Text- Ruth 1:1-7

Introduction

Next week our church will be celebrating her 30th anniversary with all day homecoming services.

I suppose we will have many friends and loved ones who will be coming home to Grace Church to help us celebrate this special occasion.

On New Year's Eve, in 1985, Johnnie Majors, the coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team was set to play the Miami Hurricanes for the Sugar Bowl championship. It was a great year for Tennessee. Against incredible odds that included losing their star quarterback, Tony Robinson, and multiple injuries to other players, they captured the South Eastern conference championship.

Johnnie Majors came to Tennessee from Pittsburgh where he had a national championship team. Yet, in eight years at the University of Tennessee, he had never captured and SEC championship.

This particular year though they not only won the championship, but also beat Miami, the number one team in the nation.

Shortly after this, Majors wrote his book entitled, You Can Come Home Again.

During the 1950's he was a star running back for the University of Tennessee. Now, he had "come home" and become a successful coach for his alma mater.

This morning our text is found in Ruth 1:1-7 and the title of my message is, "Coming Home To God".

The Book of Ruth has been called by many people a classical love story.  Others refer to it as the female version of Johnathan and David, referring to the love between Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth.

Yet, it is also a story about coming home.

In verse 1, Naomi and her husband Elimelech have left their home in Bethlehem to go to Moab.  The remainder of the book tells the story about Naomi’s returning home to Bethlehem.

This morning I would like us to focus our attention on three lessons we can learn about coming home to God from Naomi’s experience in Moab.