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                 Acts 4:12 tells us that, "There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." for a redeemer was needed to, "save the people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Today we don't use the word redeemer much. Someone who would go further than any other person to save his neighbor, friend or even a stranger is called a hero. In The Story this week we meet Boaz, an average Israelite on the outside, a hero and redeemer on the inside.

                Boaz was going about his everyday life when God's Upper Story used him for the good of Ruth, a Moabite. To be a hero to a Moabite was a risky thing. The Moabites were the enemies of the Israelites. While Ruth's identity as a Moabite might have been the thing that got her noticed by Boaz, it was her character, her care for Naomi, the likes of which was the talk all over Bethlehem, that helped him to see past her ethnicity, past his suspicions to the woman God would call him to redeem.

                His first act as hero-redeemer, telling his workers, "Let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her. . . leaving them for her to pick up." Next it was hearing and accepting her request for protection as a kinsman-redeemer. In his own words, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from his family or from his hometown. Today you are my witnesses."

                That is what redeemers do after all. They take on impossible situations and through extreme sacrifice make a way for the disinherited, the foreigner and the lost. Why did Boaz do it? Was it because his mother, Rahab had been a foreigner? Maybe! Was it because tradition and religion made it an obligation he was called to fulfill? Maybe! Was it because it was a part of God's Story to win back all the people of the world? Definitely!

                What we know for sure is that Boaz's faithfulness gave Naomi grandchildren, where before there had been no hope, offered Ruth, the Moabite, protection as reward for her acts of love and deep loyalty to her mother-in-law, and for himself, the honor of having the name Boaz, grandson of Rahab, among the ancestors of Jesus Christ, the ultimate kinsman-redeemer for all humanity. What Boaz did was but an imperfect foretaste of what his 28th great-grandson and God's only Son, Jesus' perfect redemption would do, "Saving the people (all for them) from their sins." Who is Jesus Christ calling you to act as hero/redeemer for in God's Story? Blessings! Rev. Ellen   

In association with the American Red Cross, Bethpage will be having a Blood Drive in the Fellowship Hall this Monday, November 17th from 4:00 until 8:00 PM.  Giving blood doesn't require much time.  You can help save up to three lives in about an hour.  The need is ongoing, but the supply is not.  Please help to ensure a sufficient blood supply is available for those in need and give blood on November 17th!  To schedule your appointment, please call Chris Ferguson at 704-680-2783 or visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code:  Bethpage Presbyterian.  Thank you!   

Bethpage Presbyterian Church continues its ministry with Fred L. Wilson Elementary School with a new Laundromat Ministry, "Suds of Love."  We need volunteers to be at Harris Laundromat (1205 West C Street, Kannapolis) on Thursday, November 20th from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM and 6:00 until 9:00 PM.  If you would be available on that day, please contact Christel Josey (704-706-5752) or Chris Ferguson (704-680-2783).  If you can't volunteer on the 20th, but would still like to help, we need donations of quarters and laundry detergent.  Thanks for your support!

November is National Hospice Month --- a time to raise awareness and tell the good news of Hospice.  The following is some information about Hospice you may not know:

• Hospice provides comfort and care to those whose life is measured in months rather than years.  Care is provided in their home, a nursing home, an assisted living center, or at the Bob & Carolyn Tucker Hospice House.
• Hospice believes that when quantity of life is limited, quality of life is encouraged.
• Hospice believes in the dignity of all people and their right to participate in the planning of their end-of-life care.
• Hospice believes that, although healing of the body may not take place, spiritual and emotional healing can.

If you have questions or just want to talk with someone about hospice care, call a referral coordinator at Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County at 704-935-9434.

TRINITY OAKS RETIREMENT CENTER: Shirley Helms

Sunday, November 16, 2014

• Morning Psalms 67; 150
• First Reading Habakkuk 1:1-4 (5-11) 12-2:1
• Second Reading Philippians 3:13-4:1
• Gospel Reading Matthew 23:13-24
• Evening Psalms 46; 93

 Monday, November 17, 2014

• Morning Psalms 57; 145
• First Reading Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20
• Second Reading James 2:14-26
• Gospel Reading Luke 16:19-31
• Evening Psalms 85; 47

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

• Morning Psalms 54; 146
• First Reading Habakkuk 3:1-10 (11-15) 16-18
• Second Reading James 3:1-12
• Gospel Reading Luke 17:1-10
• Evening Psalms 28; 99

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

• Morning Psalms 65; 147:1-11
• First Reading Malachi 1:1, 6-14
• Second Reading James 3:13-4:12
• Gospel Reading Luke 17:11-19
• Evening Psalms 125; 91

Thursday, November 20, 2014

• Morning Psalms 143; 147:12-20
• First Reading Malachi 2:1-16
• Second Reading James 4:13-5:6
• Gospel Reading Luke 17:20-37
• Evening Psalms 81; 116

Friday, November 21, 2014

• Morning Psalms 88; 148
• First Reading Malachi 3:1-12
• Second Reading James 5:7-12
• Gospel Reading Luke 18:1-8
• Evening Psalms 6; 20

Saturday, November 22, 2014

• Morning Psalms 122; 149
• First Reading Malachi 3:13-4:6
• Second Reading James 5:13-20
• Gospel Reading Luke 18:9-14
• Evening Psalms 100; 63

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