The Sycamore Message

The Sycamore Church
==========God vs gods: What about Meat and HalloweenPastor Eric BurtonSunday Oct. 25th 2026==========
Leviticus 10:10, 16-17Corinthians 8:1, 4–13
God vs. gods  
The Apostle Paul says we should test the spirits, whether they be of God or not. (1 John 4:1) 
In order to test the spirits, you have to know about the spirits. 
Key vs. is Leviticus 10:10: you must distinguish between what is sacred and common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean. 
Main Question: The question asked in the early church was, is it wrong to eat meat offered to idols?  The question in the modern church might be, is it wrong to celebrate Halloween? Both have pagan connections. 
Today I want to be practical about how we walk out our faith when there are pagan and false rituals happening around us.  Do we abstain from festivals because they are connected to witchcraft or paganism? What if someone else thinks it’s wrong?
Reality has been defined as any existence that is not dependent on another.  The physical world we experience through the senses was created by the one we can’t see.  It’s important to know there is a REAL world controlling what we see. I’ve heard people say there is a spirit of fill in the blank.  But just think of a spirit as being any influence on the natural world.  
There is an invisible transfer that occurs when what we do in the natural becomes spiritual. There’s a point when prayer on Earth connects with Heaven.  There is a moment when your human efforts become spiritually beneficial.    The first ceremonial acts we see to cover up sin were the shedding of blood.  Adam and Eve tried to use fig leaves to cover their shame and sin, but God required blood, and so a lamb was sacrificed.  Something physical was performed to activate atonement in the spiritual.  
Sin offerings were physical sacrifices and transactions that had spiritual benefits. Somewhere between the sacrifice being chosen and the sacrifice being offered on the altar, it became something you could see to something that covered your sin. 
I want us to know there are activities and ceremonies we take part in that affect our spirit.  
Halloween is coming up this Saturday.  It seems harmless enough to us church goers because we’re not involved in actual satanic practices, but you should know it is steeped in demonic overtones.  It’s traced back to the Celtic festival “Sow-in,” where fall was ending and winter began.  It was the night when the lines between the dead and the living; the spiritual and the earthly became blurred and reduced Many Celts were concerned about the access darker and evil spirits had to influence those in the real world. So they dressed their children as demons to confuse the evil spirits and marked their doors with animal blood to deter unwanted visitors. Halloween simply means "eve of All Saints". Regardless of its origins, Halloween has become synonymous with death, fear, gore, the dead haunting the living, and sensuality.  
Moses was told to teach the people to distinguish between sacred and common, and what is ceremonially clean and unclean.  You have to determine if the you are engaging in glorify God.  
We read in Leviticus that the priest was to eat the sacrifice. The policy for eating meat was that the animal couldn’t be strangled.  Meaning the blood couldn’t remain in it when it was killed.  
Leviticus 17:10-11 “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, 11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD.  It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.
Leviticus 10:17 says the sacrifice was a holy offering. The Lord has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to purify the people. 
The priest ATE a portion of the sacrifice in a sacred place to remove the guilt of the people. Moses asked the priest to partake of what represented their sin to remove their guilt. What began as a physical ceremony turned into spiritual purification. 
There is power in the blood! It was a shadow of the coming sacrifice of Jesus.  
2 Corinthians 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Jesus became sin so we could be free from sin.    
This brings us to our text in Corinthians.  The church has a question that goes back to the Old Testament system of sacrifice and worship.  Paul helps reconcile this difference by addressing this sacred custom while dismissing the superstition.  He divides between weak and strong, culture and acceptance, and knowledge and love. 
1. Concerning your question: Can we eat meat offered to idols? It’s a legitimate question, but of all the things you would imagine God could be concerned with, why meat offered to idols?  Because meat offered to idols represented the misuse of power, the abuse of others, sexual immorality, and ultimately the drawing away from God. When the early church was including the Gentiles, they only required 4 things: abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and consuming blood. 
1 Corinthians 10:6-8 was a warning to prevent what happened before
It ensures fellowship with your brothers and sisters.  The Jews wouldn’t eat meat offered to idols, but the Corinthians would.  So in order to be able to eat with Jews, they were asked to abstain from eating meat offered to idols.  Sometimes NOT doing something so you can include your brother or sister in fellowship is required.
2. So what does it mean?Pagan and Christian alike know the significance of the blood.  Culture continues to glamorize vampires that survive on blood.  The Celts allegedly put blood above their door post on Sow-in; eve of hallowed saints in order to ward off evil spirits.  
But Paul says those idols aren’t really gods. We have one God who made everything.  The sacrifices to Him pointed toward Christ who is our ultimate sacrifice. 
Jesus said eat my body and drink my blood.The Jews put blood over their door post so that the death angel would “Pass-over.”
What we do may look silly, but we have a God that hears us and forgives our sins and heals all our diseases.  It looks silly in the natural, but as soon as it’s offered up to God, it becomes spiritual.1 Peter 3:21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How Do I Become a Member?
Today in our sermon series we’re looking at giving as a form of our membership. 
2 Corinthians 9: 1-7
We are going to look at giving principally and practically.  Principally the Bible teaches God’s people should give by tithing and generosity generosity.  Tithing was a mandate but generosity is a condition of heart.  And generosity always outdoes tithing and heart always out gives mandate.  Tithing is to generosity what the Law is to Grace. Which do you want to live by. 
The context of our text today is the church in Jerusalem has a need and the church in Corinth has the provisions to meet their need. So they have prepared an offering to send them  
The Sycamore's principles of giving: 10% Tithing10% Savings10% Building35% Salary35% Operations
Each month we set aside 10 percent of the total giving to the church and give it to ministries and charities outside this church. We actually plan to give closer to 25 percent for ministries and charities this year.  The Apostle Paul is telling the church in Corinth to BE READY when he  arrives to receive their gift for the church in Jerusalem When we’re not ready to give as Paul has instructed we tend to give what we don’t have.  "Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure"1. Reluctant = Grudgingly2. Response to Pressure= Necessity Necessity is an imposition or calamity.  We can tell from the context that Paul has given them a year to collect their offering for Jerusalem so it must not be too much of an emergency. The church does give to need but not out of pressure. 
Paul says I want you to BE READY.  If we go back we see Paul was teaching this for a while. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.  On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.
The church was to be ready by putting a little aside at the beginning of each week.  It’s much easier to give when you have prepared to give.  So many come to church with no intention of giving but only receiving. 
When you’re ready to give it makes you a cheerful giver.  When we’re not ready to give we develop a grudge.  We may give but its grudgingly. A grudge steals the joy of giving.  A grudge harbors bitterness and mistrust.  But a cheerful giver motivates others to give.  
2 Corinthians 9:2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving. When you’re ready to give it accelerates the vision.  I’m thankful our church is not in a place of necessity But we will soon be in a need of space.  So we are getting ready. As a member when you give it helps us get to our vision.  Of course we can have all kinds of vision but if there aren’t resources to activate the vision it just stays on the paper.  
Prepared giving is spiritual giving.  I grew up thinking God couldn’t move if we planned it.  I thought spontaneity equaled spirituality.  But God can move an bless a plan as well as a  u-turn.  
Giving was a planned celebration.  
Exodus 23:15,16 No one may appear before me without an offering.“Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.
This celebration of giving was mandatory to commemorate the harvest.  They did it every year by bringing two loaves of bread from the first part of their harvest.  
Proverbs 3:9 says Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 
This is what God was asking them to do in Exodus during the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost. Come to Jerusalem to the Temple prepared. When we don’t come prepared we’re likely to manipulate or be manipulated.  Members of Israel were commanded to come once a year to bring a prepared gift. Who were these members of Israel? Isaiah 56:6-7 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant. I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.The place the people of Israel brought their prepared gifts to God’s house of prayer. 
Jesus gets upset in Mark 11:15-17 “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
Jesus was angry because the sacrifices represented Him and when they didn’t come ready God’s house was reduced to market items instead of the Passover Lamb. When we give we are bringing gifts that represent His sacrifice. 
When  God’s people don't come ready to bring their gift they have to buy.  People are cheated by up selling what God already purchased. God never intended for us to purchase our sacrifice.   
Jesus gave so we could give.

The Beauty of Belonging
Ephesians 2:19–22 NLT
Through Jesus Christ, God brings us near and makes us members of His family. Knowing we belong changes how we respond to others, receive encouragement, and find our place to serve.
1. Belonging Begins with Christ
Ephesians 2:13; 1 John 3:1; Romans 8:15
Our place in God’s family begins with what Jesus has done for us. Through Him, we are received as God’s children and can call upon Him as our Father. Belonging influences our behavior. When we feel secure and loved, we become more willing to open up, receive help, and participate. But the desire to belong can also be manipulated. Our deepest security must rest in Christ. His love helps us receive correction, face disappointment, and do what is right even when it costs someone’s approval.
2. Belonging Makes Room for Others
Acts 4:36–37; Acts 9:26–28; Acts 11:23–26
Barnabas was known for encouragement. He gave generously, stood beside Saul when the disciples were afraid, and helped them recognize God’s work in Saul’s life. Later, he brought Saul to Antioch to help teach the believers. Barnabas helped Saul find fellowship and an opportunity to serve. We can help others move forward through a genuine welcome, a listening ear, or a personal invitation. Sometimes a little encouragement gives someone confidence to take their next step. And sometimes the person who needs it has been beside us for years.
3. Belonging Should Be Seen in Our Love
John 13:34–35; Galatians 5:22–23
Jesus said His disciples would be recognized by their love for one another. What we believe should shape how we treat people. The Holy Spirit develops patience, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in our everyday relationships. Knowing we are loved by God helps us apologize without feeling worthless, celebrate others without feeling threatened, and serve without needing recognition. As we grow in Christ, people should experience His love through us. What do people experience through me?
4. Belonging Gives Each of Us a Part to Play
Ephesians 4:15–16
The church grows as each member contributes. Some teach or lead; others pray, listen, encourage, or meet practical needs. Every member has something to offer.We serve in response to God’s love. The care we have received can become care we give: someone helped us understand Scripture, stood beside us in grief, or showed us patience. Now we can offer that same care to someone else. Lord, whom can I encourage this week?
Take It into Your WeekAsk God to show you one person you can encourage. Make the call, offer the invitation, take time to listen, or pray with them. The beauty of belonging is that, together, we are learning to live like the One who brought us home.

The Sycamore Church
How Do I Become a Member? Pt. 3
Pastor Eric Burton
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026
 
How Do I Become a Member?
We’ve been talking the last few weeks about what it means to be a member of the church. We have come to discover it’s more than a roll call. It’s a spiritual buy-in to Jesus Christ.
We learned in week one of our series that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:47. He added to an assembly that provided protection and community, but more importantly, this salvation:
Delivers from the penalties of the Messianic judgment.
Delivers from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance.
You have to be saved. But what does that mean?
Sin is not just bad behavior; it’s a trespass against God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Sin is more than bad thoughts; it’s the position of being separated from God. Regretfully, people don’t know they are separated from God.
It’s a change of view.
Astigmatism is when light coming into the eye is bent or fractured and blurs the vision. In the beginning, Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good AND evil. Their eyes were opened, or fractured, so they saw more than one thing. Before, their eye was singular, knowing only the love of God. But sin opened their eye, or fractured their vision, to see good and evil—multiple things. We need Jesus to fix our eyes.
Matthew 6:13: Pray like this… “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
In Matthew 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, but He overcomes Satan. Now He is saying, when you pray, pray that you overcome like I overcame: “Don’t yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:22: The eye is the light of the body. If the eye is healthy, the whole body is full of light. But if the eye is “evil” (meaning distracted, fractured, double-minded, worried, and anxious), the whole body is filled with darkness or is unhealthy. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep is that darkness? How deep does it go?
It’s a change of thinking.
People don’t know what sin is until they know what is right. The apostle said it like this: “It was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, ‘You must not covet.’” (Romans 7:7)
God’s Word sheds light on my life and showed me I was wrong and there was a better way. It didn’t call for me to change my behavior; it called for me to change my thinking.
Romans 12:2: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
The best modification of behavior is not a change of action, but a change of thinking.
It’s a change of heart.
Nicodemus was a member of a religious group, and he believed Jesus was sent by God. Proximity and knowledge don’t save you. We need Jesus to change our thinking and our heart. You must be born again!
Romans 2:28–29: “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit.”
Colossians 2:11: “When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting of your sinful nature.”
Jesus isn’t coming back for a building full of people enjoying life together. He is coming back for a people that are saved—a bride that He will present as blameless and without spot because they have been washed by the Word of God.

The Sycamore Church
September 27, 2026
How Do I Become a Member? Part 2
Pastor Eric Burton
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Why Church Membership Matters
We believe church membership is important because:
People want to join our church but do not know how.
People do not know they are part of our church.
People are part of our church but do not act like it.
We want to clarify and define what it means to become a member of the church. We are revising our Next Steps class—formerly known as Connect4—as Discover Syca(more).
Membership begins with discovering what our church is about and then making a clear decision about whether you want to be a member or an attender. We will love you either way and welcome you no less.
You may be asking, “Am I a member?” Your next step is to complete Discover Syca(more).
Scripture as Our Guide
2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”
We have a code of conduct that allows us to carry out God’s plan for the church, as the church, and through the church. This code helps us:
Teach truth.
Recognize what is wrong—you cannot recognize wrong until you have heard the truth.
Correct what is wrong. This is where we lose people.
Teach people to do what is right.
1. Connected Members Are Protected
“You can’t disciple an unconnected person.” —Who said that?
Proverbs 18:1 (NKJV): “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.”
When we are not connected, we do not let people get close enough to teach us the truth about ourselves.
2. Members Can Be Trusted
Membership is important because it lets us know whom we can trust with God’s people, ministry, and resources. We want you to go through Discover Syca(more) so that you understand our heart and our method of operation.
3. Members Can Be Corrected
Membership lets us know whom we can pastor and disciple.
Paul gives instructions on how to correct those in the church and remove those who do not want to be corrected.
1 Corinthians 5:1–5: “Turn him over to Satan!” What does that mean? It means removing him from the protective fellowship of the congregation.
It causes a person to deal with the consequences of their sinful nature.
It protects the whole body of Christ so that others are not infected.
The church was bragging about its liberty.
Proverbs 3:11–12: Jesus corrects those he loves. “My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”
Malachi 1:2–3: “‘I have always loved you,’ says the LORD. But you retort, ‘Really? How have you loved us?’ And the LORD replies, ‘This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.’”
Why not Abraham, to whom God gave the promise? Or Isaac and Esau?
God chose to use Jacob and Esau to demonstrate his love. The first time God refers to Jacob and Esau, he refers to them as nations, not individuals.
Beware if we do not see or sense God’s correction in our lives. When was the last time we allowed the Scriptures to teach and correct us?
2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”
Correction never leaves us hobbled; it leaves us equipped.

How Do I Become a Member?
A biblical picture of belonging, baptism, purpose, and participation
Pastor Eric BurtonThe Sycamore ChurchSunday, September 20, 2026
The Big Idea
Church membership is more than putting your name on a list. It is being joined to Christ, added to His body, and showing up to serve.
Believe the good news about Jesus.
Repent and be baptized.
Belong to the body of Christ.
Use your gifts so the whole body grows.
Acts 2:40–47
More Than Signing Up
Membership is not a “no commitment” subscription.
At a club, your attendance may affect only you. In the church, your presence matters because God has given you something to contribute to the body.
Being a member means being added, signing up, and showing up.
How Are We Added?
“Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.”
Acts 2:41
The Lord is the One who adds people to the church.
Baptism marks our entry into the body.
Every believer shares the same Spirit.
See also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Acts 2:47.
The Church Gathers
The church is an assembly of believers in a common place. Assembly is not passive—it points to action.
Change does not happen because you signed up. Change happens when you get up and show up.
Come out of the old way of living.
Step into a new way of life.
Participate in what God is doing through His people.
Who You Join Matters
Paul challenged the Corinthian belief that choices made with the body did not affect the spirit. His point is direct:
“Your bodies are actually parts of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 6:15–17
Who you connect to affects you. The person joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Every Member Has a Function
“If the foot says, ‘I am not part of the body because I am not a hand,’ that does not make it any less a part of the body.”
1 Corinthians 12:15
Your place in the body is not determined by self-evaluation.
Your function matters even when it feels unnoticed.
Do not underestimate the position God has given you.
Your Gift Helps the Body Grow
“As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy, growing, and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:16
Membership is an opportunity to use what God has entrusted to you.
Use your gifts well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10
What Did Peter Proclaim?
God affirmed Jesus through miracles.
God raised Jesus from the dead.
David believed in Him.
The prophet Joel foretold the outpouring of the Spirit.
Jesus has poured out His Spirit.
God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah.
Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Your Next Step
Believe. Repent. Be baptized. Belong. Serve.
Jesus is still adding people to His church today.
Where is God calling you to show up and use your gift?

Pastor Nelson Hight

Key Verse: Philippians 2:1-11This message was spurred out of a question I was asked a few weeks ago.What effect has grace had on your life since you’ve been saved?We can get removed from our own story of where Jesus brought us. We know we’ve all sinned and we know everyone is a sinner, but somehow we think that’s referring to others instead of each other.Today let's look at Philippians 2:1-11The Apostle Paul is experiencing hardship but begins chapter 2 saying if there are any benefits in Christ, it’s when I see your faith lived out and changing lives.If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,Then make me truly happy… by having the attitude of Christ.Paul gives a guide of how to remember what Jesus has done for you by the way we treat others.Don’t be selfish; Be Humble.We’ve heard it said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Paul states it more emphatically by saying “esteem (think of) others as better than yourselves.”In Greek, the middle voice is a distinct grammatical category (unlike English) where the subject of the verb is both the agent and the recipient of the action, or acts for their own benefit or interest.Esteeming others doesn't diminish you.Paul's strong verbiage is saying think of others’ needs as more important than yours. In doing so, you will be blessed. You can’t esteem others without being esteemed. You are the agent and the recipient. What you do to others will be done to you.James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.Philippians 2:9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names.It’s easy to esteem others as greater than you when you realize your own moral littleness. It’s not too difficult to esteem others when you remember where Jesus brought you from.You may already be picturing someone that’s difficult to esteem. So the Apostle Paul offers some help by saying remember Jesus.Be HumanTo be human is to be humble. Humanity by nature has limitations. Jesus intentionally became human so he would know our limitations. Jesus limited himself in order to connect to us.Main qualification for a priest was they had to be human.Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God. We needed someone like us to help us get close to God. If people are going to know about Jesus, it’s because of what He has done for me. It takes a man to help a man.Hebrews 2:14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.Have FeelingsWe forget what other people are going through because we forgot we used to be there.Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities…“Let this mind be in you” Philippians 2Paul isn’t talking about the brain, he’s talking about the heart. It’s not thinking, it’s feeling.We have to feel again to bring the gospel to life.Jesus humbled himself and became like us so we could get to the Father.Humility sometimes involves getting used so that others can see the Father. .Paul says God didn't just change himself into a man, but he conveyed the love of GodThe gospel has to be more than saying Jesus loves you as a version of evangelizing. It has to be like the Apostles John said:1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.Humility took on a human form to reach us and save us.The Gospel needs a humble human form to reach people.Jesus is the savior but if we’re going to reach people with the gospel we have to humble ourselves, esteem them and connect.So I ask you like it was asked to me, What effect has grace had on your life since you’ve been saved?When is the last time you humbled yourself, esteemed others, showed your humanity so people could see Jesus?

Redefining Family
In our sermon series on Ruth, we have seen a complex and textured story of a family that has experienced the unthinkable. Naomi and Ruth have been forced to redefine their ideals of family in order to survive.
We’d like family to be simple and buttoned up. There’s always what God intended and then there’s what He works with. Death, disagreements, divorce, affairs, adoption, foster care, weird uncles, move-in parents, move-in adult children. Sin and brokenness have forced us to redefine family. We see in the book of Ruth that plans don’t go as planned.
The main theme of this book is redemption from unlikely places.
Last week, Angel taught us that Ruth is working for a man named Boaz that’s wealthy. He’s attracted to her but can’t marry her. The rules of engagement are such that the next of kin has first rights. We found out there is a next of kin besides Boaz and this is where we pick up today.
Ruth 4:1–4
Cultural Context
The Jewish people had redemption built into their culture. There was a Year of Jubilee every 50 years when things were given back. If you had fallen on hard times and had to sell your land or home, it would be returned during the Year of Jubilee.
Redeeming also involved purchasing a family member’s land to preserve a relative’s name.
Redeeming was a duty to preserve a family’s name.
Redemption simply means bringing something back to its original purpose or owner.
Redemption was a concession for a reset.
Don’t you wish you could have a reset when life got katywampus?
Deuteronomy 25:5–6: “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law.
“The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.”
Boaz wants to redeem the land and marry Ruth, but the marital rights belong to the next of kin, whose name is never given to us. So Boaz goes to sit at the city gate, a public place where legal proceedings would take place. He sees the next of kin and gathers ten elders to join him as witnesses. He lays out the proposition to the kinsman-redeemer, and it all sounds good and convenient until Boaz says, “Of course, you also have to marry Ruth—not Naomi, but Ruth.”
Ruth 4:5–6
The kinsman-redeemer refuses his right because it “might endanger my own estate.” The heir who would be born would not be his. This speaks a great and difficult truth to me.
Redemption isn’t always convenient.
Reference Deuteronomy 25:7–10. If a brother refused to marry his dead brother’s widow, she would shame him by removing his sandal, taking away his right to redeem the land.
To redeem was to make the wrong right—to take an unfortunate situation that wasn’t planned and fix it. There are unfortunate things that have happened to us that we didn’t plan. When we started out, divorce wasn’t in the cards. A miscarriage wasn’t my hope. Foster care wasn’t a consideration. Adoption wasn’t my first choice. Our spouse dying wasn’t the plan. All of a sudden, we find ourselves displaced from family in a new place. We find ourselves forced to redefine what family is. Sometimes the person I’m closest to isn’t even related to me by blood.
Our perfect picture gets derailed by a mishap.
Ruth and Naomi’s lives were derailed by misfortune.
What makes it more complicated is that Ruth is NOT part of their tribe. She is outside the promise and bloodline of Abraham. We can already see that family is being redefined. 
Redeemer can also mean avenger. When life treats us badly, we want to avenge the wrong. But God says, “Vengeance is Mine.” He is our avenger! Things can go from bad to worse when we try to be our own redeemer.
Redemption isn’t always convenient; it may mess up your plans.
We don’t always get to pick who’s in our family. This next of kin didn’t want to accept Ruth as his wife because she might bear a son that would inherit the very land he was buying. He said, “it might endanger my own estate.” If Ruth has a son the land would go to him.
 
When the next of kin won’t redeem Naomi, he removes his sandal to signify that he is forfeiting his right to claim the land. Your sandals represented your legal claim to property.
 
Reference Deuteronomy 11:24–25.
Let’s move on…
Ruth 4:9–10
A son had to be born to redeem the land… I said, a Son had to be born to redeem the land! Boaz is going to give Ruth a son—not to carry on his name, but to carry on the father’s name.
The men speak a blessing over Boaz and Ruth.
Ruth 4:11–12
Perez was born into a messed-up family. Perez was a twin who was supposed to be born second but came out first, and the midwife named him Perez, which means “breaking out.”
Perez was really an unexpected mistake who became an ancestor of King David and Jesus. You may feel like your life is misplaced and doesn’t line up with everyone else’s perfect family. But God has a way of redefining family!
God is redefining what it means to be part of the family.
Naomi Is Redeemed!
Boaz marries Ruth, and they have a son. But notice what the women of the city said to Naomi.
Ruth 4:14–15
You thought family looked like having lots of sons, but He gave you a daughter-in-law who was better than seven sons. Life may have thrown your thought train off track, but we’re redefining family through redemption!
God wants you to be part of the family today.

Ruth 3: But Wait… There’s More
 
Miracles are God working beyond the ordinary. Providence is God working through the ordinary. “As it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz…” Ruth 2:3  
 
We get to read Ruth’s story backward, but she had to live it forward. You don’t have to understand everything God is doing to be faithful with what He’s asking you to do.
 
DO WHAT IS YOURS TO DO
“So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.” Ruth 3:6 
 
Ruth trusted God, but she still moved. Pray. Seek wisdom. Make the plan. Take the next step. “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”Proverbs 16:9. Being strong enough to do your part also means being humble enough to know when your part is done.
 
TRUST YOUR REDEEMER WITH WHAT YOU CANNOT SETTLE
“Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” Ruth 3:9. Ruth was strong, courageous, capable, and faithful. But Ruth could not redeem Ruth. Eventually, every one of us encounters something we cannot settle for ourselves. My strength has a limit. His doesn’t. My understanding has a limit. His doesn’t.
 
BE FAITHFUL WITH THE BARLEY
Boaz sent Ruth home with six measures of barley and said: “You must not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.” Ruth 3:17. Don’t despise the barley because it isn’t the breakthrough.
 
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10. Sometimes God gives us enough grace for today while something else is still unresolved.
Until suddenly comes, be faithful with the barley.
 
WAITING IN CHAPTER 3
“Then Naomi said to her, ‘Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.’” Ruth 3:18. Ruth didn’t know Chapter 4. She knew the character of the one who told her he would handle it. And we know the character of our Redeemer. Boaz was willing to go to the gate for Ruth. Jesus went to the cross for us. Our Redeemer settled what we could never settle for ourselves.
 
UNTIL SUDDENLY COMES…
Make your plans and give them to God. Do what is yours to do. Be faithful with what He has put in your hands. When your part is done, trust your Redeemer with what only He can settle. If all you have today is barley, don’t despise it because it isn’t the breakthrough. If suddenly hasn’t come yet, don’t assume God isn’t moving. If you cannot see His hand, trust His character. My hope is not in suddenly. My hope is in my Redeemer.
 
Until suddenly comes, I’ll be faithful with the barley.
God is faithful. God is still working. And if I can’t see it yet? BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE