The text for the sermon is found in Ruth 3.

Three Attitudes of Ruth
1. In her hope for redemption, Ruth didn’t let the tragedies that struck her past have the last word in her life.
2. In her hope for redemption, Ruth showed submission and humility before her redeemer. 
3. In her hope for redemption, Ruth left her future in the hands of her redeemer.

The text for the sermon is found in Ruth 2.

Four characteristics of the kindness of God

1. God's kindness is sometimes hidden behind difficult circumstances. Are you attentive to the pieces of grace that shine through even amid the struggles of life?
2. God's kindness is often incarnate, meaning it often reaches us through other people. Boaz embodies the kindness of God to Ruth and Naomi.
3. God's kindness is protective, comforting, and abundant.
4. God's kindness is restorative and redemptive.

Two takeaways from this chapter to apply to our lives

1. Live attentively. Don't be so wrapped up in your own story that you don't see the bigger picture of what God is doing. See 2 Corinthians 4:16.
2. Live graciously and kindly. How can we be like Boaz and show the kindness of God to others?

​3 observations
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1. The context of the story: This story takes place during the time of the judges over Israel (see Judges 2), a low point in the history of Israel during which there was no leadership and the people were turning away from God. Will God be faithful to his promises to Abraham?

2. The bookends of the chapter: A departure takes place due to a famine at the beginning, and a return during the barley harvest takes place at the end. The whole story of the Bible is also a story of departure and return. Mankind departed from God in Genesis 3, and Revelation 21 describes the ultimate return of those who have received the gift of redemption to their God forever. In the middle, we have the story of how God provides a redeemer to make a way of return.

3. The responses of the two main characters: Naomi responds with bitterness to the events. Perhaps her intense preoccupation with her loss prevented her from seeing the bigger picture. Ruth, the outsider, responds with faith. She has become convinced that Yahweh is the one she will remain faithful to all the days of her life.

3 takeaways from Ruth 1
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1. Let’s worship God for his desire that all peoples return to relationship with him (1 Peter 3:9). 
2. Let’s worship God and thank him for how he continued to move the story of redemption forward.
3. Let’s consider Ruth’s and Naomi’s responses to difficult circumstances of life. May we not be consumed with bitterness but full of faith.

The text for the sermon is found in Luke 24.
 
Two trails of thought through this story:
 
(1) The trail of fulfillment

Luke wants us to know that Christ has risen for sure, and he wants us to know that Jesus is the main character of the whole story of the Bible. The angels told the women that Jesus had fulfilled his word that he would die and rise again (verse 6). Jesus told the two on the way to Emmaus that he had fulfilled all that was prophesied about him in the Scriptures (verse 27). Jesus told his disciples that everything written about him in the Law, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled (verse 44).
 
Luke reveals to us that the Bible is a single story, and all of it is pointing to Jesus.
 
(2) The trail of response
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The women and the disciples responded with surprise, fright, disbelief, and bewilderment (verses 5, 37). We should never cease to be surprised and full of awe at the resurrection of Jesus. However, their response changed from fear to worship (verse 51). Luke would love for us to share in Jesus’s disciples’ certainty in whom they had believed.
 
The two on the road to Emmaus were first downcast. Then, when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, they responded with burning hearts (verse 32). What is our heart response to the revelation of Scripture?