“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” (Mark 11:12-13, NIV)
We're going to be spending the next few weeks in Mark's Gospel, finishing the journey we started back in June 2018. We're starting with a fig tree, without figs, when it wasn't the season for figs. Why has Mark recorded this for us? Why is it important? I hope you'll join us online at 10:30am for our Sunday morning service.
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory a...
“One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing-floor.” (Ruth 3:1-2, NIV)
Last week, the answer to Ruth and Naomi’s situation was clear - an eligible bachelor named Boaz. As we start Ruth chapter 3, however, several weeks have passed, and it looks like a marriage is no closer. In order to resolve this, Naomi concocts a bold plan of action. The plan is highly risky for Ruth: she will need to trust her mother-in-law and her redeemer totally if she is to be safe.
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.
“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.
“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.