Before We Get Started

For our discussion today we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.

Prayer

Because the main goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for, or  anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together.

This Week’s Topic

Today, we continue our new series, launched on Easter Sunday, titled Not Alone. In this series we will be looking at how the Gospel gives us the promise of God’s presence, and the blessing of one another, as we go through life in the midst of a broken world. No matter how difficult life might get, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus reminds us we are not alone

Today’s Topic

The Return of Ruth

Discussion Questions

What is the biggest difference you have seen, or noticed, as life returns to some sense of familiarity and normalcy post-pandemic?

Ruth 1:18-21

“When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked. “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?” 

What, if anything, would you say you have lost over the last few years?

What is something you have either gained, or has sustained, over the last few year?

Why do you think we tend to focus more on what we have lost than on what we have gained, or what has remained?

Ruth 1:22

“So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.”

From what you’ve seen and experienced, and based on the people you interact with, what are some things people are needing or wanting right now?

How do those needs and wants provide you with an opportunity to model the love of Christ to others?

How might we be able to stay more focused on the opportunities God is providing rather than the frustrations of our own losses?

Ruth 1:16-17

“But Ruth replied, “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. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

How did Ruth’s loss lead to her gaining the knowledge of, and relationship with, the One True God?

How has your loss, or experience, over the last few years brought you to a deeper understanding of who God is, and His heart for you?

Closing Thought

When we look at the last few years through the lens of the Gospel, how does the Gospel enable us to return to the “normalcy” of life better than we were before all this has happened?