November 8 Small Group Guide

Week 2 SG Guide  Ruth 1:6–22 You may return carrying sorrow, but your story is still unfolding. 

Opener  

Last week in Luke 15, we watched a father run to welcome his son home. This week, we walk with Naomi as  she returns to Bethlehem after burying her husband and two sons. When the women of Bethlehem see her,  they ask, “Can this be Naomi?” The holidays can bring that same mix of familiarity and change. We can be  glad to see the people around the table and still ache for the person whose chair is empty.   What is one sound, meal, or tradition that makes a place feel like home to you?  

For leaders Allow about 45 minutes. Read each passage aloud as you go. Give people room to pass on any  question. If someone shares a loss, thank them for trusting the group and give them time to finish.  

1. We Return Carrying What Life Has Done to Us  

Read Ruth 1:6–14.  

Naomi hears that the Lord has provided food in Bethlehem, so she sets out for home. Along the way, she asks  God to show kindness to Ruth and Orpah. She also tells them how bitter life has become. The three women  weep together. The chapter begins with a famine. News that the Lord has provided food gives Naomi a reason  to start walking home while she is still grieving.  

 What moves Naomi to return? What do her blessing and her tears tell you about what she is carrying?  

 What might it sound like to pray honestly when you can ask God to help someone else but struggle to  see his kindness in your own life?  

2. We Need People Who Will Walk Beside Us  

Read Ruth 1:15–18.  

Ruth is grieving too. She chooses to leave what is familiar and ties her future to Naomi, Naomi’s people, and  the Lord. Ruth’s pledge joins two commitments. “Your people will be my people” binds her to a community, and  “your God my God” expresses her allegiance to the Lord.  

 What does Ruth risk by going with Naomi? What does her promise tell us about her faith?  

 What could “I’ll go with you” look like for someone facing a difficult holiday or coming back to church  after a long time away?  

3. We Cannot Yet See Everything God Is Beginning  

Read Ruth 1:19–22.  

Naomi asks the women of Bethlehem to call her Mara, meaning “bitter.” She describes herself as coming home  empty. The narrator lets her words stand and then gives us two details to watch. Ruth is with her, and the  barley harvest is just beginning. In chapter 2, that harvest gives Ruth a place to gather grain for both of them.  The words “beginning of the barley harvest” close the chapter. The timing matters because Ruth can soon  glean, gathering grain left behind by the harvesters.  

 What has Naomi lost that helps you understand why she says she came home empty?  

 What do Ruth’s presence and the timing of the harvest let readers see that Naomi cannot yet see?  

 How can we encourage someone to hope in God while giving them room to grieve? What might we say  or do? 

Connect the Story to Jesus 

Ruth becomes David’s great-grandmother, and Matthew names her in the family line of Jesus (Matthew 1:5–6  and Ruth 4:17–22). Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. Because Jesus went to the cross for us and  rose again, we can bring him our sorrow and trust him with what we cannot yet see.  

 What does knowing that Jesus wept change about what you feel free to say to him in prayer?  

Take One Step This Week  

 Choose one step you can take this week. If you’re comfortable, share it with the group and ask  someone to pray for you.  

 Think of someone whose holidays may feel different this year. Check in, offer to share a meal, or ask if  they’d like company.  Pray Together  Father, you know who we miss and what we’re carrying into this season. Give us the courage to tell you how  we’re really doing. Help us receive the kindness of those who walk beside us and show that same kindness to  someone else. Give us strength for the next step and help us trust you with what we cannot yet see. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 Tell God one thing you’ve been struggling to put into words.  

 Ask someone to walk with you in a specific way, such as sitting with you at church or calling after a  family gathering.  

 Think of someone whose holidays may feel different this year. Check in, offer to share a meal, or ask if  they’d like company.

Pray Together  

Father, you know who we miss and what we’re carrying into this season. Give us the courage to tell you how  we’re really doing. Help us receive the kindness of those who walk beside us and show that same kindness to  someone else. Give us strength for the next step and help us trust you with what we cannot yet see. In Jesus’  name, amen.