1 / 9

Goodness in the Midst of Adversity and Evil

Goodness in the Midst of Adversity and Evil. The Story of Ruth. Christians and Adversity. There is no doubt that Christians today fall on hard times: loss of job, spouse, family, material possessions, severe illness, physical handicaps, etc. Christians and Evil.

lbarrie
Download Presentation

Goodness in the Midst of Adversity and Evil

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Goodness in the Midstof Adversity and Evil The Story of Ruth

  2. Christians and Adversity • There is no doubt that Christians today fall on hard times: loss of job, spouse, family, material possessions, severe illness, physical handicaps, etc.

  3. Christians and Evil • There is no doubt that Christians today are surrounded by an evil society: abortion, crime, murder, drugs, homosexuality, hate-crimes, divorce, mass media, etc.

  4. How Do We React? • The question is, "How do we as Christians react to these circumstances?" Do we allow adversity and the evil around us to keep us from serving God? We don't have to! Can there be goodness in the midst of adversity and evil? Certainly so! This is the story of Ruth.

  5. Background • Notice two conditions which are stated as the story of Ruth begins (1:1): • "When the judges judged" - evil times • "A famine in the land" - adverse times

  6. Goodness in the Midst of Adversity • Naomi experienced famine and the loss of her family (1:1-5) • Ruth experienced the loss of her husband (1:5) • Naomi and Ruth did not put their trust in material possessions, or family ties, but in God

  7. Goodness in the Midst of Evil • Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz showed devotion to God while others in Israel were serving idols • Ruth showed love of family while others in Israel were loving self and sin

  8. Goodness in the Midst of Evil • Boaz showed respect for God's law while others in Israel were doing that which was right "in their own eyes“ • Gleaning (Lev. 19:9-10) • Marriage (Deut. 25:5-10)

  9. Goodness Rewarded • Boaz and Ruth were rewarded (4:11-14) • Naomi was rewarded (4:15-17) • We will be rewarded if we: 1) trust God, not material things, 2) be devoted to serving God, not idols, and 3) respect God’s law, not do your own thing

More Related