So today's reading will be from the book of Ruth, chapter 1, verse 1 to 22.
So if you guys could follow along in your Bibles, your bulletin, or the screen behind me, that'd be great.
And starting in verse 1, we read,
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.
And a man of Bethlehem and Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi.
And the names of his two sons were Malon and Kilion.
They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah.
They went into the country of Moab and remained there.
But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died.
And she was left with her two sons.
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 both Malon and Kilion died,
so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab,
for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.
So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law,
and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Go, return each of you to her mother's house.
May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.
Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
And they said to her,
No, we will return with you to your people.
But Naomi said,
Turn back, my daughters.
Why will you go with me?
Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?
Turn back, my daughters.
Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband.
If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,
would you therefore wait till they were grown?
Would you therefore refrain from marrying?
No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter for me, for your sake,
that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.
Then they lifted up their voices and wept again.
And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
And she said,
See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.
Return after your sister-in-law.
But Ruth said,
Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.
For where you go, I will go.
Where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die.
And there I will be buried.
May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.
And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said,
No more.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem.
And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
And the woman said,
Is this Naomi?
She said to them,
Do not call me Naomi.
Call me Mara.
For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.
Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me,
and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her,
who returned from the country of Moab,
and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
This is the word of God.
Thanks, Jaya.
Well, good morning, and happy new year to some of you,
if you just got back to Hong Kong recently.
My name is Oscar, and I am one of the elders here at Watermark.
And today, I am very, very excited,
because we are diving into this beautiful book of Ruth.
And maybe you know this book.
Maybe you've read it a few times.
Maybe you're following us at Watermark.
We are doing the Bible reading plan,
and we've just read the first two chapters of Ruth.
Or perhaps you have no clue at all what this book is about.
Well, Ruth has been called
the most beautiful short story ever written.
It's only four chapters,
but inside these pages, it really packs a punch.
Ruth is a love story.
It's a love story between Ruth and Boaz.
It's also a love story between Ruth and Naomi.
But even more so,
this is a love story between God and humanity.
The overarching theme of Ruth is that
God desires to display his loving kindness
to save and redeem all people.
Now, what also makes Ruth so relatable
is that it's about ordinary life.
There's no king.
There's no army.
There's no national event.
The stuff that happens in the book,
it's about a few simple people
experiencing the ups and the downs
of everyday life,
marriage,
relationships,
hunger,
poverty,
love,
and death.
And woven through it all
is God
who quietly intervenes
intervenes
in the lives of people
to display his loving kindness
and ultimately his great redemption.
Ruth is a picture of the gospel.
It's a picture of the great love
of Jesus Christ.
And so today,
we'll kick off in Ruth chapter one.
As Jaya read so eloquently,
this chapter starts off with
Naomi losing everything.
She faces great tragedy
and loss.
Everything she held dear
was taken from her.
But in the face
of such tragedy,
we will see
that God provides hope
because there's always hope
if we trust
the God of the Bible.
So let's look at Ruth chapter one
in three parts.
First,
tragedy strikes.
Second,
a glimmer of hope.
And third,
the faith
of a believer.
Let's pray together.
Father,
as we consider your word,
as we come under your word,
and as we honor you today,
Lord,
understanding and learning
about this
chapter of Ruth,
open our hearts,
God.
open our hearts
and our minds.
Allow us,
Lord,
to get the essence
of what you're trying
to say to us,
God.
Help us to put ourselves
in the shoes
of the characters
to feel their pain,
but also,
Lord,
to see that you are
working in their lives.
Even when we
don't see you,
you're working
in our lives.
I pray for great
encouragement today
for all of us here.
Help me,
God,
as I speak.
Help me to speak
clearly
with good diction
so that people
can understand
what you're trying
to say to us.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
So in the Bible,
Ruth is right
after the book
of Judges.
And the very last
verse of Judges
describes the setting
in which Ruth
was in.
In those days,
there was no king
in Israel.
Everyone did
what was right
in his own eyes.
During the time
of Judges
and the time
of Ruth,
there was complete
moral depravity
in Israel.
Immorality,
self-indulgence,
self-exaltation
were rampant.
If you wanted
your neighbor's property,
you just stole it.
If you desire
your neighbor's spouse,
you just acted out
those carnal desires
without any care
for your fellow man
or any care
for God.
And as a result,
God's judgment
fell on Israel
and God caused
a famine
in the land.
And it was in that context
that we read
in Ruth chapter 1
verse 1
that a man
from Bethlehem
in Judah
named Elimelech,
he makes the decision
to leave Judah.
He leaves God's people.
He leaves God's land.
And he takes his wife,
Naomi,
and their two sons,
Malon and Kilion,
to a neighboring nation
called Moab
to try to find food.
But the Moabites
were pagan worshipers
and there was a lot
of bad blood
between Israel
and Moab
that went back
years and years.
So it was not
a friendly environment
for this Jewish family
to enter into.
But then in Moab,
the uncomfortable dream
descends into a nightmare.
We don't know how
or why,
but Elimelech dies.
Can you imagine
a worse situation
for Naomi to be in?
You're in a foreign country,
the people are hostile to you,
and then out of nowhere
you lose your husband.
And as if mourning
the loss
of your beloved husband
wasn't enough,
she had to face
the loss of her security
and protection
and her social standing.
For in those days,
a woman,
her standing in society
was really based
on her husband.
But then,
it gets worse for Naomi.
Her two sons,
Malon and Kilion,
they marry Moabite wives,
but after about 10 years,
Naomi's sons die as well.
So not only does Naomi
lose her lover
and her husband,
she loses her protection,
identity, security,
social standing,
loses her sons.
And not just that,
but with their deaths,
the deaths of her sons,
her family's name
would cease to exist.
Her family's name
would be wiped out,
wiped out.
For without a son,
Elimelech's line would end.
So both in her present circumstances
and looking into the future,
Naomi was utterly crushed.
And I don't think
anyone can really blame her
for how she responds
to this tragedy.
If we fast forward
just for a moment
to the end of Ruth chapter 1,
Naomi and Ruth
returned to Bethlehem
and the whole town
was stirred.
The people there
were gathering around,
wondering what happened
to Elimelech
and Malon
and Kilion
trying to understand
what happened
to that decade or so
that they were there
in Moab.
And Naomi tells them.
She doesn't mince words.
She tells the woman
of the town
in verses 20 and 21,
Do not call me Naomi,
which means pleasant.
Call me Mara,
which means bitter.
For the Almighty
has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went away full
and the Lord
has brought me back empty.
Why call me Naomi
when the Lord
has testified against me
and the Almighty
has brought calamity upon me?
Naomi was in a dark place.
She lost everything.
Her husband,
sons,
security protection,
her assets,
her standing in society,
everything she held dear,
gone.
Now maybe you think
Naomi is being
a bad witness to Ruth.
After all,
Naomi being
from the Jewish people,
she should know the Bible,
the stories of how God
is always faithful
and always provides.
God's always so good
to his people.
Shouldn't Naomi know that?
Why is she still
so negative?
Now,
by no means
is Naomi
the model Jew
or a model Christian
in the way she responds
to such tragedy.
But,
as I read Ruth,
I see beauty
in Naomi's response
in two ways.
The first is that
Naomi,
Naomi is being real.
Tragedies happen
to all of us.
We will all face suffering.
But it's okay
not to have to
force yourself
to be unemotive
or to pretend
that everything is okay.
In the Bible,
we read,
especially in Psalms,
that
there's a place
and a way for us
to process pain
and suffering
and all the confusion
around it
through what the Bible
calls lamenting.
If you live long enough,
you will face suffering.
But as God's people,
we can be real
with God.
With God directly
through prayer.
We can be real
with our church community.
And if you are part
of this church,
we will do our best
to come alongside you
if you're facing suffering.
And second,
Naomi holds on
to God's sovereignty.
It may seem like
Naomi is quite negative.
She does change her name
from pleasant
to bitter.
But if you read
the text closely,
she never once
curses God.
She never once
rejects God's sovereignty.
She never loses
her faith in God.
She never denies
that God's in control
with the power
to do
as He pleases.
In fact,
Naomi's stance
is that God
is in control.
God is sovereign.
God can do
whatever He desires.
He's dealt me
a bad hand.
But God is in control.
He can do
what He pleases
because He's God.
You see,
for the Christian,
the fork in the road
of suffering
often looks like this.
Life is going
just fine.
The sun is shining.
We're all making money.
We're all having children.
But then,
boom,
one day,
life smashes us
in the face.
Tragedy strikes
and our faith
is put to the test.
And in response,
we can follow
either one
of two paths.
The first path
starts with bitterness
against God.
But it doesn't end there.
Bitterness
leads down the road
of rejecting
God's sovereignty.
We stop trusting Him.
We lose our faith
in Him.
Maybe we even
leave our church community.
And that is a very
dangerous road
to go down
because it can often
descend into sin
and depravity
because nothing
ever good
can happen
apart from God.
The second road,
the second path,
may start with lamenting,
but then it leads
to the decision
to continue
to hope in God,
to continue
to press on
into God.
But it's often
not a V-shaped recovery.
It's often
not a simple,
fast microwave fix.
The road
can be hard.
It often
will be hard.
It's long.
It's difficult.
There'll be
ups and downs.
But in the midst
of it,
God's word
and God's people
will remind us
that God is good.
And if we hang on
to the hope
that He is good,
that one day
in eternity,
our suffering
won't just end.
Our suffering
would be replaced
with eternal joy
as we are in heaven
with our Lord Jesus.
And Naomi,
I believe,
takes a second path.
It isn't an easy path,
but Naomi never
gives up hope
because if you
always have hope
in God,
the God of the Bible,
you're in a good place.
And that glimmer
of hope appears.
Starting in verse 6,
we read that one day
as Naomi was going
about her day
faithfully working
in the fields
of Moab
to provide food
for herself,
Ruth,
and Orpah,
she hears
that God
had visited
His people
and given them food.
God had intervened
and ended
the famine
back in Bethlehem.
A bit of sunshine
is peering through
those dark clouds.
So the three ladies,
they packed their stuff
and set out
on the three-day journey
back to Bethlehem.
But on the way,
Naomi turns
to Ruth and Orpah.
She does this
sensible thing
and she says to them,
stay back
in Moab.
Verses 8 and 9,
go,
return each of you
to her mother's house.
May the Lord
deal kindly with you
as you have dealt
with the dead
and with me.
The Lord grant
that you may find rest
each of you
in the house
of her husband.
Again,
Naomi,
in spite of the despair
that she faces,
she acknowledges
that it's the Lord
who grants kindness.
It's the Lord
who grants rest.
She acknowledges
that God is sovereign
and she prays
this blessing
over Ruth and Orpah
expecting them
to do the logical thing
to stay in Moab.
Naomi knows
that logically,
right,
there will be
a much higher chance
for Ruth and Orpah
to find rest
back in Moab.
This rest
that Naomi speaks about
refers to
the two
remarrying
in Moab,
perhaps starting
a family,
perhaps having
a son
to carry on
the family line
for that is
what was
most important
for a woman
back in
those days.
For it would be
highly unlikely
that anyone
in Bethlehem
would want to
marry a foreigner,
a Moabite.
And Orpah
does a sensible thing.
She
kisses Naomi,
says her goodbyes,
and stays
in Moab.
But Ruth,
Ruth makes
the opposite,
the irrational,
the illogical
decision
to go with
Naomi
back to
Bethlehem.
Verse 14,
but Ruth
clung to her.
Ruth clung
to Naomi.
Imagine it,
in the middle
of the road
on the way
to Bethlehem,
Ruth grabs
on to Naomi.
Naomi tries
again to do
the sensible thing.
Hey, stay back
in Moab.
You're ridiculous
coming with me.
But Ruth is
resolute.
She's unyielding.
She's stubborn.
In verses
16 and 17,
the most
well-known
verses
in the book
of Ruth,
Ruth tells
Naomi,
it's beautiful,
do not urge
me to leave
you or to
return from
following you.
For where
you go,
I will go.
And where
you lodge,
I will lodge.
Your people
shall be
my people
and your
God
my God.
Where you
die,
I will die.
And there
will I
be buried.
May the
Lord do
so to me
and more
also,
if anything
but death
parts me
from you.
And here,
the first,
I think
the most
prominent,
and perhaps
the most
surprising
love story
of Ruth
begins.
The love
story between
daughter-in-law
and mother-in-law.
I see some
wives here
laughing like
it's funny.
But isn't
it true,
though,
that the
relationship
between daughter-in-law
and mother-in-law
is often the
most tense
or at least
the most
awkward of
all human
relationships?
I see some
like nodding,
yes,
I've experienced
that,
yes.
But in
Naomi's
deepest
moment,
when she
was completely
empty,
with all
that she
loved taken
from her,
still,
there was
hope.
Naomi didn't
know it yet,
but that glimmer
of hope,
that wasn't just
God providing
food back
in Bethlehem,
it was so much
more.
God had intervened
and brought her
Ruth,
the most unlikely
friend and
helper,
who,
we will see in
future chapters,
risks her
life in a
display of
love for
Naomi.
Naomi's
journey from
emptiness to
fullness was
about to
begin.
Now,
I do want to
acknowledge that
some of us in
this room have
experienced
unspeakable
tragedy,
even as
horrific as
what Naomi has
experienced.
The loss of a
mother or
father,
there's never
enough time.
The loss of a
child, it will
crush your soul,
or the loss of
your beloved
spouse.
And all of us
here,
probably in some
shape or form,
have experienced
some sort of
suffering,
because if you
live long enough,
you will face
suffering,
because suffering
is part of the
human condition.
But as we
consider Naomi's
tragedy,
we see that in
the midst of the
darkness, God
intervened and
gave Naomi hope.
And so whatever
you're going
through, and
whatever you may
go through down
the road, or
whatever messiness
exists in your
life, if you love
and trust Christ,
there is always
hope.
Ruth clung to
Naomi, clung to
her, picture it,
it makes no sense,
just go back to
Moab, you'll
find a husband,
start a family,
you'll be
comfortable there.
But Ruth was
standing firm,
telling Naomi,
whatever the
cost, however
long it takes,
wherever it
takes me, I
will cling to
you and I
will love you.
I will go to
the ends of the
earth to love
you, and where
you're buried, I
will also be
buried.
As if saying
that even in
death, death
cannot part me
from you.
And to
express the
seriousness of
her promise, she
even invokes a
curse upon
herself if she
fails to keep
her word.
Verse 17, we
just read it.
May the Lord do
so to me, and
more also, if
anything but
death parts me
from you.
And like
Ruth, God's
love for us is
and never was
logical.
biblical.
Jesus died for
sinners.
Jesus died for
us when we were
worshipping all
the things of
this world, money,
power, pleasures,
comforts.
Jesus died for
us in effect when
we hated him.
Ruth, she was
serious about her
commitment to
cling to Naomi.
She invoked that
curse.
But on the
cross, Christ
took that curse
of sin upon
himself.
because of his
love for you.
Because of his
irrational love
for you.
And isn't
irrational love,
isn't irrational
love what we
crave or desire?
Not conditional
love.
Not circumstantial
love.
Not a summer
fling.
I love that my
wife, Celeste,
says she's crazy
about me sometimes.
But isn't
crazy love what
we desire?
Crazy love,
crazy,
irrational,
illogical,
long-suffering,
long-standing,
permanent,
forever love.
That is what we
desire, isn't it?
If that is you,
then know Jesus.
Experience his
love.
There's nothing
like it in this
world.
I've lost my
place now,
sorry.
And so for
Ruth,
without knowing
that much about
the God of
Israel,
this Moabite
outsider had
the faith to
cling on to
Naomi,
return with her
back to
Bethlehem,
even though the
odds would
suggest she
would have
very low
chance of
ever finding
security or
a husband in
Bethlehem.
If that isn't
faith, I don't
know what is.
Now here's a
question.
Like Orpah,
Ruth could have
walked away from
Naomi, and no
one would have
blamed her.
She was still
young.
She could have
remarried, had a
family, and had a
comfortable life in
Moab.
Why does Ruth
cling to Naomi?
Why does Ruth
place her bets,
so to speak,
all in on
Naomi?
Was Naomi an
amazing leader?
Was Naomi going
to provide her
food and
protection and
security?
Did Ruth owe a
debt to Naomi?
Of course, no.
None of these
things at all.
You see, Ruth
wasn't putting her
hope in Naomi at
all.
Her love for
Naomi, which
throughout the four
chapters of Ruth
beautifully blossoms
and grows, is
driven by her
faith in the
God of the
Bible.
Ruth makes
this profound
commitment to
Naomi.
In verse 16,
your people shall
be my people, and
your God my
God.
Doesn't that
sound a lot like
the covenant
commitment that God
made to his people
Israel throughout the
Old Testament?
What did God say to
his people?
You'll be my
people, and I
will be your
God.
You see, it
wasn't like God
had abandoned
Naomi, and Ruth
stepped in to
take God's
place.
Rather, in
Ruth's loving
commitment to
Naomi, we
actually see God's
loving commitment
to Naomi.
And so we can
see how God is
behind it, providing
a glimmer of hope
to Naomi, and
showing that he is
at work in the
midst of despair.
It's likely that
Ruth heard of the
God of Israel
through Naomi.
Perhaps Naomi
shared how the
God of Israel, he
took Abraham out
of paganism, and
made an everlasting
promise to
Abraham.
Perhaps Naomi
shared how the
God of Israel,
through Moses,
delivered and
rescued his
people from
slavery in Egypt,
and gave them
their own land.
Perhaps Naomi
shared how the
God of Israel
is forever
faithful, forever
kind, forever
loving, forever
designed to
rescue and
redeem his
people.
Now, Naomi was
far from the
model Jew, yes.
She was bitter
after losing so
much.
But she never
turned her back
on God, and
God still used
her, as God
can use anyone
to bring another
person to faith
in him.
And so it was
likely that Ruth
came to faith in
God through
Naomi.
And it was
Ruth's conversion
from a pagan
Moabite, an
enemy of God's
people, to faith
in the God of
Israel.
That drove her
conviction to
begin a new
life, following,
trusting, and
obeying the God
of Israel.
And where would
that road lead
her?
To Judah, to
Bethlehem.
Because in
Moab, although
there may have
been comfort
and security,
there was no
God.
The Lord, the
Almighty, the
true God that
made the heavens
and the earth, he
wasn't in Moab.
He was back in the
land of Israel.
And so to follow
the God of Israel,
Ruth knew she had
to return with
Naomi back to
Bethlehem.
And so Ruth, she
intentionally chose
a life following
God with the
overwhelming likelihood
of permanent
poverty, widowhood,
and prejudice.
You see, in the
face of Naomi's
suffering, Ruth
herself chose
suffering to
mitigate Naomi's
suffering.
It's a lot of
suffering.
In the face of
Naomi's suffering,
I'll say it again,
in the face of
Naomi's suffering,
Ruth herself chose
suffering to
mitigate Naomi's
suffering.
A picture of
Jesus, isn't it?
Isn't that what
Jesus did?
In the face of
our potential
eternal damnation
to hell, Jesus
took our place,
he came into the
world, and he
clung to us, and
he went to the
cross, and he
suffered there so
that we wouldn't
have to.
Now, looking back
at Ruth, what an
example of someone
who lives by
faith.
And friends, isn't
this what God
calls us to do as
his people?
To live by faith?
The righteous will
live by faith.
Romans 1 to 16.
For without faith,
it's impossible to
please God.
Hebrews chapter 11.
But, we're a
people that always
demand to know
everything that's
going to happen
before it happens
in order to
believe it.
And we must see
something right in
front of us.
We're a people
also that naturally
drive away from
radical, risky
decisions towards
comfortable, easy
decisions.
I know that's me.
I'd much rather go
fly with my family
short haul to
Cebu.
It's only two
hours than fly
long haul to
overseas.
I just don't want
to deal with the
difficulty.
Partly, I think it's
because I'm very
privileged.
I think we're all
very privileged
living in Hong
Kong.
We get out our
phone.
If you want pizza,
get out my phone.
I just use my
thumb, click three
buttons, boom, pizza
at my door, 20
minutes.
But I believe God
is calling us to
follow Ruth's
example.
To live by faith.
And not just do
what is logical.
And not just do
what is in our own
best interest.
And for some of us
here, living by
faith, maybe that
means loving someone
that you really don't
like to love or don't
want to love.
Maybe it's your
mother-in-law.
Maybe it's your
colleague.
Maybe it's your CG
member.
To love someone like
Ruth loved Naomi.
For some of us here,
maybe God is calling
us to reorient our
ambitions.
I think for a lot of
us, money and career
drive our decisions.
Perhaps God is calling
us to finally put him
above everything else.
I think for all of us,
partly what it means
to live by faith is
giving money back to
God.
For all of us.
I know it's hard.
For some of us, maybe
it means giving more
money away back to
God.
All are called to
live by faith.
To obey God.
To honor God above
all.
Even when it's
radical and not
logical.
And maybe you're
here today and
you're not a
Christian.
Think about this.
The journey of
life is like sailing
out in the open
sea.
Maybe right now,
the sun is shining.
The sea is calm.
But you're at the
mercy of the wind,
the waves,
and the rain.
At some point,
a storm will come.
At some point,
tragedy will be
a little strike
because this world
is decaying.
Because this world
is not all there
is.
The question is,
what is your
anchor?
What is your,
what will save you?
What is your hope?
If you put your
life and trust in
Jesus, you will
always find hope.
God intervenes in
the lives of
Naomi and
Ruth to do only
what God can do.
He always brings
restoration.
He always brings
life from despair
and death.
And for all of us,
with hindsight,
we can see that
God has already
intervened,
sending Jesus into
the world to die
on the cross.
And because of
him, we have an
eternal hope that
nothing in this
world could ever
take away.
Not famine,
not natural
disasters,
not war,
not an economic
depression,
not even death
can separate us
from the love of
God through
Christ Jesus.
Let me close.
Ruth 1 ends
with Naomi and
Ruth arriving
in Bethlehem
right at the
beginning of
the barley harvest.
After such
tragedy,
a glimmer of
hope will turn
into something
more tangible
and real.
There will be
uncertainty,
there will be
much risk,
faith will be
needed,
but as we
continue to
look at the
book of Ruth,
we will see
that both
Naomi and
Ruth,
who began
the story
destitute
and broken,
will be more
blessed,
will experience
more of the
favor and
kindness of
God than
they could
ever imagine
in their
wildest dreams.
And we'll
also see how
this little
story of Ruth
is part of
the biggest
story that
was ever
told,
the redemption
of the world
through Jesus
Christ.
This is how
the God of
the Bible
works.
He takes
people like
us,
broken,
messy,
sinful,
and if we
only have the
strength and
resolve to
humble ourselves,
to admit that
we can't do it
ourselves, to
admit that we
are broken.
God always
showers us with
kindness and
favor.
And so this
week, as we
go out into
our city,
whatever may
smash us in
the face,
whatever trials
we're going
through, let's
cling on to
God.
Let's cling on
to His every
word.
There's always
hope in
Christ.
peace.
And may we
be a people
who live
radically by
faith.
Let's pray.
Father, thank
you so much
that we can
study this
book of the
Bible.
Your word,
your holy
word.
Thank you,
God, that
after a thousand
years, it
still speaks to
us just as
powerfully as
it did back
then, because
it is your
scripture.
God, as we
respond to
this, and
today, now, and
throughout the
week, we think
about our own
trials in life, we
think about the
despair that we
think about the
idols that we
have in life,
Lord.
I pray, God, that
you would cause
us to see, Lord,
there's always a
glimmer of hope as
we trust Christ.
Help us to cling
on to you,
Jesus, and to
never let go.
For those of us
here that have
not yet put our
hope in you,
God, I pray,
God, that you
would speak to
us directly.
Speak to us as
only you can,
God, and may we
all be a people,
God, that love
and trust you.
Thank you.
Thank you for
Jesus, your son.
In his name we
pray.
Amen.