March 22, 2020

Rough Road Ahead

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Anyone who heard last Sunday’s message, the first in our new series in The Book of Ruth, realizes that it is as if this story was designed to be told at a time like this. The series, The Road to Redemption, breaks down like this:

March 15 Where the Road Begins (Ruth 1:1-18)
March 22 Rough Road Ahead (Ruth 1:19-2:23)
March 29 The Long and Winding Road (Ruth 3)
April 5 Where the Road Ends (Ruth 4)

Those titles seem spot-on, don’t they? As we gather (virtually) this Sunday we’ll be looking at the “Rough Road Ahead,” and I’d say we’re all looking at that road right now. And we need this message.

Call, text, or email someone and tell them to join you on the livestream Sunday morning. I’m expecting God to speak to us through this passage.

Complete Online Church Service

Sermon Notes

The Road to Redemption: The Life-Changing Story of Ruth
Rough Road Ahead
Pastor Todd Dugard
Ruth 1:19—2:23

Once I’ve set out on the road to redemption, I will…

• Expect a reaction from others (v. 1:19-22)

• Rest in God’s sovereignty (v. 2:1-7)

Proverbs 16:33

There is nothing—no circumstance, no trouble, no testing—that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment, but as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes to him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is.
--Alan Redpath

• Accept help when needed (v. 2:8-23)

Proverbs 14:31b

• Prepare for setbacks along the way (v. 2:9, 15-16, 22)