Scripture: Ruth 2:1-23 (p. 239-240, Pew Bible)

Luke 6:36-38 (p 941, Pew Bible)
Sermon: All Are Welcome
Focus: God’s Providence

Reflection: Based on Ruth 2:3b.
“As it turned out…”
“As it happened…”
Is this by chance?
A coincidence or maybe a good luck?
I would say I’m a lucky lady,
that’s how I got through the problems.
Yeah, that’s how I am,
but there’s something interesting.
The words ‘luck’ and ‘lucky’
are never used in the Bible.
Is there such thing as ‘luck’ in God?
Or does it not really exist?
Looking at “Ruth the Moabitess”
several times we see the reminder
that she was a foreigner from a despised people.
But with God
there’s no such thing as fate.
It is all part of his plan.
The invisible hand of God.
It just happened that Ruth
went to the field owned by Boaz.
It just happened that Boaz
was related to Ruth’s father-in-law.
As it turned out that Ruth’s name
was mentioned in the family tree of Jesus.
I would say this is God’s providence,
the perfect divine intervention.
There’s no such thing as luck or fate.

Hymns We Will Sing:

HYMN #14 “For the Beauty of the Earth” (DIX)
HYMN # 772 “Live into Hope” (TRURO)
HYMN # 300 “We Are One In the Spirit” (THEY”LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS)