The Story Chapter 18 Post Sermon

What does it take to be a Daniel in today’s culture? How can you stay faithful to God even in the midst of others who might make fun of you or mock you for your belief?

There are small things you can do on a daily basis. Pray in restaurants before you eat.  Stay tuned to God’s frequencies on the radio dial and not what the world says. Or maybe let others see you reading something that is God related.

It all begins and ends with God. God gives us the courage, if we dare, to be bold in God’s name. God gives us the ability to stand firm in our faith.

We live in a time when we must stand firm for Jesus.  This is not about religion, it is not about politics, it is about standing firm for the person of Jesus Christ. Because I am convinced that all who are introduced to Jesus will want to know more about the One who has come to be the light to the world.

Click here to hear one of the songs we sang at our early worship this past week, reminding us that God does not abandon us, not even for a moment.

The Story Chapter 10- An Introduction

This is a picture that I took of the historical picture from District 6 in Cape Town South Africa of the voting lines on the first day that black South Africans had the privilege to vote. Person after person told me that it was so exciting that their voice was finally going to be heard.

God heard the voice of the people of Israel too. Even though God was to be their leader, the people saw that surrounding cities had kings, and they wanted one too. So God’s permissive will allowed the people to have a king. Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel.

At first, things went well. Saul sought out the will of God and went forward with God in the lead. But that little thing that separates us from God called sin still existed in the world, and sin entered into Saul’s heart. Saul began to do things of his own will, he did not follow God. Pride set in, self indulgence took over. Lust and greed and pride all had won over Saul’s heart. So God told Samuel to anoint a new king.

We, too, have to be so very careful. From the leaders of our own land to the workings of our own hearts. Sin is always trying to find a way into our lives. We have to ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis to resist temptation to be self indulgent instead of seeking out God’s will.

Even on this, election day, we pray that whoever wins this race, will surround themselves with Godly advisers and that they will seek out God’s overall will.

How about you? Are you seeking to fulfill God’s greater purpose, or are you living for yourself, regardless of those around you? God has a plan for your life too.  Seek it out.

The Story Chapter 9 Post Sermon

“Ruth and Naomi” by contemporary Chinese artist He Qi

Ruth lived in a culture that was during the times of the judges defined by honor and shame. Ruth was one who was shamed: Shamed as a widow with no offspring, shamed with no family, shamed as a foreigner in a foreign land and shamed as one who was forced to glean the fields in a foreign country  in order to survive.

But Boaz came along and traded Ruth’s shame for honor. Boaz became Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer. Boaz gave new life, new hope and honor to both Ruth and her Mother-In-law, Naomi.

Ruth not only has her honor restored, but God uses her in God’s upper story to place her in the lineage of Jesus the Christ, the ultimate redeemer of the world.

Just as Boaz took away the shadow of shame under which Ruth was living, so too Jesus takes away the shadow of shame that we might be living under, and Jesus replaces it with his own righteousness, his own honor.

What shame are you living with that needs to be given over to Jesus? Jesus loves you where you are. Jesus accepts you where you are and says, “Come my son, come my daughter, you are mine.” Hand over your secrets and your shame to Jesus.

The Story Chapter 9 Reflection Questions

The story of Israel’s judges closes with a line that could just as well be the opening for the story of Ruth: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Judges 21:25) God’s chosen ones looked more like a reality show gone wrong than a holy beacon of hope. They had abandoned God’s plan (again) and had become moral misfits and spiritual adulterers. The light had gone out on God’s people. Then a foreigner stepped onto the stage and a candle of hope flickered once again.

The story of Ruth is a literary and redemptive gem that glimmers against a backdrop of blackness. In the opening scene, Naomi’s family caravanned away from the Promised Land where famine had left them hungry for food and for hope.  They settled in Moab where idol worship was the prevailing ritual and God seemed far away.  Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.  The weddings were too quickly followed by funerals—three of them. Naomi’s husband died first.  Soon after, both of her sons died too.  And all that was left was three widows, no children and no prospects.  The prospects were indeed grim.

Yet this is a story of redemption, God’s redemption in the midst of no hope. How can this story give you hope for a situation that seems to have no hope?

Use these questions taken from the individual Bible studies to use for your reflection questions.

1. Meanings of Biblical names are always significant. Elimelek’s name meant “my God is King.”  Naomi’s name meant “my pleasantness,” but later asked to be called Mara, meaning “bitterness.”  Ruth’s name meant “friendship.”  Boaz’ name meant “swift strength.”  Who best lived up to their names and who did not?

2. Compare Naomi’s attitude at the beginning and end of this story.  How does her view of God and the Upper Story change?

3. Look at Ruth and Boaz’s interaction with Naomi. What can you learn about the challenges and benefits of caring for an aging parent? What challenges do you face with your parents?

4. The period of the Judges was marked by weak faith and irresponsible living, but this foreign woman gives hope. What specific examples of strong faith and responsible living can you find in the characters of Ruth and Boaz?

5. The story of Ruth demonstrates laws that God had given Israel to take care of marginalized people (Deut. 25:5-10, Lev. 25:25, Lev. 19:9-10).  What do these laws and customs reveal about the heart of God for the poor, the widow and the orphan?  How could your group care for the less fortunate and thereby reflect the heart of God?

7. The word for redeem is used twenty times in this story, making it a key theme.  What does it mean to be redeemed? How does Boaz’s redeeming of Ruth compare to our redemption found in Christ?

8. What some people might call coincidence others call divine providence.  What are some key examples of God’s divine providence in this story?

The Story Chapter 9 Introduction

(Pictured above, Ruth gleaning the fields of grain.)

Chapter 9 continues in The Story with a family saga that is so real that it could almost be any of our families.This story could be placed in almost any place or context. It is about a family of Israelites that could not find food during the famine and so they went to a foreign country, Moab to find work and food. Moab is across the Jordan river from their home village of Bethlehem.

After Naomi’s husband and sons die she decides to go back home to Bethlehem, one daughter-in-law, Ruth comes with her.

Let’s tell the story of  Ruth a little differently: There is famine in the land, the family of 3 was starving, so they left Mexico, El Salvador, (you fill in the place) and they went to the United States where there were jobs. The boys marry local women, but then the dad and the boys all die, leaving all three women on their own. The Mom decides to go back to Mexico, do the daughters-in-law go back with her?

About now you might be saying, wait a minute, this is very different. But realize this scene could play out in a similar fashion almost anywhere. Ruth was a Moabite woman who went back with her mother-in-law to a country that was not her own. She was ultimately allowed to glean the grain from the fields AND Boaz became her protector and her redeemer. He not only accepted a foreign woman, but he married her! This foreign woman ultimately became part of the genealogy of Jesus, the ultimate Redeemer!

Think of a time when you were accepted in the midst of folk who were different from you, or think of a time you were not accepted. What did that feel like?

Dream about different ways this story could have played out as your read Ruth. Remember, God’s upper story is always at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot see. God’s upper story is working in your story too.