Before the Session
Facilitator: In advance of the session
- Have the Bible Background Video ready to view.
- Review today’s scripture text and the session activities to help better facilitate the discussion.
- Encourage your group to listen to the Faithelement podcast ahead of the next session (Share the link via email or social media)
Context (From the Media Session Page)
Begin by asking:
- Do you remember any song you thought was just too long?
- What books have you avoided reading because they seem to have too many pages and they would take too much of a commitment to read?
- The Barna group describes our time as “an age of decreased commitment” Why do you think they would say that?
Play the Short Songs video then ask:
- Why are our attention spans so short?
- How does that influence our interpersonal relationships?
- How can we better pay attention to our everyday relationship so we can form better bonds?
Content (From the Mind Session Page)
Read Ruth 1-2:23 and watch the Bible Background Video for this session.
Ask questions like these:
- In what ways might Naomi’s life experiences have affected the choices she made when it seemed her life was falling apart? (See 1:20-21 and check your Bible’s notes for the meaning of these names)
- Naomi had every reason to want her daughters-in-law to stay by her side – and they had every reason to leave her behind to seek a new life. What motives do you see at work here?
- Love (for God and others) often compels us to do things that are in the best interests of another person at the expense of our own desires. Our human instinct might tell us this is weakness… but why is love a more powerful motivation than greed, guilt, and other self-centered emotions?
- What do you think motivated Boaz in this story and why?
- This is one of the stories of the Bible in which God doesn’t speak or play a direct role. Despite that, in what ways can you see God working in this story?
Closure (from the Youth Session page)
Watch the “As You Wish” Video Clip, then ask:
- When have you had someone do something for you strictly out of love?
- What kinds of things have you done completely out of love for someone else and not some personal gain?
- When you do such things, how does that make you feel about yourself?
- Why do you think it is so rare to find someone to do something for someone else without gaining something in return?
- In what ways does your love for God and others change the way you live your life?
Close this session in prayer.