May 23 & 24, 2009

SERMON OUTLINE

“From Famine to Fullness”

Ruth 2:17-23 (Pew Bible Page 223)

Senior Pastor John Neufeld

Many people who have suffered are afraid that matters cannot be made right. They fear that some things are permanently lost. Either a death has brought irreversible loss and grief, or some reversal in life has changed their dreams forever. But these are unacceptable words for believers in Christ. Just because we believe in Christ and in his promises, we are both convinced that our best days lie ahead, but that the past does not present us with unrecoverable loss. Rather we are convinced that all the past will make sense one day. Today we will learn that, like Ruth, we must see ourselves as moving from famine to fullness. With that, we must learn to confess three things.

A. I have never been forsaken

1. Not in my greatest hours of grief

2. Not in my most shamefulsins

B. I have a strong redeemer

1. He will buyback all that was lost

2. He will restore what sin has destroyed

C. I have hope and purpose in the present hour

1. I can carryon with enthusiasm

2. The future is myfriend

May 23 & 24, 2009

SMALL GROUPS BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS

Ruth 2:17-23

Thinking – developing a biblical approach to all areas of life

  1. Have you ever ‘redeemed’ something? (i.e. an old house or car, a relationship that was broken, a situation that was deteriorating, etc.) What did you do? What did it cost you? How did it feel when you were done?
  1. Boaz was a kinsman redeemer to Ruth (Ruth 2:20).
  2. Review the roles of a kinsman redeemer. (See Leviticus 25:5–10, 25–28, 47–50; Numbers 35:16–21)
  3. What is the purpose of the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:10–13)?
  4. What do these commands tell us about the character of God?
  1. Jesus Christ is our redeemer. Read Galations 4:3–7.
  2. How does this idea of a kinsman redeemer show itself in what Christ did for us?
  3. To whom did Christ pay the ransom? Why?
  4. As a result of the ransom that Christ paid, we are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters of God (v 7). What does this practically mean for us in terms of our relationship with God?
  1. In the story of Ruth, Naomi says that their Redeemer “has not stopped showing kindness to the living and the dead” (Ruth 2:20).
  2. What does it look like when God redeems something that is broken or in bondage in a person’s life? Can you think of examples in your own life or the life of others?

Community

  1. Because we have a Redeemer who makes all things right, we have no need to be bitter about the past or be anxious about the future.
  2. As you think back over this past year in your small group, what have been some of the highlights and/or low points in your life? How has God worked in those experiences? How has he redeemed them? Or are you still waiting for Him to redeem some of them?
  3. As you look to the future, what is on the horizon for you?

Spend time together praying for one another about these things.

  1. Spend some time making plans for the summer about how and when your small group can connect through the summer.