Naomi was convinced that she was under the curse of God. But for those who trust in the Lord – though sorrow may last for the night – JOY comes in the morning. Here, with her sweet grandson asleep on her lap, Naomi finally knows this to be true. And so too do the witnesses in the livingroom.

So far in the story, Ruth "happens" upon the field of one of her husband's distant relatives, Boaz, and he is captivated by her integrity. Sensing that love might be in the air, Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, puts a risky plan in motion.

There is room for risk when you are sheltered by God.

Taking place during the time of the judges, Ruth sits like a diamond of hope set against a black backdrop of despair. This is a VERY Christmasy story. It is a story of peace in a time of chaos; light breaking through darkness; joy overcoming bitterness and hope triumphing over despair! The themes of advent are all over the story of Ruth!

As the congregations of Simcoside Lifepointe Church and Redeemer City Church become one, it would be helpful to look at Psalm 133. David's goal is simply to awaken our hearts to see and appreciate the beauty of unity.

Today's passage is not ultimately about Samson. The author of Judges didn't write this down to entertain us. He wrote it down in order to teach us so as to change us. At the end of it we'll try to discern just exactly what we're meant to see.

The arrival of a miracle baby is a sure sign that God is about to work a great deliverance for His people. God is signaling here that – in spite of Israel's apathy – He is not about to let them go.

This morning, we're going to skip past Jepthah's negotiations with the Ammonites and look at the sin of Jephthah, the sin of Ephraim and the sin of Gilead

There are two stories in our text this morning but, if you look closely, you might come to notice that they are really one. In chapter 10, Israel cries out to God for rescue while in the opening verses of chapter 11, Gilead cries out to Jephthah for rescue but there is a great deal of clear and intentional overlap.