Emphasis Preaching Journal

Object: A box of Kleenex.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!  

But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God….” (vv. 1-16)

“Do your loved ones come to you in dreams?”

That was the question I asked in a Facebook post one day after I woke from a startling dream in which I saw my late brother Alan. He appeared in one of those vivid dreams that come just before waking. He looked like he always looked when we saw him at family gatherings, dressed in a familiar plaid shirt and faded blue jeans.

I was shocked at first.

And then Alan smiled, reached out, touched my arm, and said, “How are you John?”

Young children are often fascinated by the effort to quantify love. As they become conceptually acquainted with the difference between a lot and a little, and as they are exposed to various units of measurement for size and volume and distance, they naturally begin to apply that mentality to all sorts of things, including the most important thing in life: love. They want to be able to measure it. Typically, they want to know how much their parents love them, and they want to try to give expression to how much they love their parents.

Most ancient cosmologies began with some sort of primordial battle between the gods and chaos, and whatever victory was achieved was only temporary. Chaos was always ready to swoop back in. By contrast our biblical history, beginning in Genesis and ending with Revelation, show God triumphant without even a hint of a battle. Chaos is tamed because the Spirit of God moves over the face of the deeps. Revelation demonstrates God’s total control.

Ruth 1:1-18
Where you go, I will go ... your people shall be my people and your God my God.
-- Ruth 1:16b

Psalm 24 celebrates the orderly reign of God over creation. It presupposes a world that has not been disrupted by tragedy or displacement -- in other words, the world as it was before the exile of Israel in 587 B.C.

From the vision of an ordered universe, the psalmist takes us to the holy mountain for worship. He poses the question, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?" (v. 3).

Theme For The Day
In Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is near at hand.

Old Testament Lesson
Ruth 1:1-18
Ruth And Naomi's Covenant

It is one line. A few words cast upon a sea of words. One line that sums up all that this day is about and what it represents. One line upon which every human hope finds its fulfillment. One line in which we place our trust. One line that every man, woman, and child turns to when the losses of this life are more than they can bear. One line when the woman stands sobbing quietly beside the hospital bed of the man she has loved for more than sixty years. One line when the child, her face twisted in grief, stands at the graveside of her father killed in Iraq.

Years ago I had the rare privilege of hearing a lecture in which the question was posed, "Did the angels actually sing to the shepherds on Jesus' birthnight?" Instead of tackling this directly and trying to prove an historical fact, the lecturer asked a secondary question, "Have angels quit singing?" Many testimonies give evidence they have not, he claimed. People still receive guidance from "voices" they call "my angel." People listen to heavenly harmony and find their lives set in peaceful channels. God's messengers travel the earth bringing his assurance and direction still today.

The book of Ruth is one of the world's most beautiful stories of human solidarity in the face of trouble.

Apart from the book of Esther it is the only other book in the Bible to be named after a woman. Therefore it should not be a surprise that the major characters of the book are two women, Naomi and Ruth. A major theme of the book is their common struggle to survive in the midst of a hostile and troubled environment.

It is a known fact that most people like a party. However, strange as it might seem, most of the people don't want to be the center of attraction. Likewise, many adults, when presented with a thoughtful gift, often exclaim, "You shouldn't have!" Children, on the other hand, seem to enjoy the party whether it is theirs or someone else's party. Children relish the notion of celebration. They never say that they shouldn't have received a gift and they tear it open before they read the card!

These words come as the "commands," "decrees," and "laws" which are given by God for his people. The hearers are told to listen, obey, and then teach them to others. The first hearers of these words were the ancient Hebrews of Israel. They had this word delivered to them as the supreme word by which to live.

1. Praise to the Lord, my soul delights in praising
The one who keeps me ever in his care.
So shall my voice of praise ever be raising
Glad songs, in thanks, for showing how to share.
O Lord, my God, above all earthly powers,
You rule in love and bless with every grace.
Praise to the Lord, whose love fills all my hours;
My praise I give ’til I behold your face.

2. Praise to the Lord, who made the earth and heaven;
In justice rules, from heaven’s mercy seat.
God’s love is known in all things, like a leaven.