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FRIDAY — Final Thoughts…
When Benjamin Franklin was the United States Ambassador to France, he occasionally attended the Infidels Club—a group that spent most of its time searching for, and reading, literary masterpieces. On one occasion, Franklin read the book of Ruth to the club when it was gathered together, but changed the names in it so it would not be recognized as a book of the Bible. When he finished, they were unanimous in their praise. They said it was one of the most beautiful short stories that they had ever heard, and demanded that he tell them where he had run across such a remarkable literary masterpiece. It was his great delight to tell them that it was from the Bible (which earlier they professed to regard with scorn and derision, and in which they felt there was nothing good).

     The book of Ruth is certainly a literary masterpiece. It is a beautiful story of a romance. I wonder how it would be featured in some of our romance magazines today. I can almost see the headline; it would be something like HOW ONE WOMAN FOUND HAPPINESS—in the arms of second husband. It inflames the imagination because it has entwined the captivating theme of love and romance throughout.
     Although it is a beautiful story in itself, it’s the story behind the story, its meaning and significance, that simply fascinate. The book of Ruth is one of those beautiful Old Testament pictures that is designed by God himself to illustrate the dramatic truths of the Christian faith expounded in the New Testament. It is a word picture in the Old Testament illustrative of the truth we find in the New Testament.
    The Book of Ruth concludes with a genealogy. Did you know there are 41 separate genealogies from Genesis to Revelation? Have you ever stopped to wonder why? These family trees are really “faith albums” of God’s promises to His people.
     When God made the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 that all families would be blessed through him, we see that God has grafted in individuals like Rahab and Ruth in order to bring David into the world. Then, when we come to Matthew 1, we see that the lineage of Boaz and Ruth from Bethlehem ended up in David’s descendant—a certain Son, born of a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem.
     Friend, just as God plucked Ruth out of a rough world and adopted her into the family faith tree, maybe you will be the first family in your line to follow Jesus. Your spiritual scrapbook may be brand new. Or, maybe you’re continuing a long-established family tree of faithfulness. Whatever the case, you carry on a heritage that cannot afford to be squandered. Are you ready to receive the redeemer? If you haven’t yet, do so right now!

How have you been challenged as a result of studying the classic story of Ruth this week? (Tip: Share anything you feel God has been challenging you to do with a trusted Christian friend. Ask them to hold you accountable to doing the thing you feel God has called you to do.)

Week-End Reminders:
-In two short months we’ll celebrate the past and imagine the future at CedarCreek’s 15th Anniversary Celebration—Friday, Sept. 10th at Huntington Center in Downtown Toledo. Tickets are $10 and $12 and include a delicious stadium-style meal and an incredible night of music & fun. Stop by the Welcome Center/Connecting Point at any CedarCreek Campus for tickets!
-Ultimate Summer Adventure! If you have children entering 1st through 5th grade, registration for CedarCreek’s Ultimate Summer Adventure is going on now at all three CedarCreek campuses. Stop by the Childrens’ Check-in area for more information and registration.
-Got debt? Join us for a three-day intensive Intro to Financial Peace course at our Perrysburg and Whitehouse campuses on July 19-21 from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Well-known financial expert and speaker Dave Ramsey will instruct and encourage you with practical tips to bust debt and build wealth. Check out our website for more details.

Daily Bible Reading Commentary — Luke 14
14:1 The man with the swollen arms and legs had a condition known as “dropsy.” It seems that he was an invited guest and therefore, all eyes were on him as Jesus and the religious leaders debated about healing on the Sabbath. Jesus turned the religious leaders’ logic back on them when posing a question that threatened their self-interest and revealed their hypocrisy.
14:11 Humility is a belief that combats pride. When we are humble, we seek the best for others rather than ourselves. Humility prompts us to be servants, rather than always have the spotlight on ourselves. Humility means that we are generous because we aren’t so tied to our own selfishness. Question: In what area(s) of life do you lack humility?
14:25-27 Jesus isn’t telling us to literally hate our parents, rather, this is a hyperbole challenging us to love Jesus more than we love anyone or anything else. Jesus must always have our preference over everything else. Now, that doesn’t mean that we just abandon our obligations to our family, jobs or homes. What it means is that our pursuit of Christ must be first and foremost and then, our attention to everything else follows.
14:28-33 Do you ever think about what being a follower of Jesus Christ costs you? Like they say, “Grace is free, but it ain’t cheap.” Although we know that following Christ requires sacrifice, we should also pay attention to how we “build” our faith. If we are going to pay the price for being a Christ-follower, then we should reap the benefits of a carefully planned and cultivated faith – not just some haphazard attempt at living the life of faith.

HomePointe: Family Activity Section
Big Point for Parents…Ruth’s love story with Boaz reflects the power of the gospel message — just the same as Boaz redeemed Ruth, Christ redeems those who place their faith in him.

Big Point for Children…Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi resulted in an opportunity for Ruth to discover a new life and a new love. Ruth made the decision to follow God as a result of Naomi’s noble character.

Eventually, Ruth would become an ancestor of Jesus. But, it all began with Ruth’s heart attitude. Here is what Ruth says to her mother-in-law, Naomi in Ruth 1:16: “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Application…In order to demonstrate how Ruth was willing to follow Naomi wherever she went, the children should have the opportunity to play “Simon says.” Select one of the children to be “Simon” and explain that Simon will give commands to the rest of the group. For example: “Simon says ‘move forward three steps.’” The only time the children should not follow Simon’s commands is if the sentence does not being with “Simon says…”

Prayer…Dear God, thank you for Ruth’s story and the lesson that no matter how our lives begin and no matter where we come from, that You love us and desire for us to know You. Amen.

Living It Out…July 2010 Memory Verse
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for
will actually happen; it gives us assurance
about things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1 (New Living Translation)

Living It Out
It is the dream of CedarCreek that everyone who calls this their church home will be reading and studying the same topics, both individually and in groups. Each week, join with thousands of others at CedarCreek Church in applying God’s Word, the Bible, into your daily life. Our hope is that while we learn and grow together, as individuals and as a church, we will collectively live out the weekend message.

Living It Out resources, such as the Daily Bible Study, Daily Bible Reading Plan, Discussion Questions and Scripture Memory Verses, are designed to help us embrace a missional mindset…a mindset that compels us to love Jesus, serve others and tell the world about Christ.
Living It Out: Daily Bible Study…Daily Bible study activities to reflect on the weekend message
Living It Out: Daily Bible Reading Plan…Read through the New Testament in a year
Living It Out: Discussion Questions…Weekly questions to discuss with others
Living It Out: Scripture Memory…Memorize one Bible verse per month

All of these resources are also available electronically at www.livingitout.tv, where you can subscribe to have any or all of them emailed to you as they are updated.

We Want Your Feedback!
Tell us about any questions or comments you have about this week’s Living It Out: Daily Bible Study. Forward them to chanteleh@cedarcreek.tv.

RESOURCES:
The Bible
New Testament Commentary by Barb Roose

Family Activity by:
Chantele Henry

This week’s Living It Out Daily Bible Study written by:
Randy Gross
Doug Haynam
Jamey Koralewski
Terri Seagert