See what the Lord's drawing out of

His Word and how God is going to use that and bless that this morning. Now, what I want us to do today

with Ruth is to give an overview of there's three different themes that are going to flow through

the book of Ruth. Now, I told you to open to Ruth chapter 4, and I promise at the very end of the

message, we will get to Ruth 4. All right? And then, but what we're going to do, and if you try to turn

with me, you're not going to get there. Kevin upstairs, who runs everything that you see on the

screens this morning, he was like, man, I don't know that I've ever seen you have this many slides.

I'm like, man, well, you better do your finger stretches this morning, right? Because you're

going to be clicking through really quick on this. So, if you try to stay with me and turn with me,

you're not going to get there. So, if you want to just jot those down, but I promise we'll get to Ruth 4

at the very end of this. I read an author this week who said this, and it was a very interesting

short line that caused me to think on it all week. And he said, Ruth is one of the greatest

short stories ever written. And then he went into his commentary to explain why he believed that.

And it caused me to pause to think that sometimes there's groups of people who read some of these

stories, particularly in the Old Testament. You have people who claim to be professing Christians

who will read these stories in the Old Testament, and they'll think that this was a made-up story

that God gave someone to help teach us this moral lesson. And so, I want to talk about that

before we even get into the themes. And what I would like to say is that this is a beautiful short

story that's written. But packed into these four short chapters is a beautiful story that is both

historical and inspired. What we're going to read together over the course of really five weeks,

if you include today, is a beautiful story that is both historical and inspired. And what I mean by

that is this, the events that unfold in this story are true. There's not some author sitting down creating

this story in their mind like one would write a sitcom or a movie or a book in a hope that it'll teach

all of mankind or everyone who reads it a lesson. That we as Christians believe that this, on top of

everything else that we read in Scripture, even if our mind, it seems like, and this couldn't possibly

be true, but it is. And that we believe that just as you and I are sitting here today is a historically

true event, that the events that we're going to read and that will unfold through the book of Ruth are

historically true, so that you and I, we can believe not just in a story, but we can believe in the events

in the story and that they happened. All right? Now, the next part, it's historical, but it's also inspired. Now,

the book of Ruth, we do not know who the author is. There are people who have thoughts and theories, but they are

simply thoughts and theories. We do not know who the author is, but what we do know is that the person who wrote this,

when they wrote it, was inspired by God to write this historical account. And so what you and I read

is both something that happened and took place in the time of history, but was also in the miraculous

nature how God would inspire individuals to record and to write these things onto pages so that later you and I

could open God's word and study them together so that our hearts will be drawn closer to him.

And that's what we find here. And that's what we read. So yes, the book of Ruth is historical. And yes,

the book of Ruth is inspired as well. Now, whenever I go into one of these kind of, some of the books

and the chapters in the Old Testament can give us like a character study that feel. And Ruth is

definitely that. You're going to meet some characters throughout. We're going to look at some of their

tendencies and their traits. We're going to look at the pieces about their lives, and we're going to study

those, and we're going to talk about those. And our tendency when we do these things is to look at these

characters and to make these individuals the main focus of the story, all right? And our tendency could be to do

that with Ruth as well. I mean, if you think about it, that's kind of our tendency in a lot that we read.

If we're not careful, we can read the story of David and Goliath and make the story of David and Goliath all

about David. If we're not careful, we can read the story of Moses and the Exodus and all that happened

and all that took place, and we can walk away from that, and we can make Moses the main story, the main

focus of the story. Now, with Noah and the ark and everything, and the danger in that, right? And we're

going to look at these people, and we're going to look at their characteristics, and we're going to look at the

things that they did. The main danger that I want us to kind of wrestle with in our hearts, the tension that we

need to have, is that at the end of the day, you and I can read about this. We can read about the story of David

and Goliath and walk away from it with a posture of our heart that says, well, I just want to be more like David.

I just want to be more like David.

We could study Ruth and walk away from this and just say, well, I just want to be like Ruth.

And then that will miss, and then that will fall short.

And what I want us to get to before we get into our themes, and that'll be next as we go through

this, and this is not just for the book of Ruth. This is for every book in God's Word. This is for

every event of your life. It's this, that God is the hero of the story. That God is the hero of the story.

That when we read the Bible, that when we read Ruth, and we see the details that are unfolding,

it is the declaration of who God is, and it's the declaration of what God is doing, and even the

character traits that it reveals of the individuals in the story, of what does it teach us about the

character and the heart of God, and how is it making us long to love Him more? How is it stirring our

hearts and our affections toward Him more? And so that's what I want us to be mindful of as we go through

this, is at the end of the day, we're not going to stand up here and sing songs to Ruth.

We're not going to walk out of here, and I want to be more like Ruth.

We're not going to walk out of here and say, God, stir my heart for Ruth.

But God, how can I proclaim who you are, right? How through your wonderful servant, Ruth,

can you stir my affections for you? And Lord, as I see in the lives of individuals like Ruth,

Naomi and Boaz, and all that happens and all that takes place in their life, Lord, how can I understand

that they are just like I am, and that, Lord, what I need more of is not more of them, and what I need

more of is not more of me, but what I need more of is more of you, right? And so that's going to be the

heart as we walk through this, all right? Now, there's going to be three major themes that go

through here that we're going to focus in on week in and week out. And so this morning,

Smokey and the Bandit, right? All right, y'all just bear with me as I chase this rabbit, okay?

Smokey and the Bandit, there's that song, I got a long way to go in a short time to get there,

right? That's this morning, okay? So these themes that we're going to have, that we're going to go

through, by no means are we going to unpack all of that this morning and the richness and the

goodness of God's Word in understanding these, but what it'll do is it'll begin to work our palette

into what God's going to have for us to taste in weeks to come, all right? And so as we go through,

as we talk about these, it'll help us build week in and week out of what God has for us and what God

is going to teach us. And so three different themes that we're going to look at, and the first one is

this, the providence of God. All throughout Scripture and a primary focus of Ruth is going

to be on the providence of God. And what I want us to understand, kind of a simplified definition of

the providence of God is this, is that God is in control of all things and that He is sovereignly

in control. And what this doctrine is going to stand against is the idea that the events of this

universe, the events of this world, and the events of your life and my life happen by chance or fate.

And that's not how God works, and that's not what God is doing. And instead, what we're going to find

through the providence of God is that God uses divine providence to accomplish His will and to ensure

His purposes are fulfilled. So that as we read through and as we begin in chapter one here next

week, and we see the devastation, and we see the pain, and we see the suffering, that in the midst of

that, God's still in control. God didn't say, nope, I'm done, I'm out, hands turned loose.

That God is working, and that God is moving, and at every single point in this, there's a greater

thing that is playing out, a greater purpose that is playing out, and we have the beauty of being able

to see that and to go with that, all right? And that is not just true in the life of Ruth, but that's

true for us. It's true in our life. My favorite verse, I feel like I quote this verse almost every

week, right? Romans 8, 28. And we know that for those who love God, say those next two words with me,

all things, all right? All things work together for good for those who were called according to His

purpose. Not some, but all. That in the events of your life, as joy-filled as they can be,

and as painful as they can be, as confident as you can be in walking in some and in others where you

feel like you're lost and wandering aimlessly, in those, we know that God in all things work

together for good for those who were called according to His purpose. And for us as believers, this brings

so much hope to us. Because this means that every bit of struggle, every bit of pain, every bit of

suffering is not wasted, that God is using that for a greater good that you and I oftentimes can't see,

can't understand, can't comprehend, but God's working in it, and we just got to trust Him through it.

There's a question that comes up with the providence of God, and it's this.

The battle that seems to exist between divine providence and human sin.

And the question that arises is this, is how can humans choose to sin, but God still be in complete control?

That's a legitimate question. If God's in control, and yet we see, we live in, we experience, and even though

we're saved, you and I oftentimes still choose sin, how can that, these two things that seem to be at war

and that contradiction with one another still exists to be true? And here's what I just say. That in this

tension that we live in of the divine providence of God and the human sin that we see, that we still

have to understand that God hates sin, and God will judge sinners. Got to understand that God is not the

author of sin, nor does he tempt anyone to sin. And in what we can't understand, because our minds,

mine, yours, all of us, is limited to the perspective of this world, God hates sin, but allows a certain

measure. And I don't know why.

Now, I can't look at every event and line these up and say that in my brain, this makes sense, this makes

sense, this makes sense. But it's what we see, and it's what we trust, and it's what we know. And what

God does graciously throughout scripture is he reminds us the beauty of how he works and the beauty of what

he does, even in the midst of humanity, who tries to come in and mess it all up.

I want to kind of tell you the story of two stories in scripture that you're going to have heard, and

hopefully that you know. One is the story of Joseph that begins in Genesis chapter 37. Now, I'm way

going to shriek the whole, like, numerous chapters down into a couple of sentences, all right?

The story of Joseph, God allowed Joseph's brothers to kidnap him, sell him into slavery,

and lie to their father about it. That's a really short summation of what happens.

God allows that to happen because God had a different plan. And then that Joseph ended up

in Egypt. And we're not even going to get into all the struggles that he faced in Egypt,

but God gets him in Egypt, and he became a prime minister. He used his position within the government

to sustain the people through a seven-year famine. Get this, even his own family benefit from it.

And in the midst of the unfolding of this story, when Joseph stands in this moment before his family,

there are two verses I want to read to you. Genesis 45, verse 5.

Joseph says this, and now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here

for God sent me before you to preserve life, is what Joseph said. Look at chapter 50, verse 20.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

To bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.

And this is what we see in the life of Joseph.

This is what we see in how God works.

This is what we see in God moving.

And what God does is God says, hey, man intends it for this,

but watch what I'm going to do.

Who could do this? No one else but God.

Only God could take these events and turn them and say,

but man, watch how I'm still in control.

Watch how I'm still in control.

The other one, what we just looked at last week,

I'm sorry, last week, the crucifixion of Jesus.

Sinfully betrayed by Judas.

Deserted by most of his followers.

His own words spoken to him and not believed.

Innocently murdered on a cross,

but for a purpose.

For a purpose.

Luke 22, 22 says this.

Jesus' own words.

For the son of man goes as it has been determined.

But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.

Right?

It was what we see, the truth of this.

The consequence of sin and the determined plan of God.

And what we see unfold in this.

And what you'll see throughout the story of Ruth

is the divine providence of God continually working and moving

in the events of life from tragedy to everyday encounters.

And as I was thinking through this this week,

and as I was praying through this this week,

it just reminded me that in every moment of my life,

we can trust and know that God is in control and that God is working.

No matter the news of devastation that you get.

Or no matter the news of hope that you get.

On either spectrum of life and everywhere in between.

God is in control and God is working.

And here's what we do in that.

Here's what we do in this wide scope of life.

We trust, we obey.

We trust, and we obey.

And what I found in that is that when we trust,

and when we obey, and when we go where he calls us to go,

and do with what he calls us to do,

it's so much more peaceful to live in that wide gap of life.

It's not always easy.

It's not even, it's not even always fun.

But we can find the peace and joy of God in that.

When we trust him and we obey him.

Another theme that's going to come up in the relationships between people

that we're going to see in the relationships between them and God

is also the concept of covenants, right?

So a covenant is a chosen relationship or partnership

in which two parties make a bonding promise to each other

and work together for a common goal.

And as you read through the Old Testament and the New Testament, right?

What we think, you know, Old Testament is all the covenants,

but as we read through Old Testament and New Testament,

as we read through that,

what we're going to see is that God is a covenant-making God.

This is what he does.

This is who he is, right?

At least 280 times in the Old Testament,

the word for covenant is used.

And maybe that's why we associate it so much with the Old Testament

because we do hear it more.

But at least 33 times in the New Testament,

the word for covenant is used as well.

And not necessarily in correlation with Old Testament covenant

and explaining that.

And so we see that all throughout Scripture,

it's a concept that continues to unfold of who God is.

In fact, the word testament that we get for our Bibles,

the Old Testament and the New Testament,

is where we get the word covenant from.

So that when you open it up, you're looking at the Old Covenant,

you're looking at the New Covenant.

And what we see is that God is a covenant-making God.

Now, I wanted to prove that to you,

and not by going through every covenant that is in Scripture,

but I wanted to just draw out really quickly,

or as quickly as I can this morning,

several of the covenants that I think will point us to

a great understanding of what's going to happen

and take place in Ruth and who God is

and what God is doing.

The first covenant I want to talk about this morning

is the Noahic covenant, which is found in Genesis 9.

And I'm going to read verses, start in verse 18.

And then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

Behold, I will establish my covenant with you

and with your offspring after you,

and with every living creature that is with you,

the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you,

as many as come out of the ark.

It is for every beast of the earth.

I will establish my covenant with you

that never again shall all flesh be cut off

from the waters of the flood,

and never again shall there be a flood

to destroy the earth.

And God said, this is the sign of the covenant

that I will make between me and you

and every living creature that is with you

for all future generations.

I have set my bow in the cloud,

and it shall be a sign of the covenant

between me and the earth.

And when I bring clouds over the earth

and the bow is seen in the clouds,

I will remember my covenant

that is between me and you

and every living creature of all flesh.

And the water shall never again become a flood

to destroy all flesh.

When the bow is in the clouds,

I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant

between God and every living creature

of all flesh that is on earth.

And God said to Noah,

this is the sign of the covenant

that I have established between me

and all the flesh that is on the earth.

And so what God does in this

is because of his faithfulness

to always do what he says we will do,

we will know that with all certainty,

there will never be another worldwide flood

as there was in the days of Noah,

no matter how wicked man becomes.

God says, this is on me

in my faithfulness with who I am, right?

The world is still wicked,

man is still wicked,

but God has made this promise.

And so he even gives us a sign

to remind us of that,

that when we see the rainbow after the storm, right,

it is not reminding us of how good we are.

It's not even reminding us

of how beautiful the world is.

It is reminding us how beautiful God is

as the hero of the story.

But God also in Genesis

will give the Abrahamic covenant.

Now, this is on several different passages in Genesis.

I'm gonna read the first

and then speak to several others.

In Genesis 17, seven through eight,

God says, I will establish my covenant

between me and you

and your offsprings after you

throughout their generations

for an everlasting covenant

to be God to you

and to your offspring after you.

And I will give to you

and to your offspring after you

the land of your sojournings,

all the land of Canaan

for an everlasting possession,

and I will be their God.

And so we see this relational aspect

that is developed here.

And as God continues on

in his covenant with Abraham,

God makes the promise

that these people will be a great nation

and that Abraham will be the father of these nations

and that from this nation,

that this nation will be

and from this nation will be a great promise

and from that will come redemption for the people.

Beginning to point and continuing

to tell the journey

and the story of pointing to Jesus.

And so God continually makes covenants

and God continually fulfills what God said he would do.

We can continue on the Mosaic covenant

in Exodus 19.

God says,

Now therefore,

if you will indeed obey my voice

and keep my covenant,

you shall be my treasured possession

among all peoples

for all the earth is mine

and you shall be to me

a kingdom of priests

and a holy nation.

These are the words

that you shall speak

to the people of Israel.

So Moses came

and called the elders of the people

and set before them

all these words

that the Lord had commanded him

and all the people answered together

and all that the Lord has spoken,

we will do.

And Moses reported the words

of the people to the Lord

and the Lord said to Moses,

Behold,

I'm coming to you

in a thick cloud

that the people may hear

when I speak with you

and may also believe you forever.

Right?

And so we get this Mosaic covenant,

this covenant made between God

and the nation of Israel

and that this will be centered

around God giving his divine law

to Moses

and then Moses to the people

so that they'll understand

what it means to follow him,

they'll understand

what it means to honor him,

they'll understand

what it means to glorify him.

And so what we see in this

is not just God saying

what he's going to do,

but God also commanding them

of what they're to do

in response of the covenant.

And then one that's going to be

really big for what we see

is the Davidic covenant.

In 2 Samuel 7, 16,

it says,

And your house and your kingdom

shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever.

An unconditional covenant

made between God and David

through which God promises

is David and Israel

that the Messiah,

Jesus Christ,

would come from the lineage of David,

the tribe of Judah,

and would establish a kingdom

that would last forever.

That would last forever.

That David would live his life

and rule here on earth

and die.

And the lineage would continue on.

But that Christ would come

and he would reign

and he would establish his kingdom

and this kingdom would continue on.

And this kingdom would be one

that wouldn't go away.

And for you and I

who are a part,

for you and I who are saved,

the kingdom we're a part of.

Which brings us to the New Testament,

to the New Covenant.

And Jesus,

the night of the Last Supper,

what we talk about

of what we take in Matthew 26,

says,

Now as they were eating,

Jesus took bread

and after blessing broke it

and gave it to the disciples

and said,

Take, eat,

this is my body.

And he took a cup

and we give him thanks.

He gave it to them saying,

Drink of it, all of you,

for this is my blood

of the covenant

which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sin.

I tell you,

I will not drink again

of this fruit of the vine

until the day

when I drink it new with you

in my Father's kingdom.

The New Covenant,

the promise that God makes

with humanity,

that he forgives the sin

and restores the fellowship

with those whose hearts

are torn toward him.

And Jesus is the mediator

of the new covenant

and his death on the cross

is the basis for this promise.

And this is who God is.

And this is what God is working in.

And this is what God is doing.

So you and I

are in a covenant relationship

with the Lord.

Not because of our behavior.

Not because of,

we go to church.

Not because of how many good things

we feel like we can do.

But we've been brought

into the relationship

with God

through the new covenant,

through the blood of Christ.

And that's why it's through Christ

and Christ alone.

And what we see in covenants

and what God wants to show us

in covenants

is God's faithfulness

to his people.

And their reminder

to be faithful to him

because of who he is,

because of what he's done,

and because of what he promises to do.

And so that when we look at

covenants,

it's more than an arrangement.

It's more than an agreement even.

It's deeper than that.

It's not based in who I am.

It's not based in who you are,

but it's based in the very character

and nature of God.

And the last theme

that we're going to talk about this morning

is the theme of redemption.

And this is going to be big throughout Ruth.

And the word redeem

in a biblical historical account

means to buy out.

It was commonly associated

with indentured servants or slaves.

That there was a debt that was owed

that needed to be paid.

And who would step in

and pay this debt

and redeem this individual.

And we'll talk about a lot more of this

throughout the book of Ruth.

But what we're going to see in Ruth

is this concept

of the kinsman redeemer.

And the concept of kinsman redeemer

it probably isn't something

that we talked a lot about

in church

that we haven't heard a lot

or experienced a lot.

But the kinsman redeemer

is a male relative

who according to the laws

of the Pentateuch

had the privilege

or responsibility

to act on behalf

of a relative

who was in trouble,

in danger,

or in need.

And this was given

in Leviticus

as the standard.

In Leviticus 25, 25,

if your brother

becomes poor

and sells part

of his property,

then his nearest

redeemer

shall come

and redeem

what his brother

has sold.

The Hebrew term

for kinsman redeemer

designates

a person

who delivers,

who rescues

or who redeems

a property

but also

a person.

A person.

And in the story

of Ruth,

this will be Boaz.

But for us,

it's Jesus.

And this is how

we're going to see

the telling

of the gospel

unfold.

I don't know

if you know

this or not.

And if you don't

know this,

and I hope

that every single

one of you do,

but if you don't

know this,

if you're lost

in your trespasses

and sins,

the Bible says

that you need

to be redeemed.

Romans 3, 23,

and 24 says,

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God

and are justified

by his grace

as a gift

through the redemption

that is in Christ Jesus.

Where we find

ourselves

is we are either

former sinners

who have been

redeemed

and made new

by the blood

of the Lamb

or we're sinners

who need to be

redeemed

and delivered

and rescued

for our sin

because there's a debt

that we can't pay.

There's a debt

that we owe.

And you and I,

no matter how hard

we work,

no matter what

we try to save up for,

we can't do that.

And so what we celebrated

last week,

what we proclaim

every Sunday,

what we live for

in every moment

of our life

is so because

of this debt,

because of your debt

and your debt

and your debt

and my debt,

God sent Jesus.

In Galatians 3, 13,

Christ redeemed us

from the curse

of the law

by becoming

a curse for us.

for it is written,

everyone who's cursed,

a curse is everyone

who is hanged

on a tree.

Jesus in his own words

says in Matthew 20, 28,

even as the Son of Man

came not to be served,

but to serve

and to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

So God sent Jesus

who redeemed us

by dying for us.

The death we deserved,

he died for.

And it's the story

of the scripture.

Because you see,

I can never

be the hero

of the story

because I can't

save myself.

I can never

be the hero

of the story

because I can't

save you.

I can never

be the hero

of the story

because I can't

get it all right.

I can never

be the hero

of the story

because of the sin

that I choose

in my life.

But Jesus

never chose sin.

Jesus walked

in holiness,

in perfection,

and it's who he is.

And that's why

in every single moment,

in every single piece,

he's the hero

of the story.

It doesn't mean

that there's not

men and women

in my life

who didn't pour out

the grace

of the gospel

to me,

but it's the story

of Jesus

who saved me

and who made

me new.

And so he's

the hero

of the story.

And so I told you

we'd get there.

Look down at

Ruth chapter 4

verse 13.

So Boaz

took Ruth

and she became

his wife

and he went

into her

and the Lord

gave her conception

and she bore

a son.

And then the woman

said to Naomi,

blessed be the Lord

who has not left

you this day

without a redeemer.

and may his name

be renowned

in Israel.

He shall be

to you

restorer of life

and a nourisher

of your old age

and your daughter-in-law

who loves you,

who is more to you

than seven sons

has given birth

to him.

And then Naomi

took the child

and laid him

on her lap

and became

his nurse.

And the women

of the neighborhood

gave him a name

saying,

a son has been

born to Naomi

and they called

him Obed.

He was the father

of Jesse

and the father

of David.

The line of Jesus.

And you don't

have to turn there

but today

you're going to read

Matthew chapter 1.

I'm just going to

read the first verse.

The book of the

genealogy of

Jesus Christ,

the son of David,

the son of Abraham.

What God

said he would

do

because he

is faithful.

As we read

through the story

of Ruth together,

I pray that we

celebrate as we

see all that

God has done.

And I pray

that we long

for and to see

more of what

God is doing.

As we read

through and study

the story of Ruth

together,

my prayer for you

and the prayer

for me

is in the midst

of our uncertainty,

in the midst

of our chaos,

in the midst

of our suffering,

in the midst

of our struggle,

we will trust

his plan

even if we

don't know it.

Even if we

don't know it.

And that we'll

know that he's

in control.

My prayer

for you

and I

is that

because God

is a covenant

making God

who holds

his word

and fulfills

what he says

every time

that you

and I

will lean

in more

and trust

on his promises

more.

And that

what we'll see

throughout

the book

of Ruth

of what

God is doing

is laying

out the

salvation

of the world.

His plan.

To save

his sons

and daughters.

I hope

that

it's not

just the

introduction

but that

in a time

and a period

where there's

lots of things

that want to

pull us

different ways

that we can

make the choice

to be here

to journey

through

to open up

and to read

this

historically

inspired

account

about

Ruth

that

tells

the story

of our

God.

Let's pray.

Lord we

come to you

this morning

thanking you

and praising you

for who you

are Lord

and for all

that you've

done.

Lord we

thank you

that what

you're doing

in the life

of Ruth

what you did

in the life

of Ruth

what you're

doing in

our life

you're

taking us

through

events

and

circumstances

to build

our trust

in you

and to

show your

faithfulness.

Lord I pray

that as we

walk through

these we

will choose

to obey

and choose

to trust

that we

will remove

ourselves

from what

we feel

and Lord

and instead

respond to

who you

are

Lord and

what you're

doing

and what

you're

teaching us

and what

you're

showing us.

Lord I

thank you

that in the

sovereignty

of your

plan

every tear

matters.

Every moment

is a lesson

for us

that you're

using it

all

not just

some

not just

parts

not just

the good

not just

the bad

but all

of it

all

of it

to draw

us to

you

and to

declare

your name.

God

thank you

for being

a God

who is

in control

thank you

for being

a covenant

God

who we

can trust

and thank

you

for sending

your son

Jesus

to die

on the

cross

to be

resurrected

again

so that

we may

find

forgiveness

and

life

thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge

Church

weekly

podcast

we hope

that you

enjoyed

listening to

this week's

message

if you'd like

to learn

more about

who we are

or explore

additional

resources

visit us

online at

www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching

for Willow Ridge Church

on Facebook

and Instagram

and Instagram.