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Hope-Filled Patience, Ruth 3
At the end of Ruth 3, Ruth and Naomi are still waiting. Their circumstances have not changed, but Boaz has promised to act. When God’s answer has not yet come, His people can wait with hope, trusting His faithfulness rather than demanding to know how the story will unfold.
A Servant’s Heart, Ruth 2:17–23
Ruth’s concern for Naomi became more than kind words. She worked, sacrificed, submitted, and carried home enough to meet another person’s needs. Her heart was made visible through what she did.
A servant’s heart puts others first and trusts God enough to obey without seeing the whole plan. Service may seem ordinary, but God uses faithful servants to make His grace visible and accomplish work of eternal significance.
As the Lord Wills James 4:11-17
From the archives. Originally preached in September 2020.
This passage comes in the greater context of understanding who God is, who you are, and what your attitude toward the Lord should be. James teaches that one with a true and living faith will have two defining attitudes toward the Lord. First, they will be humble before the Lord. And secondly, they will recognize their frailty and the power of God. These attitudes of the heart will produce the action of acknowledging God in all your ways.
Becoming Great, Matthew 18:1-4
Being great is a desire that is common to every generation and every culture. In Matthew 18:1-4 the disciples revealed that their concern about the kingdom Jesus promised to establish was who among them would be the greatest. The disciples were not immune to this desire to convert their relationship with Jesus into positions of importance in the kingdom He was establishing. They hoped to enjoy the highest and most important positions in His kingdom.
Their desire for greatness led them to ask Jesus who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. However, the answer He gave was not what they expected. Jesus taught them to seek what matters and find greatness through repentance.
Grace in Humility, Esther 5-6
In Esther chapter 5, events begin to come quickly. Esther approaches the king, and Haman advances his plans to annihilate the Jews with special attention to the murder of Mordecai. All the while the deliverance of God is being brought about and will come quickly and (I think) unexpectedly to all those involved. Most of these things will happen in chapters 7-10, which we will consider next week.
In this week’s podcast, we consider the contrast between the arrogance of Haman and the humility of Esther and Mordecai. Haman, in pride and arrogance, opposed God to his own destruction. Esther and Mordecai humbly trusted God and experienced amazing grace.