Creekside Community Church
Friends that Flourish - Loyal: The Book of Ruth - Sermon 2
Creekside Community Church Loyal: The Book of Ruth June 10th, 2018 Jeff Bruce, Lead Pastor
Locations & Times
Creekside Community Church
951 MacArthur Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94577, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
1. ...( often) shatter convention
“SoNaomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab.”(Ruth 1:22; see also 2:2, 6, 21; 4:5, 10).
2. …share convictions
“…where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)
3. …show consistency
“Ruth clung to her.”(Ruth 1:14)
For further thought and discussion:
Getting Started
1. What was helpful to you in this week’s sermon? What didn’t you understand?
2. Think of your closest childhood friend. Then, complete the following sentence, “if it wasn’t for him/her, I never would have ______________.”
Going Deeper
3. Jeff listed several negative consequences we can experience due to a lack of friendship. Have you experienced any of these? Share your experience with the group.
4. Read Psalm 1 and Proverbs 13:20. What do these passages teach us about the formative influence of friends in our lives?
5. Why do Ruth and Naomi form an unlikely pair? Why does the author highlight the fact that Ruth is a Moabite? What is the author trying to teach his/her readers? What friends do you have that are truly unlike you? How has God used these friendships in your life?
6. C.S. Lewis says that “The very condition of having friends is that we should want something else besides friends. Where the truthful answer to the question “Do you see the same truth?” would be “I don’t care about the truth – I only want [you to be my] friend,” no friendship can arise. Friendship must be about something . . . Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow travelers.”(The Four Loves, first paperback ed. (New York: Mariner Books, 1971), chapter 4.). Why must friends have a shared vision/mission for life? What vision did Ruth and Naomi have in common?
3. Jeff listed several negative consequences we can experience due to a lack of friendship. Have you experienced any of these? Share your experience with the group.
4. Read Psalm 1 and Proverbs 13:20. What do these passages teach us about the formative influence of friends in our lives?
5. Why do Ruth and Naomi form an unlikely pair? Why does the author highlight the fact that Ruth is a Moabite? What is the author trying to teach his/her readers? What friends do you have that are truly unlike you? How has God used these friendships in your life?
6. C.S. Lewis says that “The very condition of having friends is that we should want something else besides friends. Where the truthful answer to the question “Do you see the same truth?” would be “I don’t care about the truth – I only want [you to be my] friend,” no friendship can arise. Friendship must be about something . . . Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow travelers.”(The Four Loves, first paperback ed. (New York: Mariner Books, 1971), chapter 4.). Why must friends have a shared vision/mission for life? What vision did Ruth and Naomi have in common?
Application:
7. Which friendship do you currently want to build/pursue? What could you and this person accomplish together (i.e. what common goal could you seek)? Who is someone unlikeyou that you’d like to pursue a deeper friendship with? What steps can you take to foster more consistency in your current friendships?
8. What’s one thing you can do this week to apply this passage?