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| "Whither Thou Goest (Ruth and Naomi)" by Sandy Freckleton Gagon |
Liturgy for Saturday, June 4, 2016 Service | Book of Ruth Sermon Series Part 1
Book of Ruth Sermon | Homily 1 Audio
Artwork Explanation
I felt that the imagery of the journey of Ruth and Naomi to Bethlehem was deeply symbolic of the journey each of us must take in mortality. In the painting, Ruth, in the extremity of adversity with Naomi, reaches up and covers them both with her cloak, just as Christ blankets each of us. In Aramaic, the word atone means “to embrace.” I am grateful for that grace. The Lord intends everything in the Old Testament to bring us to Christ. As our goal in life is to “come unto Christ and be perfected in him,” the Old Testament becomes precious and invaluable. The embrace of Naomi by Ruth is a beautiful image of having our Savior take us in his embrace and declare that we belong to him. Regardless of the difficulties we encounter in remaining faithful, we must remember that Jesus Christ will not fail to honor His covenant with us. He will gather us to Himself as Ruth covenanted with and cared for Naomi, and as Boaz covenanted with and cared for Ruth. In Isaiah 49:15-16, He eloquently states: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”
I felt that the imagery of the journey of Ruth and Naomi to Bethlehem was deeply symbolic of the journey each of us must take in mortality. In the painting, Ruth, in the extremity of adversity with Naomi, reaches up and covers them both with her cloak, just as Christ blankets each of us. In Aramaic, the word atone means “to embrace.” I am grateful for that grace. The Lord intends everything in the Old Testament to bring us to Christ. As our goal in life is to “come unto Christ and be perfected in him,” the Old Testament becomes precious and invaluable. The embrace of Naomi by Ruth is a beautiful image of having our Savior take us in his embrace and declare that we belong to him. Regardless of the difficulties we encounter in remaining faithful, we must remember that Jesus Christ will not fail to honor His covenant with us. He will gather us to Himself as Ruth covenanted with and cared for Naomi, and as Boaz covenanted with and cared for Ruth. In Isaiah 49:15-16, He eloquently states: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”
+ Sandy Freckleton Gagon, "Whither Thou Goest (Ruth and Naomi)"
From Famine to Feast | Ruth 1:1-5 | In the Days of Judges and Famine, the God of Love is Still Here
1:1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and 5 both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. + Ruth 1:1-5
Key Quotes:
Can you hear the irony in Ruth 1:1-5? A famine in Bethlehem (the House of Bread)? Elimelech (God is King) is dead? Naomi's (Pleasant Beauty's) husband and sons have died? Reality is mocking God. In other words, because Naomi hopes in God, her grief intensifies. When God does not meet our expectations it opens the door not just to despair but also to cynicism, to shutting down our hearts with God. But we can't flee the crucible. Love will not grow if we check out and give in to the seductive call of bitterness and cynicism – or seek comfort elsewhere. We have to hang in there with the story that God has permitted in our lives. As we endure, as we keep showing up for life when it makes no sense, we learn to love, and God shows up, too. We can endure in love if our God acts in time and space. + Paul E. Miller, A Loving Life in a World of Broken Relationships
Saint Maria of Paris (Elizaveta Pilenko of Latvia, survivor of the Russian Revolution and servant of the abused in Nazi-ruled Paris) went back to her understanding of the idea that humanity bears the distorted image of God and the mission of Christ to restore that image. ' ... she offered herself consciously to the holocaust ... thus assisting each one of us to accept the cross. ... ' She died (on March 30, 1945 in the gas chamber at Ravensbruck) on Great and Holy Saturday, a paradoxical day on the church calendar when Orthodox Christians mark both Christ's Sabbath rest in the tomb from his labor on the cross and his violent destruction of hades and the liberation of its captives. Father Michael Plekon wrote that Mother Maria's life 'points to a fundamental reality ... (that) each Christian, monastic or cleric or layperson, is called to real life, life in the Church and the world as we find it, an encounter with God, oneself, and the neighbor in need.'" + Eric Metaxas, Seven Women and the Secret of Their Greatness
Prayers of Confession
God and neighbor, I confess my mixed motives.
Help the fruit of my efforts to be beautiful and just.
God and neighbor, I confess that I'm tempted to contribute
in ways that make me feel best, not that help most.
Help me to slow down to serve my neighbor in the best way possible.
God and neighbor, I confess I want to be seen as good.
Free me to do what is good.
God and neighbor, I confess that I claim too much credit.
Grow my humility and show me how to rightly give credit to others.
God and neighbor, I confess I'm sometimes empty of compassion.
Renew me in the deep gladness of the call to work for justice.
God and neighbor, I confess the privileges that benefit me.
Help me to give them away again and again.
God and neighbor, I confess that I have caused pain of, and
am hurt by, injustice.
Help me to participate in healing for others and myself.
God and neighbor, I confess my hope is in You and in Your
Eucharist | Thanking God for Communion with Christ and His Church
By Jesus Culture
2010 A.D.
I need You more, more than yesterday!
I need You more, more than words can say
I need You more than ever before!
I need You, Lord, I need You, Lord!
More than the air I breathe,
More than the song I sing,
More than the next heartbeat,
More than anything,
And Lord, as time goes by,
I'll be by Your side
'Cause I never want to go back
To my old life!
We need You more, more than yesterday!
We need You more, more than words can say
We need You more than ever before!
We need You, Lord,
We need You, Lord!
More than the air we breathe,
More than the song we sing,
More than the next heartbeat,
More than anything,
And Lord, as time goes by,
We'll be by Your side
'Cause we never want to go back
To our old lives!
We give You the highest praise!
I need You more, more than words can say
I need You more than ever before!
I need You, Lord, I need You, Lord!
More than the air I breathe,
More than the song I sing,
More than the next heartbeat,
More than anything,
And Lord, as time goes by,
I'll be by Your side
'Cause I never want to go back
To my old life!
We need You more, more than yesterday!
We need You more, more than words can say
We need You more than ever before!
We need You, Lord,
We need You, Lord!
More than the air we breathe,
More than the song we sing,
More than the next heartbeat,
More than anything,
And Lord, as time goes by,
We'll be by Your side
'Cause we never want to go back
To our old lives!
We give You the highest praise!
And I hear the sound of crashing waves,
All my world is washing out to sea.
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me.
The Rock won't move and His Word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone!
The Rock won't move and His word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone,
The Rock of our Salvation!
My hope is in the promise of Your blood,
My support within the raging flood,
Even in the tempest, I can sing!
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of Your truth
That You are holding tighter still to me!
(Chorus repeat)
Woah, woah, woah,
The Rock of our salvation!
On Christ the Solid Rock we stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
When darkness seems to hide His face,
We rest on His unchanging grace,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." + Jesus (Matthew 7:24-25)
Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
All my world is washing out to sea.
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me.
The Rock won't move and His Word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone!
The Rock won't move and His word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone,
The Rock of our Salvation!
My hope is in the promise of Your blood,
My support within the raging flood,
Even in the tempest, I can sing!
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of Your truth
That You are holding tighter still to me!
(Chorus repeat)
Woah, woah, woah,
The Rock of our salvation!
On Christ the Solid Rock we stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
When darkness seems to hide His face,
We rest on His unchanging grace,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." + Jesus (Matthew 7:24-25)
Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
By John Newton
1774 A.D.
1774 A.D.
Let us love and sing and wonde
Let us praise the Savior's name.
He has hushed the laws loud thunder,
He has quenched Mt. Sinai's flame.
Let us love the Lord Who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies;
Called us by His grace and taught us,
Gave us ears and gave us eyes.
Chorus 1
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us close to God.
Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the Conqu’ror’s crown.
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy's store.
When through grace in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles and asks no more.
Chorus 2
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He will bring us home to God.
Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high.
Here they trusted Him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky.
Chorus 3
"You have washed us with Your blood,
You have washed us with Your blood,
You have washed us with Your blood,
You are worthy, Lamb of God!"
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! + Romans 5:6, 8-10
Wondrous Love
By Anonymous
1811 A.D.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb, we will sing, we will sing;
To God and to the Lamb we will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, we will sing, we will sing;
While millions join the theme, we will sing.
Oh how high, oh how wide, oh how deep is Your love!
Oh my soul, set on fire by Your wondrous love for us!
And when from death we're free, we'll sing on, we’ll sing on;
And when from death we're free, we’ll sing on.
And when from death we're free, we’ll sing and joyful be,
And through eternity we’ll sing on, we’ll sing on,
And through eternity we’ll sing on.
(Repeat bridge)
Show me the wonders of Your great love, You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes. Praise be to the Lord, for He showed me the wonders of His love when I was in a city under siege. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, to Him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. + Psalm 17:7, 31:21, 107:8, 136:4
Yes Lord, Yes | In My Weakness Gospel Medley
I'm laying them down,
For the joy of the Lord!
I'm trading my sickness,
I'm trading my pain,
I'm laying them down
For the joy of the Lord!
And we sing "Yes, Lord,
Yes, Lord, Yes, yes, Lord!
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
Yes, yes, Lord!
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
Yes, yes, Lord, Amen!"
I'm pressed, but not crushed,
Persecuted, not abandoned,
Struck down, but not destroyed!
I am blessed beyond the curse
For His promise will endure
That His joy is going
To be my strength!
Though the sorrows
May last for the night,
His joy comes with the morning!
(Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. + 2 Corinthians 12:9
Doxology
By Thomas Ken
1674 A.D.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
Benediction
May God bless you so you may deeply know that blessing and bless others.
May God keep you so as you know God's embrace you then reach out to embrace others.
May God's face shine upon you so you may experience with others the warm light of creating together with God.
May God be gracious to you so our practices of justice don't feel like rules but like freedom and joy.
May God's face turn to you so you know you aren't left to do this alone.
May God give you peace so step by step we practice moving together toward the flourishing of God's Kingdom.
Pitied us when enemies;
Called us by His grace and taught us,
Gave us ears and gave us eyes.
Chorus 1
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us close to God.
Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the Conqu’ror’s crown.
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy's store.
When through grace in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles and asks no more.
Chorus 2
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He has washed us with His blood,
He will bring us home to God.
Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high.
Here they trusted Him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky.
Chorus 3
"You have washed us with Your blood,
You have washed us with Your blood,
You have washed us with Your blood,
You are worthy, Lamb of God!"
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! + Romans 5:6, 8-10
By Anonymous
1811 A.D.
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb, we will sing, we will sing;
To God and to the Lamb we will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, we will sing, we will sing;
While millions join the theme, we will sing.
Oh how high, oh how wide, oh how deep is Your love!
Oh my soul, set on fire by Your wondrous love for us!
And when from death we're free, we'll sing on, we’ll sing on;
And when from death we're free, we’ll sing on.
And when from death we're free, we’ll sing and joyful be,
And through eternity we’ll sing on, we’ll sing on,
And through eternity we’ll sing on.
(Repeat bridge)
Show me the wonders of Your great love, You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes. Praise be to the Lord, for He showed me the wonders of His love when I was in a city under siege. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, to Him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. + Psalm 17:7, 31:21, 107:8, 136:4
Yes Lord, Yes | In My Weakness Gospel Medley
By Shirley Caesar and
Stephanie Robinson
2007 A.D., 1994 A.D.
I’ll say yes, Lord, yes
To Your will and to Your way!
I’ll say yes, Lord, yes
I will trust You and obey!
When Your Spirit speaks to me
With my whole heart I’ll agree,
And my answer will be
Yes Lord, yes!
In my weakness
You my God are strong.
In my trials, You are my song.
I fall on my knees, I can’t go on,
But in my weakness,
You my God are strong.
Trading My Sorrows
By Darrel Evans
1998 A.D.
Trading My Sorrows
By Darrel Evans
1998 A.D.
I'm trading my sorrows,
I'm trading my shame,I'm laying them down,
For the joy of the Lord!
I'm trading my sickness,
I'm trading my pain,
I'm laying them down
For the joy of the Lord!
And we sing "Yes, Lord,
Yes, Lord, Yes, yes, Lord!
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
Yes, yes, Lord!
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
Yes, yes, Lord, Amen!"
I'm pressed, but not crushed,
Persecuted, not abandoned,
Struck down, but not destroyed!
I am blessed beyond the curse
For His promise will endure
That His joy is going
To be my strength!
Though the sorrows
May last for the night,
His joy comes with the morning!
(Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. + 2 Corinthians 12:9
Doxology
By Thomas Ken
1674 A.D.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
Benediction
May God bless you so you may deeply know that blessing and bless others.
May God keep you so as you know God's embrace you then reach out to embrace others.
May God's face shine upon you so you may experience with others the warm light of creating together with God.
May God be gracious to you so our practices of justice don't feel like rules but like freedom and joy.
May God's face turn to you so you know you aren't left to do this alone.
May God give you peace so step by step we practice moving together toward the flourishing of God's Kingdom.
+ Numbers 6:24-26 and Slow Kingdom Coming
Next post: Ruth 1:6-18: The Choice of Love in the Face of Lament and Death + Saturday, June 18, 2016
– Sully
Email Pastor Mike | Visit Us | Partner with Us | Facebook Us
Next post: Ruth 1:6-18: The Choice of Love in the Face of Lament and Death + Saturday, June 18, 2016
– Sully
Email Pastor Mike | Visit Us | Partner with Us | Facebook Us
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