How To Use This Guide:
listen
Listen to the weekly sermon and read through the main passages(s)
reflect
Prayerfully answer the questions below
discuss
Meet with your group to discuss
respond
Apply the truth of God’s word to your life
How To Use This Guide:
listen
Listen to the weekly sermon and read through the main passages(s)
reflect
Prayerfully answer the questions below
discuss
Meet with your group to discuss
respond
Apply the truth of God’s word to your life
latest message:
background
The Book of Ruth tells the story of God’s provision. In a time when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25), we see the development of a marriage founded on a shared commitment to God. During this tumultuous period in Israel’s history, God not only provided for two widows, Naomi and Ruth, but he also used their actions to preserve his people.
Naomi, who had lost her husband and sons, urged her Moabite daughters-in-law to return to their families and find new husbands. Ruth, choosing to follow Naomi, embraced the God of Israel. The timing of each part of the story is divinely orchestrated. Ruth gleans the fields where she “happens” to come across the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz, noticing Ruth, learned of her reputation and offered her protection and provisions. This relationship would blossom into a marriage, one that would preserve the family line that would bring Christ into the world.
Marriage is one of the most valuable institutions we have been given. It can shine brightly, even in the darkest times. Thriving marriages symbolize hope for future generations. Rather than discourage us, turmoil should inspire us to embrace love and partnership. In this way, marriage affirms that joy and unity will ultimately triumph.
Naomi, who had lost her husband and sons, urged her Moabite daughters-in-law to return to their families and find new husbands. Ruth, choosing to follow Naomi, embraced the God of Israel. The timing of each part of the story is divinely orchestrated. Ruth gleans the fields where she “happens” to come across the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz, noticing Ruth, learned of her reputation and offered her protection and provisions. This relationship would blossom into a marriage, one that would preserve the family line that would bring Christ into the world.
Marriage is one of the most valuable institutions we have been given. It can shine brightly, even in the darkest times. Thriving marriages symbolize hope for future generations. Rather than discourage us, turmoil should inspire us to embrace love and partnership. In this way, marriage affirms that joy and unity will ultimately triumph.
open
1. What is some of the best marriage advice you’ve ever received?
reflect
2. Read Ruth 4:13-17. After Boaz and Ruth are married and have their first son, how do the women in the community respond to Naomi? How has this relationship impacted Naomi’s hope for the future (cf. Ruth 1:20-21)?
3. Why is it significant that this book records the story of a seemingly ordinary marriage? How can ordinary marriages spread God’s message of hope?
4. In what ways did the relationship between Boaz and Ruth influence the world? Why is it significant that Ruth’s name appears in the Genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5)?
3. Why is it significant that this book records the story of a seemingly ordinary marriage? How can ordinary marriages spread God’s message of hope?
4. In what ways did the relationship between Boaz and Ruth influence the world? Why is it significant that Ruth’s name appears in the Genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5)?
apply
5. In a world that focuses on celebrity weddings and fairytale romances, why is it important to emphasize the beauty of “ordinary” marriages? What are some of the ways ordinary marriages can have an extraordinary influence on others?
6. Whether you are married or single, what are some ways you can champion the importance of healthy marriages? How can your attitude toward marriage showcase the hope we have in Christ?
7. What practical ways you can center your relationship to marriage on Jesus instead of focusing on yourself or your spouse (or potential future spouse)? As a group, how can we encourage one another to this end?
6. Whether you are married or single, what are some ways you can champion the importance of healthy marriages? How can your attitude toward marriage showcase the hope we have in Christ?
7. What practical ways you can center your relationship to marriage on Jesus instead of focusing on yourself or your spouse (or potential future spouse)? As a group, how can we encourage one another to this end?
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