“So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.” (Ruth 2:17-18, NIV)
Last Sunday, we saw how Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem, having heard that there was food to eat. In Ruth chapter 2, we read how Ruth went out to the fields to glean - to gather the leftover barley behind the harvesters. God’s provision for Ruth and Naomi is not just an abundance of food, but so much more. Naomi’s trust in the God who rescues is not misplaced.
I hope that you’ll be able to join us in-person or online this Sunday, as we look at the second chapter of Ruth together. Why not spend some time reading the whole of Ruth before we look at it as a church family.
Virtual Coffee Shop
This Wednesday, at 10:30, we'll be having our regular Virtual Coffee Shop, if you can join us for that, it would be great to see you.
Virtual Coffee Shop
This Wednesday, at 10:30, we'll be having our regular Virtual Coffee Shop, if you can join us for that, it would be great to see you.
I hope that these prayers are useful, and that you are able to spend a few minutes at noon each day, as we pray together as a church family. Please do keep sending your prayer suggestions to me, so that we can make sure we are praying around the needs, burdens and encouragements of our whole church family.
“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. … When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. … So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” (Ruth 1:1-2, 6, 22, NIV)
In the four weeks of Advent, we’re going to be looking at the four chapters of the book of Ruth. It’s a short book, but one that tells us of love and healing, of God’s promises and care for his people, and of the promise of a rescuer. Ruth also ends with a baby being born in Bethlehem!
I hope that you’ll be able to join us online on Sunday, as we look at the first chapter of Ruth together. Why not spend some time reading the whole of Ruth before we look at it as a church family.