Welcome back to the Ruth Advent series.

Now, to understand this episode, go back and listen to the corresponding third episode of Ruth, if you haven't already, from episode 8 of the Bible Book Club, or you could just read the Book of Ruth.

And recall that the Advent season consists of four weeks

as we await the arrival of Christ's birthday.

The focus of week one was hope.

The focus of week two was love.

And this focus, this week is week three is faith.

And in week four, the focus is going to be joy now as we focus on

faith this week in the story of jesus mary and joseph demonstrate great faith by journeying to

bethlehem trusting in god's plan despite mary's advanced pregnancy and in our story today faith can be

found in another couple in bethem, Ruth and Boas,

who also trusted in God's plan over a thousand years before Mary and Joseph and who actually

were their ancestors. Exactly. Okay, so here's the setup. Ruth chapter three, and like Heather said,

we're in Advent, week three, is about faith. Now, what is

faith? Well, my favorite definition comes from Hebrews 11, which is what I call the Hall of

Faith. It's a list of all the Bible characters who have demonstrated faith. And the chapter

starts with a very simple definition of what faith is. Hebrews 11 verse 1. Now faith is confidence in what we

hope for and assurance of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

And some of those ancients are going to be Ruth and Boas we're going to see. Now faith,

it said, is confidence in what we hope for, eternal life, and faith is also assurance

about what we do not see. Now, we did not get to see Jesus Christ here on this earth, but we must

have assurance that he is real so that we can have faith. In chapter three, all three of our heroes

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