Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Story - Chapter 9 – The faith of a foreign woman*

*“Flags” Video for Veteran’s Day – Matt Zelnik*

*Offering - Baby Dedication Weekend led by Becky Medley*

I want to thank Becky Medley for leading our Parent~/Baby Dedication.

Who else here has children?

I have one daughter and one son.

I want to talk to you today about three daughters.

Here’s *Daughter #1:  Chaia Thompson.*

*Look at this picture.*

Chaia is the daughter of Ben & Shaina Thompson and Ben is the Lead Planter of City Campus Church.

*C3 is a church plant near the OSU campus that we support.*

Chaia suffers from a rare disease that prevents her bones from growing properly.

I saw Ben this past Thursday and he then sent me this email.

/“Chaia is great.

She is 6 weeks into no treatments which is terrifying.

But //Chaia went from throwing up multiple times a day for the last 2 years to not throwing up once in the last 5 weeks!

For the first time Shaina and I feel less like caretakers and more like mom and dad.

//We see the neurologist soon to hopefully get cleared on their end and get her off another medication!

It looks like a G tube is in Chaia's near future which means she can get rid of the tube in her nose.”

I sent a quick video of Chaia learning a new word.

You'll get a kick out of this*!”*/*/  /**I did.

I bet you will too.*

/Check this out.

/*(Chaia-honey video)  *Chaia is a little sweetie!  *Daughter #2 is   Emily.*

Richard Newcomb is a grandfather and he told this story, “My wife, Mary, had a lumpectomy and is going through 12 weeks of chemotherapy.

The other day, she told our four-year-old granddaughter, Emily, that because of the chemo, all her hair would fall out.

Emily looked at her and asked, /"Does that mean I'll have two grandpas?"*[i]*

/ You gotta love kids.

Name the only two books in the Bible named after women?[ii]

Ruth & Esther!

Chapter 9 of The Story has taken us through the story of Ruth!  Ruth is Daughter #3 and she grows up to become a remarkable woman of faith!  *Open up your Bibles today to Ruth 1:1!  GELNDJJR!  *If you need a Bible just raise your hand?  *Your handout contains* your* pertinent details concerning the life of this church.

If you are a guest* and have questions about this church we are going to have a little pizza gathering on Sunday at 12N in the Global Café.

Lunch is free and childcare is provided.

Here’s your Take Home paper and Connect Card!  Plus there’s information concerning the Gift Shop!

We need gifts and volunteers.

Information for both is located on our website!

Many of you sent cards for the folks at Pointview Elementary.

We received this email from Pax the Pointview Panther.

/You all have been so amazing to the staff at Pointview.

All of the letters that you wrote came just at the right time.

October and November have been found to be the toughest of the months in the educational field.

I heard many of the staff members comment on how special each letter was to them and how it was like the person actually knew them.

As I move around the building, every letter that was sent is posted beside a desk, computer, or on a bulletin board.

It really is wonderful to know that so many of you think and care for the people in your community.

Thank you!  /Just as an FYI:  We are still waiting for 25 cards.

If you took one please return it to the white box in the lobby!

*            Let’s read Ruth 1:1a **/In the days when the judges ruled…/*/ /A judge did not wear a black robe or hold a gavel.

They were often military leaders, warriors or deliverers.

They delivered God’s people from oppression!  I’m not sure if the oppression led to famine but here’s what happened.

*Read verse 1-2.*

MOAB is a country and a person.

Moab was the son of Lot’s oldest daughter from that fiasco in Genesis 19.

Bethlehem must have been bare because Moabites were natural enemies of the Israelites.

These folks didn’t like each other, but desperate times call for desperate measures – so they move!

*Find verse 3.  Read 3-5.*  (Oprah Winfrey was named after Orpah)[iii] 

            I refuse to let verse 5 just drift away!

Death surrounds her.

Maybe death surrounds you today – I’m not sure.

*We will connect this verse in a moment.*

But in the middle of all this bad news Naomi finally gets some good news.

*Locate verse 6.*

They are going back to the house of bread.

As they travel Naomi can’t imagine her daughters-in-law would want to live with her.

They need to stay in Moab and go back to their own Moms.

Orpah kisses Naomi goodbye and leaves, but Ruth refuses to leave her.  *Find verse 15 in chapter 1.  (Read 15-17)*

So two widows journey together to Bethlehem!  *Find verse 19!  Read 19-21.*

This takes us back to verse 5!

Here you have a Hebrew (Naomi) who loses faith in God and you have a foreigner (Ruth) who puts her faith in God.

The lower story is that we think God doesn’t care.

The upper story is that He does and will always care! 

*A shoplifter leaves a note and an envelope for a storeowner.

On the note he writes, /I’ve just become a Christian and I can’t sleep at night because I feel guilty.

So here’s a $100 that I owe you.

/On the back of the note he wrote, P.S. /If I still can’t sleep I’ll send you the rest.”*[iv]*

What temptation is he facing?

/What temptation is Satan using against Naomi?*  /Doubt!

God doesn’t care about me!  God has abandoned me!  /I’m compelled to pray right now for anyone who feels like Naomi!  Have you become bitter?

Do you think God is against you?

You’ve had one too many problems, seen one too many deaths!

*If you need prayer stand up right now!  (PRAY)  */Almighty God, we often doubt your love and goodness.

We often think you are not in control.

We think things just happen, but your word tells us that’s not true.

God you are in control.

Nothing catches you off guard.

Even death itself.

I pray for anyone here today who thinks that you have abandoned them.

God, overwhelm them with your presence.

God, I pray for anyone who has become bitter.

Help them to taste – to know that you are good!

Despite what we see – death is not the end.

Reassure us that you are for us and not against us and that you are sovereign over all.

Amen/

*Here’s what so many of us think!

Go to verse 22.  *Oh that’s just a coincidence!

All of life is a coincidence.

Things just happen by chance.

/Dumb luck is all it is Greg!/

The story of Ruth is the story of God’s overruling providence.

God guides!

Once they get back to Bethlehem it’s harvest time and out of all the fields Ruth could go to *glean or gather* scrap grain she ends up in the field of Boaz who happens to be a relative of Naomi’s late husband.