Spiritual gifts are special abilities given by God (the Holy Spirit) to Christians so that they can do God's work in the world. Whenever the subject of spiritual gifting is discussed it usually raises a lot of questions. What are the gifts of the spirit? How do we get them? How do we know what gifts we have? How do we use them? In this intro to our "Gifted" series, we'll take a look at some overarching big ideas regarding spiritual gifts and learn how we can begin discerning what ways the Holy Spirit has gifted us for God's work.

Boaz has a goal to become Ruth's kinsman redeemer. So, he puts together a plan to make it happen. We see the Elders of the city and the people of the community pray for them and encourage them as they marry and have a child named Obed. The story of Ruth and Naomi is really a story of tragedy to triumph... brokenness to blessing. In many ways this mirrors the story of the Bible and the story of the gospel. In it we learn that even when we're wondering where God is and waiting, He is still working. Ultimately through Boaz and Ruth's lineage comes Jesus. Ruth's story reminds us that God's plan is better than our own.

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Ruth has not heard from Boaz for weeks now and the harvest time is almost over. So, Naomi gives Ruth some advice on what to do next. Some of her advice is good, some questionable, and some is just plain bad. Ruth follows through and it works out, but there are a lot of lessons to be learned along the way.

Few things are more determinative of who you are and are becoming than who and what you reward with your attention. Boaz gifts Ruth with his attention because Boaz has an eye for goodness, and Ruth reciprocates, creating a virtuous cycle wherein both affirm and encourage the good in one another.

At the beginning of the 2nd chapter of Ruth, we are introduced to the 3rd main character in the story... a godly man named Boaz. Although there are not any overt miracles recorded in the book of Ruth, you see God's hand of providence on display as He brings Boaz and Ruth together and Boaz takes notice of her. This is a great reminder for us that even when we cannot see it, God is at work in our lives in unexpected ways to bring about his purposes.

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What kind of moral difference does the Spirit make? Are we sinners who are just forgiven, or saints who just occasionally sin? Romans 7:14-25 has a complex interpretive history, but reveals the deep moral struggle we all feel, and reminds us we never progress past being sinners who need the gospel.

Jesus tells a parable exposing the silliness of making moral comparisons, and the radical relativity of all human righteousness. Once we opt out of the righteousness rankings game, and stop being so disappointed in the sinfulness of sinners, we're freed up to instead find ways to show our fellow sinners mercy.