Sunday 17th May 2020 - Ruth
Ruth
Worship
‘You are Good’ by Bethel Music. Join in the actions with our very own Well actions team - Latifah and Megan:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q0PV19rzwckge_Cf9Rgp9A-imkCxzAJx/view
Snack idea
It might be good fun to eat wheat crackers or bread (allergy dependent) as you do your study today to show what can be made with wheat like that Ruth collected (gleaned) from Boaz’ field.
Word
How does hope shine through the story of Ruth despite much suffering?
Give an overview of the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz from the book of Ruth, either in your own words or use an age-appropriate Bible. Make sure you highlight the following key facts; Naomi and Ruth were in a desperate situation as widows at that time with no means of providing for themselves (and a time of famine), Ruth was not expected to stay with her Mother-in-law but chose to (and was interested in learning more about God), in travelling back to Naomi’s homeland Ruth was an outsider, Ruth really wanted to look after Naomi so went to collect fallen wheat in the fields, God blessed Ruth by directing her to Boaz’ field who showed kindness to her, Naomi realised a plan to offer Ruth as Boaz’ wife because of a tradition that Boaz was Naomi’s families kinsman-redeemer, a hopeless situation was turned around because of kindness, love, hard work, trust and loyalty.
This video retells the story of Ruth in a fairly succinct way; God's Story: Ruth (Crossroads Kids' Club) -
Some things to talk about together:
- What are the different ways that Ruth is suffering in this story? With younger children you might want to talk about how moving away from your family would be really difficult, even though you believed it was the right thing to do. With older children you might want to try to help them understand the implications of being widowed young with no sons and what their prospects looked like.
- What is Ruth determined to do?
- Where do you see God at work in this story? How are God’s plans being worked out even through all the suffering and Ruth’s back-breaking work gleaning?
- How do you see God’s hope in this story? (Hope - God knows about and sees our problems, God sees Ruth’s humility and good character, God blesses those who trust Him, God blesses Ruth’s attempts to improve their situation, God provides for Ruth and Naomi’s needs through His believers (Boaz), God shows that doing what is right and holy brings hope)
Activity suggestions
All ages:
Plant seeds together. If you have the space and resources at home, then I challenge you to plant some seeds together this week. As you do so, talk about what is needed to give the seeds the best chance of growing. Enjoy monitoring the seeds and looking after them together and being ‘hopeful’ that they will flourish and grow! Thank God for any plants, trees, flowers, crops that you can see from your window, in your garden or as you walk on your daily exercise - they are all part of his amazing creation!
OR
Do some baking together (if you’ve been able to purchase flour). You might want to have a go at baking some bread or something a little sweeter, whatever you fancy. Thank God for providing food for us to eat (even in this difficult situation), pray in thankfulness for those who help to farm foods in this country and others and pray for those who are suffering now because they don’t have enough to eat. (I’d love to see any pictures of your seeds growing or of your baked creations - email them to me at jodie.thorpe@wellsheffield.com)
Reflect
Create a ‘Blessings jar/pot’. Use an empty jam jar or large yoghurt pot (you may want to decorate this) and label it ‘Blessings’.
Then talk together about how God has and is blessing you as a family at this time of ‘lockdown’; the things that you are really thankful for. Write each thing on a small piece of paper (you may choose to use heart-shaped paper or leaves or just squares of paper) and post it in your jar. You might want to put scripture in there too that shows you are thankful for God’s provision and hope during this difficult time.
You can keep adding to your blessing jar/pot as the days go on. If you have a day when you are struggling to find God’s hope - pull out some of the papers from your blessings jar and read them to encourage you.