Summit Drive Church

In Ruth 3, we see Naomi “turn a corner” on her valid moment of grieving, where she now takes initiative to serve the interests of Ruth with loyal love. The initiative of Naomi, the boldness of Ruth, and the kindness of Boaz beautifully picture how God’s providence continues to transform this family in the wake of tragedy.

This week, Pastor Ricky shows us in Chapter 2 of Ruth that where there is loyal love, there God is also. Through Ruth, we see that God can work in the ordinary and with the ‘unworthy.’ Through Naomi, we see that God’s providence means the story isn’t over. Through Boaz, we see extravagant love, extravagant love that leads to God’s purposes for all people.

The book of Ruth intermingles tragedy with God’s providence, and the loyal-love that comes through community. We begin this series with a particular focus on the tragedy that befalls Naomi, and how the example of Ruth’s loyal love becomes a model for Jesus-followers of what committed care looks like.

God delights to speak in ways that go well beyond what mere words of explanation could every sufficiently convey. In this final message of our “Thinking Christianly” series, we’ll see how “aesthetic” or “beauty/art” are one of the key ways of “knowing” that the Christian faith recognizes, draws on, and ought to celebrate.

Pastor Ricky invites us to engage with tradition as a way of knowing—to consider ancient solutions to our modern problems. Trying to find a way between the dangers of dismissing the past and holding onto the past too tightly.

As we think about “Thinking Christianly” through our series, the Bible is a foundational resource that shapes our ‘knowing’. But what exactly does that mean? How does that work? We’ll see, particularly, how God’s authority is exercised through this text to shape and form the Scripture reading community to know Jesus and to be fully equipped for every good work.

We live in a culture that often sees “faith” and “reason” as opposites – at odds with each other. In this message we’ll see, however, that reason is a key resource for thinking Christianly, that the Bible says that: reason is possible, reason is necessary, reason is ‘broken’, and finally, that reason ‘has a Name.’

This week, Pastor Ricky explores the Christian perspective on our ability to know truth and explains how our personal experiences fit into our pursuit of truth.

We are beginning a series called “Thinking Christianly: On Loving God with Our Minds.”  Today we’ll see how the Christian faith requires the use of our minds, along with all the rest of our lives, in love of God and neighbour.

In Jesus’ first resurrection appearance to his disciples, we find that the Spirit who fills us and forms us to be like Jesus, empowers us for mission – to be God’s sent people for God’s good purpose of bringing God’s peace to the world.