Wilderness Wanderings

Our text is from Ruth 4:7-10 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) So, the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witness...

Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged...

Our text is from Ruth 3:16-18 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?" Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled t...

And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text Luke 2:25-38.  Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca Are you waiting for anything from God? How often do you pray for Christ...

Our text is from Ruth 3:7-10 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet! "Who are you?" he asked. "I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner...

One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has...

Our text is from Ruth 2:19-23 Naomi asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said. "The Lord bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and...

At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."  When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for...

Our text is from Ruth 2:10-13 At this, [Ruth] bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?" Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before....

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!   The texts come from Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 1:26-38 from the New International Version of the Bible.   Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!   To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube .   Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Imm...

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was workin...

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So, the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord ha...

At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.  "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.   Where you die I wi...

Our text is from Ruth 1:6-13 While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had begun to provide food for them again. So, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law prepared to go from Moab back to her home. She left the place where she had been living. Her daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Naomi said to...

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelek, Naomi...

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings!  The text Luke 1:5-25. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it  here on YouTube .  Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC:  immanuelministries.ca What do you want for Christmas? What does God want to give?...

Today our text comes from Revelation 11:15-19 with its vision of that day when Christ our King comes again. May God bless you as you hear his word today.     The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who we...

Today our text comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-22, another word of encouragement as we await the coming of our King. May God bless you as you hear his word today.     Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come o...

Today our text comes from John 16:16-33 , a word of encouragement as we await the coming of our King. May God bless you as you hear his word today.   16 Jesus went on to say, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and...

Today our text comes from Psalm 76 , a psalm of praise to the God who is King. May God bless you as you hear his word today.     1  God is renowned in Judah;     in Israel his name is great. 2  His tent is in Salem,     his dwelling place in Zion. 3  There he broke the flashing arrows,     the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. [ b ] 4  You are radiant with light,     more majestic than m...

Today our text comes from John 18:33-37 , a Gospel text for Christ the King Sunday.   This Sunday is the last Sunday of the old church year, preparing us to wait in expectation of this coming King once again in Advent.   This will therefore also be our last week of devotions in this format.   Next week we return to written devotions on Bible texts.   For Advent, these texts will come from the book...

The dream of Daniel 7 helps us understand this week's gospel reading. May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. Daniel said, "I had a vision at night. I looked up and saw the four winds of heaven. They were stirring up the Mediterranean Sea. Four large animals came up out of the sea. Each one was different from the others. "The first animal was like a lion. It had the wings of an eagle. I wa...

In this week's gospel reading, Jesus says, " Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains " (Mark 13:8). When those things make us afraid, Psalm 93 gives us encouragement to stand firm.   May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. The Lord rules.     He puts on majesty as if it we...

In this week's gospel reading, Mark 13:1-11, Jesus tells his followers that when they are persecuted the Holy Spirit will enable them to stand confidently. Today's reading is the next part of Mark 13.   May the Lord bless you as you receive his word. "Watch out! You will be handed over to the local courts. You will be whipped in the synagogues. You will stand in front of governors and kings becaus...