This episode features a replay of the Village Church sermon on the first chapter of Ruth. Pastor Eric Cepin opens the series by guiding the community into the world of the text, helping us recognize how our Western lens—framed by right and wrong, guilt and innocence—can obscure the deeper cultural undercurrents of shame and honor that shaped the story. He highlights how Ruth’s bold loyalty toward Naomi mirrors something much greater. In her, we catch a glimpse of Jesus—one who steps into our shame just as Ruth stepped into Naomi’s.
The Village Church’s sermon podcast is more than just a weekly message. It is an invitation into the great and ongoing story of God’s work in the world. Pastors Eric, Mark, Susan, Daniel, and other leaders open the Scriptures not as a collection of abstract ideas but as the living, breathing witness to God’s kingdom breaking into our midst. Each episode is a call—not merely to listen, but to take part, to step forward into the life of faith with renewed vision and purpose.
Week by week, the pastors and leaders explore the deep rhythms of Christian discipleship—prayer, fasting, generosity—not as isolated duties but as part of a larger, richer, and more beautiful whole. They unpack these ancient practices in light of Jesus himself, the one in whom heaven and earth have come together. But they also turn their attention to the realities of everyday life—relationships, finances, the struggles and joys of being human—demonstrating how the gospel is not merely about what we believe but about how we live as God's renewed people in the present age.
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