Being Intentional About Leaving a Legacy—Ruth & Other Passages
Baby Blessing Sunday
FOCUS: We see from the story of Ruth that it is not heritage or environment that produces spiritual
fruit, but that it takes intention and planting the right kind of seed in order to produce the kind
of crop we long for as we lead our children in the ways of the LORD
FUNCTION: We will consider the choices we make and whether we are committed to using the right
kind of seed to produce the spiritual fruit we hope to see grow in our children
I. GIVE BLESSING
A. The Lord bless you and keep you
B. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you
C. The Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace
II. Intro: What a wonderful blessing to have all the children we do in our midst
A. With this blessing comes great responsibility—for our parents & for our church community
1. What are we aiming for? What hopes & dreams do we have for these children?
2. What does God want for them—and how do we stay on task?
B. Get Volunteer and ask them what their favorite fruit or vegetable is
1. I am going to give you some seeds to plant in order to grow the fruit you want
2. I know these are sunflower seeds, but keep telling yourself, “I want ______.” It will work
3. Unfortunately, how many of us do this in our spiritual walk?
a. How often do we intend to see rich spiritual fruit in our children, but plant wrong seed?
b. It is easy to get side-tracked and/or deceived by this world
c. VIDEO—What children really want for Christmas
d. All kinds of things are waging war for the hearts & souls of our children
e. We must get our priorities right & plant the right kind of seed
III. Have you ever wondered why the story of Ruth was preserved in the Scriptures?
A. The first line in Ruth provides a great clue (Ruth 1:1)—A bad time in Israel’s history
1. A downward spiral further & further from God
a. Famine in land (V. 1)—fits with period of Judges—Naomi looks cursed (V. 3-5)
b. She even calls herself “bitter” because God is against her (V. 20-21)
2. In the midst of this dimming light, we have the story of this foreign woman
3. It is intended to provide a contrast to help Israel see what they could have had thru faith
a. It is about what kind of seed they planted
b. Having a heritage; spiritual rituals; even a bond of covenant does not guarantee fruit
c. This is what the warnings by Moses were about in Deut. 8:11-14
i. Don’t be distracted
ii. Don’t let the evil one change the seed on you
iii. Ruth made an intentional choice (1:15-17)
B. Summarize Ruth’s story
1. Follows Mother-in-law from Moab to Israel (Professes covenant faith)
2. Gleans (Hard working)—Meets Boaz
3. Shows her availability & interest—He redeems her (She is a woman of excellence)
4. Married & have child to carry out lineage (God opens womb—didn’t do this with 1st husband
C. This is a story of faith (Tie to Ruth 2:12—Statement of the type of seed she plants)
1. Connection to another foreign woman—Rahab—Boaz’s mother (Matthew 1:5)
a. There is a legacy of faith being shown here—2 foreigners bring a future of hope to Israel
b. These two women are remembered because of the seed they planted
c. They both wind up in the lineage of Jesus!!! Not a coincidence!
2. There is a reason we never hear anything about Orpah again—Plants different seed
3. This whole story is a message to Israel of what they could have if they were faithful to their covenant with God!!!
4. What kind of seed are we planting in the lives of the generations following us?
IV. INVITATION