Mountain Life Church/Life Pack/January 18-19, 2014

The Unplanned Journey to Bitterness

The Unplanned JourneySermon Notes

January 18-19, 2014

I. Hard TimesA. The famine

1. Moving to Moab2. The death of Elimelech3. The boys get married4. The death of the sons5. Time to go home to Israel

II. Naomi’s PerspectiveA. The common perspective on difficulties in that day

1. God gives good stuff and God gives bad stuffGod initiates goodGod initiates evil

2. God is only so bigGod rules over Israel, but not sure he is over other landsGod rewards and punishes people based on what they do, or how they are blessed or cursed by others

B. Naomi is bitter

C. Biblically speaking, hardship comes from:1. Sin - People do evil things that impact themselves and

others2. A Fallen World - When sin came, the world was put under

a curse. This affects the weather, random events, etc.3. The Prince of the Power of the Air - Satan, who was given

dominion at the Fall of Man, seeks to kill, steal, and destroy

4. Human error and foolishness - People make mistakes and act foolishly

5. The law of sowing and reaping - When we sow evil, evil returns to us

6. When we do things contrary to the laws of nature and especially to the laws of God2 19

Table TalkTeens

Question One:The story of Ruth shines as a bright spot during a dark age in Israel’s history.

Share how you can be a light in today’s dark world. Question Two:In verse 1: 6, this is the first mention of God’s name in the story.  God himself is at the center of the book.  This verse illustrates the mercy of the Lord.

How did God show his mercy in this verse? Question Three:The Lord supported His disobedient people with food.  He visited His people both for blessings and for discipline. 

What are ways that God has shown his blessing and discipline in your life?

 Question Four:In verse 1: 8, the Hebrew word translated as “kindly” is often used to describe God and means “loyal love”.  The word expresses both God’s loyalty to His covenant and His love for His people.  Here Naomi expressed the hope that the Lord’s love would extend to her daughters-in-law, who were outside the land of Israel and were not Jewish.

Describe why God’s love is for everyone.

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III.The Daughters-in-LawA. Orpah

1. Her name means, Stiff Necked2. She is a kind, loving person but does not see what God is

doing3. She departs and goes home to her Moabite family

B. Ruth1. Her name means, Friendship2. She refuses to leave Naomi3. She swears she will NEVER leave Naomi4. She has a sense that following Naomi is following

God5. God will use Ruth’s strengths, her loyalty, kindness,

and faithfulness, to redeem the whole family

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Life Group Questions for January 18-19, 2014

Message =The Unplanned JourneyIce  Breaker:      Tell  about  one  of  the  best  days  of  your  life.  

Read  Ruth  chapter  1.

1. What  do  you  observe  about  this  passage?

2. Do  you  think  Elimelech  and  his  family  should  have  stayed  in  the  promised  land  and  tried  to  make  it  through  the  famine?  Or  do  you  think  they  did  the  right  thing  in  going  to  Moab?

3. Tell  about  one  of  the  hardest  times  of  your  life  and  how  God  revealed  Himself  through  it.

4. What  does  Ruth’s  response  to  Naomi  tell  you  about  her  character?

5. Naomi  seems  to  blame  God  for  most  of  her  difficulties.    Do  you  ever  blame  God  for  hard  times?    Please  explain.

6. Has  God  ever  brought  a  Ruth  (a  loyal,  helpful,  redemptive  friend)  in  your  life  when  you  were  going  through  difficulty?    Please  explain.

7. Have  someone  read  verses  15-­‐‑18.    What  do  you  think  about  Ruth’s  commitment  to  Naomi?

8. See  if  anyone  in  the  group  can  share  some  verses  from  the  New  Testament  that  help  us  understand  what  aUitude  we  are  to  have  when  times  get  hard  and  difficult.    

9. Pray  for  one  another.

Table TalkElementary

 

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Table TalkPreschool & Nursery

Scripture: Ruth 1: 1-9 Day 1: Read Ruth 1: 1-9Ask your child(ren) if they know the two major sections of the Bible (the Old and the New Testaments).  Share a little about how the Old Testament is full of stories that happened before Jesus was born and the New Testament has stories from after Jesus was born.  Day 2: Read Ruth 1: 1-9 againTalk about what happens in your family when things do not go as planned or something unexpected comes up.  Do you get upset and throw a fit?  In the story, things do not go well for Naomi and her family, but Naomi stayed strong.  The Lord provided for Naomi.         Memory Verse:“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  - Jeremiah 29: 11 Day 3:As a family, discuss some ways to work through unexpected changes or dealing with the unplanned.  First, you can always trust that God will help you through.  You can make up your mind to enjoy the new adventure God has given you.  Maybe try to learn something new.  Always pray and talk your feelings through with God.  He will understand.  Pray together and thank God for his provision. Activity:Team up into groups or two or three and hold hands or latch arms and take a pretend journey through your house or even outside.  Let your child lead and take them in an unexpected direction or over an unplanned obstacle.

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Personal Devotion PagesThe following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom.

LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God.

BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol:

INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol:

ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him.

These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don’t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming.

Enjoy!

Day One1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.

2. Read  Ruth  1.  

3. Write  down  the  name  of  some  true  friends  you  have  in  your  life.  

4. Take  time  to  pray  for  people  you  know  who  are  going  through  great  difficulty.

Memorize  James  1:  2-­‐‑4.  

Memorize  James  1:  2-­‐‑5.

Memorize  James  1:  2-­‐‑8

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“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.”

~Ruth 1:20, NLT

Naomi and her family have left the promised land, the place where God promised to care for His people. Through the idolatry and sin of the Israelites, God allowed a famine to hit the land. Instead of staying and allowing God to provide, the family left God’s promised land and went to Moab, a country that symbolizes striving and a man centered lifestyle.

When things continue to go bad for Naomi (her husband and sons died), she sees this as God doing it to her. She tells her friends, Don’t call me Naomi (meaning, Pleasant), instead, call me Mara (meaning, Bitter), for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.

The tendency for us all is to blame God. Yet, God delights in giving us a Ruth to bring us back to reality. God will use Ruth to reveal to Naomi that He has never left her or forsaken her, and He is the author of life, not death, the giver of redemption and grace, not bitterness.

Have you blamed God for bad things in your life? Why not take time to tell Him that you blame Him for the hard things that have happened. He’s a big boy. He can handle your honesty. Then, take time to do what few of us are willing to do: listen. Ask Him to give you His perspective on your hardships. Listening will require you to have an open mind and a soft heart.

Father, as I look at the hard things I have experienced, will You please give me Your perspective on them?

Day Five1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.  

2. Read  Ruth  chapter  1  again  today  and  write  down  what  you  learn  by  re-­‐‑reading  it.    

3. Take  time  to  pray  for  your  children.    If  you  do  not  have  children,  then  pray  for  the  children  in  your  extended  family  and  ask  God  to  reveal  Himself  to  them  in  profound  ways.            

4. Finish  your  Bible  memorization  today.

Day OneElimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her husband or sons.

~Ruth 1:3-5, NLT

Things seemed to be going so well. Naomi had married a good man from a well respected family and a respectable tribe of Israel. Over time, they were blessed with two healthy boys. As in most ancient cultures, boys were a sign of heavenly favor to a couple.

Then, a famine hit and the family farm became unfruitful. They had to leave their inherited land near Bethlehem and go east to Moab. It was the first sign that the family was headed down a hard path. Soon, the patriarch of the family died and Naomi was left without a husband in a strange land. Ten years later, for some unwritten reason, both her sons died as well. Naomi, whose name means, Pleasant, had become Bitter.

Over the years, I’ve met many people who were living large until tragedy struck. Bitterness moved in and their entire personality changed. They became angry, manipulative, fearful, sometimes overbearing, and sometimes completely withdrawn.

Hardship is an equal opportunity employer. It randomly chooses it’s victims, caring not the consequences. The overwhelmingly great news is that the choice to be thankful and grateful in the midst of hardship expels bitterness promptly.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, rejoice!~Paul

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Day Two1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.  

2. Read  Ruth  chapter  1  again  today.

3. Has  God  ever  hidden  His  presence  from  you?    What  did  you  learn  from  that  experience.    Write  it  down  here.    

4. Ask  God  to  show  you  where  you  blame  Him  for  difficulties  in  your  life.    Talk  to  Him  about  it.    Tell  Him  your  honest,  frank  feelings  and  then  listen  to  Him.      

5. Continue  memorizing  and  meditating  on  the  scriptures  for  this  week.

Day FourAnd again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi. “See,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” So when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her.

~Ruth 1:14-18, NLT

Orpah and Ruth were good Moabite girls (modern day Jordanians). They both chose to stay with Naomi. If Naomi hadn’t insisted upon it, I don’t think Orpah would have gone home to her people. But Ruth, whose name means, Friendship, refused to go anywhere but with Naomi.

This was no spur of the moment commitment. She had made a solid commitment long ago when she married a Jewish man. The rest of the book shows us that Ruth didn’t make spur of the moment, ill-thought-out commitments. She had chosen Naomi’s God when she married Naomi’s son ten years ago. She had made Naomi her mother at that time too.

Naomi had apparently treated both of these women well. It’s obvious that Ruth was responding both to Naomi’s character and the character of her God.

Father, as I read about Ruth over the next month, will You begin to teach me deeply about what it means to be a true friend? Teach me how to make commitments that stick. Teach me about grace and loyalty.

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Day Two...Both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her husband or sons.

~Ruth 1:5, NLT

In a culture where women cannot work or make a living outside of the home, Naomi must have felt that her world had completely fallen apart. I’m sure she felt destitute, even though she had two loving daughters-in-law.

Proverbs 25:20 says, singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds.Spouting trite truths when people are crushed with grief feels the same way, but the truths of the Word are far from trite and silly. If we cannot find refuge in God in times such as these, then why worship Him at all? He is either truly Savior or He is impotent.

This is where the New Testament writers seem almost crazy. With one voice they all agree with James when he writes, Consider it pure joy when you encounter various trials! Paul adds to the nuttiness by saying this, For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! Peter, John, and even Jesus agreed and spoke vociferously about the need to praise God in the midst of overwhelming misery and difficulty.

As we read Ruth a few thousand years later, we see how happily the book turns out. We see how God came to the rescue! But Naomi, with her physical eyes, could not see the future redemption. We need to view life through our spiritual eyes of faith in order to see that God will always triumph and always come through for us!

Day Four1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.    

2. Read  I  Peter  chapter  4.  

3. Ask  the  Lord  what  He  is  trying  to  teach  you  through  difficulty.

4. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  week.

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Day Three Day Three1. Take  some  time  to  praise  the  Lord  for  who  He  is  and  enjoy  

thanking  Him  for  what  He  has  done  in  your  life  lately.    

2. Read  James  1  today.

3. Bring  at  least  three  friends  or  loved  ones  to  the  Lord  and  ask  Him  to  bring  them  to  repentance  and  faith.    Ask  Him  to  show  you  how  you  can  boldly  love  them  and  speak  the  words  of  Jesus  into  their  lives.      

 4. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  

week.

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Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD himself has caused me to suffer.”

~Ruth 1:13, NLT

This view of God comes to many of us when we suffer. Naomi believes God brought the famine that wiped out their crops. He killed her husband, then later killed her two sons. God has brought all this calamity upon her.

Help me understand something. If your dad gave you sicknesses and diseases, killed your loved ones and sent you packing to some other country because he started a famine, then told you that he did it because he loves you, would you believe him? I’m sorry. I don’t think I would want a dad like that.

Naomi’s view of God was prevalent in her day. It is prevalent among believers today. The belief says that God initiates such evil against us so that we will love Him more. Others believe that God initiates such evil against us because we deserve it - we did something really bad, and therefore deserve to be crushed and punished for our evil deeds.

God allows evil in our world, He does not initiate it. He allows it because we invited it into our lives when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. God’s purpose has always been to redeem us and save us from evil, not give it to us.

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

~John 10: 10

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