Ruth is one of the most wonderfully written stories in all of Scripture. It is one of only two books in the entire Bible named after a woman, and the only book in the Old Testament named after someone who was not racially Jewish. It focuses on a female friendship between a young new convert, Ruth, and an older bitter woman, Naomi.

The story opens in one of the darkest seasons of Old Testament history when God’s people were living in sin during a famine. Naomi was a Jewish woman whose husband moved her to the godless town of Moab that was descended from incest in the days of Genesis. There, Naomi saw her sons marry Moabite women. She then experienced the death of her sons and her husband in Moab, leaving her destitute and alone. Although admittedly bitter against God, Naomi decides to leave Moab and return home to God’s people. One of her daughters-in-law, Orpah, stayed with her people and religion in Moab, at Naomi’s urging. But Naomi’s other daughter-in-law, Ruth, was determined to leave her people and religion to worship Naomi’s God and live with God’s people.

Join us Friday, July 11th, at 244 Berding Street in Ferndale for the first message in Mars Hill Church’s Redeeming Ruth series, entitled God’s Hand In Our Sufferings. Dinner begins at 6:00, teaching begins around 7:00. Childcare will be available.