Grace & Peace PGH

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. —Colossians 1:9-14

"Ruth's offspring for many generations would be there to show this bitter woman the healing grace of God. In this way, grace flowed to Naomi. In her arms, she saw the living, suckling, crying example of God's faithfulness. This was his answer to her bitterness. Obed's descendant Christ can be as well the answer to bitterness in our life." —Robert A. Wauzzinski

"Jesus Christ is the ultimate kinsman-redeemer. He redeems us, buys us out of our slavery to sin, gives us a hope and a future, showers us with daily blessings, and gives us a land we must call the new heavens and the new earth." —Robert A. Wauzzinkski

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. —Psalm 121

Today's sermon from Ruth chapter 3.

"The awareness of a master storyteller weaving my life lets me pause and, like an artist, see hidden blessings and patterns when I begin to bear the cost of narrowing my life. It lets me endure in love because I know Someone is guiding the story toward resurrection." —Paul E. Miller

"This pledge made negatively as a rejection of all that was familiar for this Moabitess, is a whole-life conversion; everything changes for Ruth, because of her commitment. Life, land, loyalties, and her destiny change because of commitment." —Robert A. Wauzzinski

"Naomi's losses would be staggering for any culture, but in the ancient Near East for a mother to lose not only her husband but also her sons was the epitome of suffering." —Paul E. Miller

This week's sermon from guest speaker Derek Bates on Psalm 8.

"I would warn against any doctrine of the last things which places all the emphasis on the fact that the believer will rejoice in the absence of pain, worry...sickness, etc., but forgets that it is especially the absence of sin (as the root of all of these) that should cause us to rejoice." —William Hendriksen