Address the Mess - Week 5

May 9, 2021

Notes

Naomi and the Mess of Bitterness
Ruth 1-4

• Recap

  • Week 1: The mess that brings us together is the mess that brought God near.

  • Week 2: Are we done with the mess?

  • Week 3: Can I make a mess and stay at BayLife Church?

  • Week 4: David and the Mess of Immorality

• Where does bitterness come from?

  • Making unhealthy comparisons

  • Resenting decisions and circumstances beyond your control

  • Focusing on scarcity rather than being content

  • Allowing a hopeless perspective to become your new identity

• Naomi’s mess was born in the midst of a culture of mess.

  • Ruth 1:1-2

• Naomi’s mess began with a misunderstanding of the discipline of God.

  • Spiritual Rest is a place of spiritual contentment or satisfaction found through our relationship with God. 

  • Ruth 1:3-5

  • Proverbs 3:11-12

• Naomi’s turning point came in finally acknowledging the mess.

  • Ruth 1:13b

  • Ruth 1:20b-21

• Naomi addressed the mess by returning to the place of God’s provision and the practice of dependence.

  • Ruth 1:22

  • A Kinsman Redeemer is someone willing to marry a childless widow and raise up an heir who would inherit the family's historical land.

  • Ruth 3:1

• God made a miracle of the mess!

  • Ruth 4:13-17

Discussion Guide

Use these questions to reflect on this week's message as a family or group.

1. The story of Naomi and Ruth begins with the dangerous temptation of living by the mantra of “doing what is right in our own eyes.” Why is this a dangerous way to live?

2. Read Proverbs 3:11-12. What does God say about those that he disciplines? Can this truth be a source of comfort to us?

3. “Hindsight, or looking back, is always 20/20.” Ruth 1:20-21 is Naomi's realization of her bad choices and sin against God. How can a sobering assessment of our life lead to change?

4. Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem to find a plentiful harvest and eventually “rest.” How can total dependence on God bring rest in our life?

5. God will not waste any circumstances or even sin in our life. What were the miracles that were mentioned in the message as a result of God’s restoration of Naomi?