The Silence Before the VoiceReading: 1 Samuel 3:1-7Samuel lived at the center of Israel's religious life, yet the text says he did not yet know the Lord. This is a sobering reminder that proximity to ...  Read More

Your Story Is Part of His Story Reading: Ruth 4:13-17; Hebrews 11:1Obed was born. Naomi held him in her arms. Neither she nor Ruth nor Boaz had any idea that this child would become the grandfather of...  Read More

Faithfulness That Points Beyond Itself Reading: Ruth 3:1-13; Ephesians 2:10Boaz acted as a kinsman-redeemer, a person obligated by covenant to restore what was lost to a vulnerable family member. His ...  Read More

The God of Seemingly Small Moments Reading: Ruth 2:1-12; Proverbs 16:9Ruth set out to glean in the fields, and as the text says, "as it turned out," she ended up in the field belonging to Boaz. "Just ...  Read More

Turning Toward God in Bitterness Reading: Ruth 1:19-22; Job 2:9-10Naomi arrived in Bethlehem and asked to be called Mara, meaning bitter. She placed her grief squarely before God and made no attempt t...  Read More

When Life Falls Apart Reading: Ruth 1:1-5; Psalm 34:18Naomi lost her husband and both of her sons in a foreign land. Everything that provided security, identity, and hope was stripped away. The openin...  Read More

Give Me Eyes to SeeReading: Psalm 139:23-24 and 2 Kings 6:15-17Samson's final prayer was for revenge. He asked God to strengthen him so he could repay the Philistines for what they had done to his eye...  Read More

God Acts Even When We Do Not AskReading: Romans 5:6-8One of the most striking details in Samson's story is that the Israelites never cried out to God for deliverance. They did not ask. They did not pr...  Read More

When You Do Not Know You Are in the PotReading: Revelation 3:14-17Three thousand men from Judah confronted Samson not to celebrate his victory over the Philistines, but to defend the very people who w...  Read More

The Faithfulness Behind the FailureReading: Hebrews 11:32-34Samson appears in what many call the Faith Chapter (Hebrews 11), and that can feel deeply confusing. His life was marked by selfishness, bro...  Read More

The Slow DriftReading: Judges 13:1-5The opening of Samson's story does not begin with a dramatic fall. It begins with a quiet sentence: the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. No single momen...  Read More

The Table of MercyReading: Psalm 23The sermon closed with a prayer drawn from the imagery of Psalm 23, and it is a fitting place to end this week. We walk through valleys. We do not camp in them. God ...  Read More