Stewart Ruch III

Tucked away in the Old Testament, right after the darkness of Judges, there's a little gem for preachers—the Book of Ruth. It's only four chapters, and you can read it aloud in 20 minutes, but it has a big message about "the power of small." Over the next two weeks we present a 3-part expository sermon series from Stewart Ruch, senior pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois. As Ruch says in his first sermon in this series: "We often tell ourselves, This life that I'm living is so insignificant; it's small, ineffective; no one knows what I'm doing; those who know don't like it?" (Can any preacher out there relate to this?) But based on the message of Ruth, Stewart says, "I hope you'll hear this, in the life of God, we can live small lives of great significance. In God's new world small is the new significant."

Matt Woodley

For our preaching skills article we went behind the scenes with Stewart and asked him why he preached on Ruth and how he prepared for this series. So in this interview we delve into Ruch's spiritual and homiletical preparation for what he calls "a divine short story" and "an unbelievable literary masterpiece nestled right after Judges." Check out the interview. I think you'll find plenty of good advice for planning any expository preaching series.

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Maya Angelou's Decision to Keep Her Child
• Featured Video: A New Year Psalm: Start the New Year with this prayer for guidance, understanding, and renewal.
• Featured Sermon: "When Small is Great" by Stewart Ruch III
• Featured Skills Article: "Preaching a Divine Short Story" by Matt Woodley

Matt Woodley
Editor, PreachingToday.com
mwoodley@christianitytoday.com

Matt Woodley is the pastor of compassion ministries at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois.