Christ Community Church - C3

Turning | Ruth 1

Overview

Life rarely unfolds the way we imagined it would. Childhood dreams often collide with unexpected loss, disappointment, broken relationships, illness, and grief. In this message, Liz walks through Ruth chapter 1, showing that every person eventually arrives at a crossroads where they must decide what direction they will take. Will they turn away from God? Return to Him while remaining bitter? Or fully turn toward Him in faith?
The opening chapter of Ruth is filled with tragedy, but it also introduces the first rays of hope. Liz reminds us that God is often working long before we can see it. Even in our deepest pain, He is preparing redemption. While suffering is real, it is never the end of the story for those who trust Him. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the hope first hinted at in Ruth's journey.

Introduction: When Life Doesn't Turn Out the Way We Planned
Liz begins by reflecting on the excitement of leaving home after high school and the dreams she carried into adulthood. Like many people, some dreams came true while many unfolded very differently than she expected.
She invites everyone to think about their own lives:

What dreams did you have?
Which ones became reality?
Which ones never happened?
Are there moments you wish you had made different decisions?

Those questions prepare us to enter Ruth chapter 1.
Naomi had what most people would consider the ideal life:

Living in God's Promised Land
A husband
Two sons
Security
A future

Then famine came.
Instead of trusting God in the Promised Land, Naomi's family fled to Moab—a place associated with Israel's enemies. What began as a search for survival became a journey into devastating loss.
One by one Naomi lost:

Her husband
Both of her sons
Her security
Her future
Her hope

Liz paints Naomi's grief vividly, helping listeners feel the crushing weight of losing nearly everything she loved.
She challenges listeners to consider how closely Naomi's story resembles many of our own lives. While our losses may look different, everyone eventually experiences broken dreams, unanswered prayers, painful relationships, sickness, discouragement, or grief that leaves us wondering where God is.
The central question of the chapter becomes:
When life falls apart, what direction will you turn?

1. Godly Grief
Liz explains that Naomi and Orpah both experienced unimaginable pain, but neither initially responded by grieving with God.
Naomi returned to Bethlehem physically, but emotionally she remained trapped in bitterness. She even rejected her own name ("Naomi," meaning pleasant) and asked to be called "Mara," meaning bitter.
Rather than seeing grief as something to avoid, Liz teaches that grief itself is holy when it is brought before God.
God never asks His people to pretend they aren't hurting.
Instead, Scripture repeatedly shows God's people lamenting.
David filled the Psalms with tears.
Jesus Himself wept at Lazarus' tomb.
Our grief becomes holy when we allow it to draw us closer to the heart of God instead of further away.
Liz shares her own story of years of severe back pain while serving as missionaries in Hungary. Endless doctor visits and chronic suffering left her repeatedly asking, "Why, God?"
She explains that pain naturally tempts us toward bitterness because pain makes us forget two important truths:

God sees us.
God wants to sit with us in our suffering.

Bitterness grows when we refuse to mourn honestly before God.
Godly grief, however, allows us to mourn what God mourns—the brokenness of a fallen world and the separation sin has created.
Instead of accusing God, we are invited to cry with Him.
Instead of hiding our pain, we are invited to bring it before Him.
God does not reject grieving people.
He welcomes them.
Bible Verses

Ruth 1:20–21
Hebrews 4:15–16
Psalms (David's laments)
John 11 (Jesus weeping at Lazarus' tomb)

Key Quotes

"There is a holiness to weeping."

"When we weep, we join God in mourning things that are not the way they are supposed to be."

"Instead of bitterness, choose godly grief."

"Take your discouragement and disappointment to the Lord."

2. Choose the God Choosing You
Liz contrasts the three women in Ruth 1.

Orpah turns back.
Naomi returns physically but remains bitter.
Ruth turns fully toward God.

Ruth had every earthly reason to go back.
She was a Moabite.
She worshipped false gods.
She had no promise of security in Israel.
She had no guarantee of acceptance.
Yet she chose faith over familiarity.
Liz shares her testimony about attending a Christian camp after losing her grandmother. She remembers watching a pastor lovingly embrace two young girls, and something awakened inside her heart.
She realized she longed for a Father who delighted in her.
That moment helped her understand that God had been pursuing her all along.
In the same way, Ruth was not simply choosing God.
God had already been drawing Ruth toward Himself.
Liz encourages listeners to recognize this same truth.
God is not waiting reluctantly for us to come.
He is already pursuing us with love.
Every person eventually stands where Ruth stood:
Will we return to what is familiar but lifeless?
Or will we trust the God who is calling us into new life?
Faith often means stepping into an unknown future because we trust the One leading us.
Bible Verses

Ruth 1:15–17

Key Quotes

"Ruth chose the God who was choosing her."

"She turned to the God who had turned toward her."

"There is a God choosing you—and you can choose Him too."

3. Choose to Cling to the King Who Knows Your Pain
Ruth not only turned toward God.
She clung to Him.
Liz explains that Jesus understands suffering better than anyone.
He experienced:

Rejection
Loneliness
Betrayal
Physical pain
Grief
Abandonment

Because Jesus entered human suffering Himself, Christians never suffer alone.
Liz points to Isaiah 53, describing Jesus as the "Man of Sorrows."
She also shares the story of missionary Elisabeth Elliot, whose husband Jim Elliot was murdered while taking the Gospel to an unreached people group.
Rather than responding with hatred, Elisabeth eventually returned to those same people to tell them about Jesus.
Liz shares Elisabeth Elliot's powerful words:

"Out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God."

That is the invitation of the Gospel.
We are not invited to ignore pain.
We are invited to cling to the Savior who understands it completely.
Rather than carrying grief alone, we lean into Christ's presence.
We discover that He does not merely watch our suffering.
He enters it with us.
Bible Verses

Isaiah 53

Key Quotes

"We are loved by the God who knows pain."

"When pain hurts too much to bear, turn to the cross."

"We don't mourn alone—but with One who understands."

Conclusion: The Barley Harvest Was Beginning
Although Ruth chapter 1 begins in famine, death, and sorrow, it ends with an unexpected sentence:
Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem "as the barley harvest was beginning."
What looked like a simple travel detail becomes a powerful picture of hope.
While Naomi believed her life was over, God had already been preparing her future.
Months before she arrived:

Fields had already been plowed.
Seeds had already been planted.
Rain had already fallen.
Harvest was already growing.

God had been working long before Naomi could see it.
Liz reminds listeners that the story doesn't end with Ruth chapter 1.
Eventually:

Ruth marries Boaz.
Naomi's family line is restored.
A child is born.
That family line ultimately leads to Jesus Christ.

God used Naomi's pain to prepare the coming of the Savior.
Likewise, God uses Christ's suffering to bring salvation to the world.
The promise for believers is not that life will always end happily here on earth.
The promise is even greater.
Jesus is our ultimate hope.
One day He will bring us into the true Promised Land where there will be:

No more sorrow
No more pain
No more death
Life in abundance forever

Until then, we continue to turn toward Him, grieve with Him, and cling to the King who understands our pain.

Discipleship Group Questions

Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth each responded differently to suffering. Which of their responses do you most identify with, and why?
Liz described the difference between bitterness and godly grief. What does it practically look like to grieve with God instead of becoming bitter?
Ruth chose to trust God even though she could not see what lay ahead. Where is God asking you to trust Him despite uncertainty?
Isaiah 53 reminds us that Jesus is "a man of suffering, familiar with pain." How does knowing that Jesus understands your pain change the way you approach Him during difficult seasons?
The chapter ends with the barley harvest beginning—a picture that God had already been preparing hope before Naomi could see it. Can you think of a time when you later recognized that God was working behind the scenes during one of your hardest seasons?

Forgive Us Our Debts
Matthew 6:9–12
Culture of Gospel
Share this with someone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus.
Most people spend their lives trying to prove they're good enough or trying to hide the parts of themselves they're ashamed of. Jesus offers something radically different: a God who already knows your worst, still loves you completely, and invites you to stop pretending and simply come home.
Sermon Summary
In this message, Coleton continues through the Lord's Prayer by focusing on one of the most uncomfortable—and most freeing—requests Jesus teaches us to pray:
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)
Many people assume confession is something spiritually immature Christians do. Once you've followed Jesus long enough, you shouldn't need to confess very often. Coleton challenges that assumption by showing that Jesus teaches the exact opposite.
The mark of spiritual maturity is not pretending you've stopped sinning. The mark of maturity is becoming increasingly honest about your sin because you've become increasingly confident in the Father's love.
Coleton begins with a simple story about a child being told to own up to a mistake. Owning our failures is difficult, but it is one of the clearest signs of maturity. The same is true spiritually. Jesus invites His followers into a regular rhythm of confession—not because God is angry with them, but because He wants them to experience His grace again and again.
Tyler Staton captures this beautifully:
"One of the biggest mistakes we've made in the modern church is to reimagine spiritual maturity as the need to confess less... A maturing community is a confessing community—not a church without sin, but a church without secrets."
Before explaining why confession matters, Coleton highlights three important observations from Jesus' prayer.
Three Things Jesus Wants Us to Notice About This Prayer
1. Confession is not the first thing Jesus tells us to pray.
Jesus does not begin the Lord's Prayer with confession.
He first teaches us to call God Father, to worship Him, seek His Kingdom, and ask Him for our daily needs.
That order matters.
God isn't waiting for us to clean ourselves up before He listens to us. He isn't withholding His love until we've confessed every failure.
Coleton illustrates this with his son Teddy. He would never refuse Teddy breakfast or a hug until Teddy apologized for everything he did wrong the day before. Healthy relationships don't work that way, and neither does God's relationship with His children.
Confession is something we practice within the security of being loved—not something we do to earn God's love.
2. Jesus assumes we will sin.
Jesus doesn't say:
"If you've sinned..."
He simply teaches us to pray:
"Forgive us our debts."
Jesus assumes every disciple will continue battling sin.
If we struggle to keep diets, New Year's resolutions, or promises to ourselves, how much more do we struggle to meet God's perfect holiness?
The prayer keeps us humble by reminding us that every believer continually depends upon God's grace.
3. This prayer comes with a warning label.
Perhaps the most sobering part of the prayer is this phrase:
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Coleton describes this as the "fine print" of the prayer.
Every time we pray these words, we're asking God:
"Forgive me the same way I've forgiven others."
That should cause every Christian to examine their heart.
If we refuse to forgive those who have hurt us, we're asking God to respond to us with that same unwillingness.
Jesus is exposing whether His grace has truly transformed us. Grace received always becomes grace extended.
1. Jesus Wants Us to Confess So We Experience the Father's Love
Many people think confession is primarily about focusing on their failures.
Jesus says it's actually about experiencing God's kindness.
Coleton points to one of Jesus' greatest stories—the Prodigal Son.
The Father runs first.
Before the son ever finishes confessing...
The father runs.
He hugs him.
He kisses him.
The embrace comes before the confession.
Luke 15:20–24
"While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion... he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him..."
The son's confession lasts only a few words.
The father doesn't interrogate him.
He doesn't demand every detail.
He doesn't shame him.
Instead he interrupts him with celebration.
The robe.
The ring.
The feast.
The party.
The father's joy completely overshadows the son's failure.
Coleton explains that this is exactly how Jesus wants us to picture confession.
Confession isn't crawling toward an angry God.
It is stepping into the embrace of a Father who already loves His children.
He summarizes confession in three movements:

Step into the Father's affection.
Acknowledge your sin.
Receive the Father's joyful forgiveness and move forward.

The Father never brings the son's past back up. Even when the older brother tries to, the father defends him.
That is the heart of God.
Bible Passage

Luke 15:20–24

2. Jesus Wants Us to Run Toward God Instead of Away From Him
Sin naturally produces hiding.
Adam and Eve sinned, and their first instinct was to hide.
We still do the same thing today.
We hide behind excuses.
We curate better versions of ourselves.
We pretend.
Jesus wants to completely reverse that instinct.
Instead of hiding from God, He wants us to run toward Him.
Coleton emphasizes that God is the safest person in the universe to bring your worst mistakes.
There is nothing you can confess that surprises Him.
Nothing that makes Him love you less.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:
"You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come... to the God who loves you... He wants you as you are... You can hide nothing from God... with Him, you can dare to be a sinner."
That phrase becomes the heart of this section:
"Dare to be a sinner with God."
Instead of pretending, come honestly.
God promises mercy.
Bible Verse
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
3. Jesus Wants Confession to Break Sin's Power Over Our Lives
Hidden sin grows stronger.
Confessed sin begins to lose its grip.
Coleton turns to David's words after his own failure.
Psalm 32:3–5
David describes the physical and emotional weight of hidden sin.
His strength dried up.
His bones wasted away.
But everything changed once he confessed.
Coleton summarizes it simply:
Sin in our hands leads to death. Sin placed in God's hands is put to death.
Many believers spend years trying to conquer sin through sheer determination.
Jesus offers a different way.
Bring it into the light.
Ray Ortlund says:
"We don't overcome sin by heroic willpower, but by confessing them to death."
Tyler Staton compares confession to visiting a doctor.
Healing begins when we're honest enough to identify what's actually wrong.
Confession is not humiliation.
It's the pathway to healing.
Bible Passage

Psalm 32:3–5

4. Jesus Teaches This Prayer Because Our Debt Cannot Be Paid Any Other Way
Jesus deliberately uses the language of debt.
Sin creates a debt we cannot repay.
Many people instinctively believe they can balance the scales.
If they simply become nicer...
Serve more...
Give more...
Work harder...
Surely God will overlook the bad.
Jesus completely rejects that way of thinking.
He doesn't teach us to pray:
"Help me work off my sins."
Instead He teaches us to ask for forgiveness because forgiveness is the only solution.
We cannot erase our own debt.
Only Jesus can.
Coleton reminds the church that admitting this requires humility.
Many people cannot admit they need mercy.
But everyone who does finds more grace than they ever imagined.
Pete Greig writes:
"There is more grace in God than there is sin in you... Pray 'forgive us our sins'... and He'll forgive you. Just like that."
This is the gospel.
Our debt isn't reduced.
It's erased.
5. Jesus Wants Us to Ask for Forgiveness Because God Loves Forgiving People
The final point may be the most beautiful.
God doesn't reluctantly forgive.
He delights to forgive.
Forgiveness isn't something we convince Him to do.
It is something He loves to do.
Coleton quotes Dane Ortlund, who reminds us that Christ finds joy when sinners come to Him for mercy.
Jesus endured the cross because He delighted in making sinful people clean.
Coleton uses a helpful illustration.
Imagine asking a bank to forgive every debt you owe.
It would seem impossible.
But imagine someone had already paid every dollar you owed.
Walking into the bank would suddenly become an act of confidence, not desperation.
That is exactly what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
Our confidence isn't in ourselves.
It's in the One who already paid our debt.
Ray Ortlund summarizes this beautifully:
"God welcomes people who keep coming back to Him for more and more and more mercy... He isn't tired, and He isn't tired of you."
Because Jesus has already paid the debt, believers can continually come before the Father with confidence, knowing forgiveness is always available.
How Can We Practice This Prayer?
Coleton closes by giving practical ways to make confession a regular rhythm of life.
1. Pray the Lord's Prayer exactly as Jesus taught it.
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal hidden sin.
One of the Holy Spirit's ministries is conviction—not condemnation.
Ask Him to lovingly reveal areas that need repentance, and respond with humble confession.
3. Pray Psalm 51 regularly.
Allow David's prayer of repentance to become your own.
4. Pray the tax collector's prayer.
"Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Jesus said this humble prayer resulted in the man going home justified before God.
5. Practice the Prayer of Examen.
Spend time each day reflecting on God's presence, reviewing your day, confessing sin, and receiving His grace before ending the day.
Final Challenge
Coleton closes by reminding the church that confession is not weakness.
It is evidence of confidence in the character of God.
Every time believers confess their sins, they discover once again that God is even kinder than they imagined.
Jesus teaches us to pray this prayer not because He wants us to dwell on our failures, but because He wants us to continually experience the riches of the Father's love, the freedom of forgiveness, and the transforming power of His grace.
The Christian life is not about hiding your sin better. It is about bringing your sin into the light where God's mercy is greater than your failures every single time.
Discipleship Group Questions

Which of the five reasons Jesus gives us for practicing confession impacted you the most, and why?
Coleton said that spiritual maturity is marked by more confession, not less. How does that challenge the way you normally think about spiritual growth?
Are you more likely to hide your failures from God or run toward Him with them? What keeps you from being completely honest with Him?
Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Is there someone you need to forgive? How does remembering God's forgiveness toward you help you extend forgiveness to others?
Which of the five practical ways to practice confession (the Lord's Prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal sin, Psalm 51, the tax collector's prayer, or the Prayer of Examen) would be most helpful for you to begin practicing this week, and why?