Christian Living on Ruth

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Blessed is She

Author

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Scripture

Genesis 18:9-14, Genesis 38:26, Joshua 2:11-12, Ruth 1:16-17, 2 Samuel 12:, Luke 1:13-14, Luke 1:30-33

For Those Who Still Hope I am Sarah Bitter and barren Burnt out by this promise that never came Worn out from waiting Laughing to hide the aching Longing for these empty arms to hold a baby B...

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Author

Randy Alcorn

Keywords

Scripture

Philemon 1:8-21, Ruth 1:16-17, John 4:4-26, Luke 19:1-10, Ephesians 4:32

The story is told of a little girl who prayed, “Lord, make the bad people good and the good people nice.”

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When the Church Isn’t so Welcoming

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1–3 , Isaiah 56:3–7, Ruth 1:16–17 , Luke 10:25–37, Acts 8:26–39, Psalm 146:7–9

Lamin Sanneh, the African theologian who would be pivotal in the development of missional theology, was raised in an orthodox Muslim household in Gambia. He found himself drawn to Christianity after e...

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A Theology of Interruptions

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 18:1–8, 2 Kings 4:8–10 , Ruth 2:10–12, Luke 8:43–48 , Matthew 15:21–28, Psalm 145:8–9

I have a friend who says he wants to write a book on the life of Jesus and call it “a theology of interruptions.” Because, he says, so many of the things that Jesus said or did in the Gospel stories h...

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Defining Kindness

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Ruth 2:10–13 , 2 Samuel 9:, Proverbs 11:17, Luke 10:25–37, Ephesians 4:32, Psalm 145:8–9

What is kindness, then? What sort of behavior do we have in mind when we say that someone has been kind to us or to others? I think the essence of kindness is being thoughtful for others more than for...

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Do Christians Live Differently?

Author

Christopher H. J. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:20, Leviticus 19:18, Ruth 1:16–17 , John 13:34–35, Acts 2:44–47 , Psalm 133:1

Now of course, none of us is perfect, and all of us fail in all kinds of ways. That is why we often protect ourselves a bit when we say things like, “Don’t look at me, or don’t look at Christians; loo...

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Author

K.J. Ramsey

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-3 , Numbers 6:22-27, Ruth 2:8-12, Luke 1:39-45, Psalm 5:1-12 , Psalm 133:1-3

To bless is to bridge. A blessing is a bridge to belonging, built right in the place we feel separated from hope. Words of blessing bring us back to the beautiful truth of being human: we belong to on...

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Sacrificial Courage

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:13, Esther 4:14-16, John 10:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:16, Ruth 1:16-17, Luke 10:30-37, Matthew 25:40, Psalm 82:3-4

A truly remarkable example of sacrificial courage took place in Folsom, New Mexico, in 1908. When a flood was racing toward the valley, a resident from the hills warned a local woman, S. J. Brooks, th...

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Ash Wednesday and St. Valentine

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 107:null, John 21:15-19, Ruth 1:16-17, Matthew 22:37-39, Isaiah 61:3, Romans 5:8

A Valentine’s Day Tradition What better way to say, “I love you,” than passing your beloved some sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, and glycerin wrapped in a chalkly Necco wafer heart? Maybe some of you re...

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Why Get Out of Bed? Because of Love

Author

Alan Noble

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:, Ruth 1:16-18, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Luke 10:25-37, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Matthew 26:36-46, Isaiah 41:10

Adapted from Ch 4 of On Getting out of Bed. Why is Existence Good? Living for the sake of living—doing things so that you can continue to efficiently do things—begs the question, Why live? To live...

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Father—you know us like no-one else;

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:38-39, Acts 16:25-34, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 9:20-22

Father—you know us like no-one else; and ...You love us like no-one else. Thank You for your manifold gifts. For the gift of life—we thank You. For the gift of each new day—we thank You. For the gift ...

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God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father,

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 4:14-17, Ruth 1:16-18, Mark 10:13-16, 1 Chronicles 29:19, Luke 15:11-32, Genesis 12:3, Joshua 24:15

God of grace, wisdom and hope—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name. You created us in Your image, making us for relationships, giving us meaning...

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God of nurture and care, You seek to

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:37, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:11, John 14:16-17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Ruth 2:8-12

God of nurture and care, You seek to gather us together as a mother hen gathers her chicks. You seek to be our refuge in times of trouble. As we have gathered together today, draw us closer to You, de...

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Lord – You are good …and Your goodness

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:4-7, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:25-37, Mark 4:35-41, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 41:10

Lord – You are good …and Your goodness knows no bounds. When we were lost, You sought us out, found us and brought us home. When we were alone, You came near to us, and You gave us a new circle of fri...

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Children of God, go now in peace to

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 4:32-35, Ruth 1:16-18, Psalm 121:7-8, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Colossians 3:23-24

Children of God, go now in peace to love and to serve, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Author

Peter Rollins

Keywords

Scripture

John 12:1-8, Ruth 1:16-17, 1 John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 3:16

Love is the crazy, mad, and perhaps ridiculous gesture of saying yes to life, of seeing it as worthy of our embrace and even worthy of our total sacrifice.

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Author

Dwight L. Moody

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Ruth 1:16-18, Mark 2:1-12, Genesis 22:1-19, Colossians 3:14

Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy.

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Author

Leo Tolstoy

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:1-44, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Samuel 18:1-4, Ruth 1:16-17, Mark 12:30-31, 1 John 4:7-8

“I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.”

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Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:38-42, Ruth 1:16-17, Luke 15:11-32, 1 John 4:16, Hebrews 13:14

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

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A Little Girl and The Founding of World Vision

Author

Soong-Chan Rah

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:35-40, James 1:19-27, Luke 10:33-37, John 21:15-17, 1 John 3:17-18, Ruth 2:8-12, Acts 9:36-42, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 6:38

In 1947 huge crowds came to hear a thirty-two-year-old Californian preach at mass evangelistic rallies throughout China. Although Bob Pierce had no knowledge of Chinese language or culture, his messag...

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Love Turned Inside-Out

Author

Lisa Allardice

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 20:36-38, Deuteronomy 34:5-8, John 19:25-27, Ruth 1:1-22, Revelation 21:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

In an interview discussing her most recent book Hamnet, the novelist Maggie O’Farrell shares a great analogy on grief. It started with research she needed to do on embroidery, an area in which she was...

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The Heart of Christian Virtue

Author

Richard P. McBrien

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 22:36-40, Luke 10:25-37, Ruth 1:16

If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without l...

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The Meaning of “What Did You Wear?”

Author

Deborah Tannen

Keywords

Scripture

Song of Solomon 8:7, 1 John 4:7-8, Proverbs 19:22, Ruth 1:16-17, Genesis 17:21, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 2:36-38

My Great-Aunt May had a love affair when she was in her 70’s. Obese, balding, her hands and legs mishappen by arthritis, she did not fit the stereotype of a woman romatically loved. But she was — by a...

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I’ll Wash the Clothes Every Night!

Author

Gary Chapman

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:21, Philippians 2:3-4, Romans 12:10, John 13:1-17, John 13:14-15, Ruth 1:16

In his celebrated book The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman tells a story about a husband and wife struggling to relate. When the husband asked his wife, “On a scale of zero to ten, how’s your love t...

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We Are What We Love

Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Ruth 1:16, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 10:25-37, Colossians 3:17, 1 John 3:18, Matthew 22:37-40

Identities—what makes us who we are, the kind of people we are—is what we love. More specifically, our identity is shaped by what we ultimately love or what we love as ultimate—what, at the end of the...

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Tolkien on Happy Endings

Author

J. R. R. Tolkein

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:4-5, Ephesians 2:8, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Psalm 30:5, Ruth 4:13-17

J. R. R. Tolkien coined the term "eucatastrophe" to refer to the unexpected happy ending at the end of a fairy tale, achieved by grace rather than effort. The consolation of fairy-stories,...

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A Brother’s Sacrifice

Author

Anne Lamott

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:2, 1 Samuel 18:20, Ruth 1:16, 1 John 3:16, Romans 12:1

An eight-year-old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia, and he was told that without a blood transfusion she would die. His parents explained to him that his blood was probably compatibl...

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Who Means the Most to Us

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Ruth 1:16, Proverbs 27:9, Romans 12:15, Job 6:14, Galatians 6:2

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain an...

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The Monster's Friend

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 17:17, 1 Samuel 18:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, Job 2:11-13, Ruth 1:16-17

I was listening to a lecture on friendship to prepare this sermon and the speaker used the movie The Bride of Frankenstein as an illustration. Now, for this to work, you have to put the movie Young...

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Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Ruth 2:, Matthew 14:28-31, Nehemiah 2:17-20, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Corinthians 15:10

Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.

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