A 4-Week Biblical Study Unit on Ruth and Naomi and their Ultimate Reset after Life Seemed Against Them
(Part of our Crossroads 7th-12th Grade Curriculum)
Suggested Calendar: October 6-27
Ups and downs are just a part of life, but when there seems to be more "downs" than ups, it is hard not to feel like life, and maybe even God, is against you. Ruth and Naomi suffered tragic loss during a time when being a widow essentially meant being destitute. Ruth was a foreigner who had married into a Jewish family, but when her Jewish husband and father-in-law had died, Naomi gave her an "out," instructing her to go back to her own land and marry another. Ruth refused to leave. In a world of self-serving ambition, it is very rare to find a heart like Ruth.
We will all have moments where we will feel sorry for ourselves, wallow in our misery, and struggle to see God's goodness in all the "downs" in our life. This month, though, we hope to challenge our teens to trust in God not just in the best of times, but also in the worst of times ... especially in the worst of times because it is in those moments God is planning an ultimate reset.
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:15-17