Omc: Family Chapel

As Paul lays out the gospel message, he will first explain God's just wrath on all unrighteousness. There is no good news without first knowing the sobering truth of the bad news. Paul explains the fullness of the depravity of the human condition where we were given up to our idolatry, lusts, and rebellion. This highlights not only our utter need for a savior, but also the glory of God's salvation.

With the introductory portion of his letter, the Apostle Paul highlights the central theme of his entire letter: the gospel of God. The gospel of God is the good news of God's salvation for everyone who believes. As such, it fulfills the promises of the Old Testament, it is centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ, and it has a missional impulse to reach all nations.

Andrew was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. But he is one of the lesser-known disciples, especially since he was so often overshadowed by his older brother, Peter. But despite Andrew’s relative lack of screen time on the pages of Scripture, there are some very helpful things we can glean from him about Jesus. Through Andrew, we see that Jesus is worth surrendering everything to follow, that Jesus is able to multiply anything far beyond measure, and that Jesus empowers us to fear nothing with his victory over death.

As Boaz carries out his work of redeeming Ruth and Naomi, he reflects God's greater work of redemption. Through Boaz, we see that God's work of redemption is motivated by great love, marked by great cost, and secures great renewal. God's work of redemption is perfectly displayed in Jesus, who lovingly lays down his own life to redeem his people.

God's sovereign and loving hand is at work, and rather than lying around in passivity, Ruth decides to take a risk and pursue Boaz, who is a kinsmen-redeemer. Even in the midst of complications, Ruth and Naomi stand resilient and hopeful. This story not only points to Jesus who becomes our very own kinsmen-redeemer, but also reminds us that we may take steps forward in boldness and stand resilient in setbacks because God's sovereign hand and loving-kindness is upon our lives as well.

After arriving in Bethlehem with Naomi, Ruth decides to glean for food in the surrounding fields in order to survive. As she goes to glean, we see God's steadfast love in action as she stumbles upon the field of a man named Boaz and receives unexpected generosity. God demonstrates his steadfast love through the seemingly random coincidences of life as well as through the exceedingly generous kindness of others. The right response to experiencing God's steadfast love is gratitude, stewardship, and generosity.

After Naomi hears about God's provision of food in Bethlehem, she decides to leave Moab and return home. But having lost everything, she has become bitter. Nevertheless, we see that a genuine faith in God can be marked by overwhelming bitterness towards God. A bitter faith is still a genuine faith, and a faith that God accepts. Naomi is able to maintain genuine faith despite her bitterness because of the commitment that Ruth makes to her. Our faith is sustained in the midst of bitterness through faithful and faith-filled friends.

The book of Ruth takes place during a very chaotic time in Israel's history and it focuses in on a family that faces great tragedy. But in the midst of tragedy, we see God's sovereignty and God's steadfast love at work. Whether leading us out of suffering or into suffering, God exercises his divine sovereignty and steadfast love. As such, God's sovereignty and steadfast love are to serve as the foundation for our lives, especially when suffering rips everything else apart. That's the only way we can truly live consecrated lives.

The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to live with eternity in mind because this will shape our values, help us to stay on mission, and fill us with hope and anticipation.

A consecrated life is not meant to be lived alone, but rather is lived within the context of community. Community consecrates us as it provides opportunities to live out the Gospel in our relationships with one another. We are consecrated in community by humbly serving one another, as we wage war against sin together, and through caring for the lost and vulnerable among us.

Consecration does not end with just purification and sanctification. God consecrates his people for purpose and mission so that we may be faithful vessels of his Spirit and power. Therefore, as God consecrates our lives and our church, we must be ready to live with boldness and urgency for His glory.

Our theme for 2026 is "A Consecrated Life" - to faithfully live a life set apart by God's grace on God's mission for God's glory. We will have a two week sermon series introducing this theme and vision for 2026. For this Sunday, I will be focusing on the Holiness of God and how that becomes the basis and strength for our own sanctification. Peter mentions in his epistle: "You shall be holy, for I am holy." Our consecration begins with beholding our Holy God and understanding the depths of his grace to make us into a holy nation, called out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Even as we, as second generation Asian-Americans, are settling into where God is leading us, God still desires for us to seek the renewal of the next generation. God deeply cares about the next generation and commands His people to lay the foundations of faith for them. The renewal of the next generation is built upon our obedience, modeled through our testimonies, and requires our consecration.

God desires to redeem a people for himself from all peoples. As such, our role as a local church in seeking the renewal of the nations is to make disciples of all nations. We can faithfully carry out that Great Commission as we pray for the nations, support the work of global missions, and go to the ends of the earth!

Rather than isolating from our neighbors or assimilating to our neighbors, God calls us to seek the comprehensive renewal of our neighbors. We should genuinely desire and actively help our neighbors to experience a thriving life. One of the primary (and often overlooked and underrated) ways we can do that is through our work. When we work with excellence, we bring glory to God and good to our neighbors.

The gospel is the good news of God's plan of salvation for the redemption of His people and for the renewal of all things. While the gospel is primarily about what Christ has done, the gospel should radically shape how we live our lives. In living out the gospel, we engage in worship, community, discipleship, and witness.