Midweek 4 – Loyal Threads
Woven in Grace: The Sacred Blanket of God’s Family – Ruth
March 11, 2026 • St. John’s Lutheran Church, Sutherlin, Oregon
Midweek 4: Loyal Threads
Ruth, Moabite widow, clings to Naomi: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Her hesed (steadfast love) mirrors God’s covenant faithfulness. In Bethlehem, Boaz redeems her; from their union comes Obed, grandfather of David. Ruth, once a stranger, becomes household member (Eph 2:19). Grace turns loss into legacy through loyalty. This Lent we confess fleeting commitments, times we’ve walked away. God’s love endures forever, weaving outsiders into His people. Ruth’s thread binds generations; Christ’s perfect loyalty claims us eternally. The blanket grows stronger through steadfast grace.
Psalm 136:1-9
Office Hymn: 861 – Christ Be My Leader
Responsory 231
Sermon
Canticle 231
Magnificat 231-232
Prayers 233
Benedicamus 234
Benediction 234
Old Testament: Ruth 1:16–17
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
Lector: O Lord, Have Mercy
People: Thanks be to God.
Epistle: Ephesians 2:14-19
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Lector: O Lord, Have Mercy
People: Thanks be to God.
Gospel: Matthew 1:5b
...and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse...
Lector: O Lord, Have Mercy
People: Thanks be to God.
The Week Ahead
Sunday
• 9:00 am Bible Study – Leviticus
• 10:00 am Divine Service
Serving today:
Elder/Lector: MH
Musician: EI
Acolyte: BC
Tuesday–Friday
Wednesday:
• Office Hours: TBA
• Bible Study: 1:00 pm Mark