Seen In The Story - Sermon 5 "Context is Everything"

I think we all want our lives to matter to those around us. However we will only matter when we make an impact and we cannot impact our culture by being disconnected from it. No one will connect with every one but every one can connect with some one. This is clearly seen throughout the Bible, some places being more obvious than others. One place where it may not be so obvious at first glance is in the story of Boaz redeeming Ruth as her kinsman redeemer. This story is found in Ruth chapter four and is full of things that can only be understood from the view of Jewish culture.

To summarize, Boaz was very public in the way in which he helped restore the future of Ruth by marrying her following the death of her first husband. In the Jewish culture this meant that Boaz was her kinsman redeemer. The public nature of this event and the manner in which Boaz operated fit into the cultural norms however the impact was far from normal. Initially the people had some thing that prompted praise in a time for which there was little to give thanks. The far reaching impact was that Ruth became the grandma of King David. Reaching farther still, Ruth was a member if the lineage of Jesus as recorded in Matthew chapter one. Perhaps the largest impact of this story is that Boaz became a "type" of Jesus Christ in that he defined the role of redeemer.

If this is to mean anything to us we must without fear or arrogance engage in your cultural context.

I hope to see you at CONNECT each and every Saturday night at Apple Valley Church of the Nazarene. Enjoy the video below and understand that it is not an example of impacting your culture.


Trying to engage,

Paul

REAL CHRISTIAN OF GENIUS

Seen In The Story - Sermon 4 "Coming to the Redeemer"

I ask God a lot of questions, sometimes not as humble as I ought to. Psalm 99:1 says, “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!” This verse checks me in the way that I ask questions of God. Verses like this help me to stay in place. It helps me come to God with the right attitude of humility.

We in our self-help culture have somehow come live and worship as though God owes of something. Many come to God with a sense of entitlement or with a pointing finger. I think we could use a reminder that we are to come to our redeemer with humility. The world needs us to tell our story of how to appropriately come to Jesus. The world needs you to tell you story of coming to our Redeemer in humility. This is how Ruth exemplified this:

1. Show the way of rest and security in the Redeemer. 3:1-2

2. Teach the way in which one is to come to the redeemer. 3-5
What Ruth was saying to Boaz was, “I respect you, I trust you, and I put my
fate in your hands.” - David Guzik

3. Display the way of finding protection V.6-9
In Ezekiel 16:8, God uses the same terminology in relation to Israel: I
spread my wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to
you and entered into a covenant with you and you became Mine, says the LORD
God."

4. Model that needs are met by going in the right direction. V. 10-11

5. Reveal that our redeemer follows the law of God in redemption 12-18.

The Story of Redemption

Seek Synergy With God

I have come to understand that there are many things that only God can accomplish in my life, and yet there are other things that He expects me to do. These are not always easily distinguished and I often stumble around a bit before I get it right. Though we are limited and God is not we must commit to doing our part. My stumbling around is my effort to seek synergy with God. This must be my goal to fulfill the work he has for me and I gather from my discussions with others that you need to seek synergy with God as well. Ruth is a good example of this and in Ruth chapter two we receive four means to accomplish this synergy.

1. God will guide you as you humbly go. Ruth 2:1-3
2. God will bless you and honor our servitude. Ruth 2:4-12
3. God's provision is not the end of our work. Ruth 2:13-18
4. God's provision is often of a greater significance than we first realize.
2:19-23

Seeking Synergy,

Pastor Paul

Seen In The Story - Sermon #2

As the video below illustrates, there are times when situations seem hopeless. At the end of the video the narrator states that hope is never over. This is a great truth and is seen in countless stories through out the history of God's people. The story being considered in our current series at CONNECT is the story of Ruth. In the first chapter God allows a tragedy to strike a family. It is when God allows these things that we are tempted be believe that he has forgotten us or that He simply does not exist. For many they give up and take life into their own hands and fight for what is theirs. Ruth presents a radical approach to facing tragedy. She totally forgoes her rights. In doing this she commits to her love for her mother-in-law.

In the second sermon in the series "Seen In The Story" four examples of love that forgoes its rights are presented:

1. God's example: Ruth 1:6 - God gave food to rebellious people following a time
of famine.
2. Naomi's example: Ruth 1:7-13 - Naomi released her daughter-in-laws from
caring for her as a widow.
3. Ruth's example: Ruth 1:14-22 - Ruth gave up her right to be free and find
another husband.
4. Jesus' example: Philippians 2:5-8 - Jesus gave up His to be served and became
a servant.

Do you think that you need to fight for your own rights? Can you love in such a way that forgoes your rights? How about when God allows tragedy? This is a radical way of looking at life, but the alternative is a life of getting what you can on your own. As I view our society that philosophy is not getting us very far.

Pastor Paul
connectavnaz@gmail.com

It's Not Over