May 31, 2026

In seasons when home no longer feels like home, God often meets us through people who are different from us. Our world may enclose us within our cultures, politics, races, classes, denominations, and comfort zones, but what does it mean to connect meaningfully with those unlike ourselves, build bridges across our differences, and become a community where strangers become family? Join us as we allow the certainty of our small worlds to unravel so we can discover God’s image in people we might otherwise fear, avoid, or misunderstand.

READ

Ruth 1:1-5

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

REFLECT

1. Have you ever experienced a season when something familiar no longer felt like home? How did it change you?
2. What people, experiences, or environments have most shaped the way you see “those who are different” from you?
3. How does God use seasons of disruption or discomfort to enlarge our hearts and deepen our compassion? What boundary—relational, cultural, emotional, political, or spiritual—is God inviting you to cross with humility and love?

RESPOND

1. Pay attention to where your life has become enclosed within familiarity—familiar people, perspectives, routines, and assumptions. Intentionally step beyond one of those boundaries by engaging someone whose story, background, or experiences differ from your own.
2. Identify a place in your life where “home no longer feels like home”—a season of transition, grief, uncertainty, or displacement. Rather than resisting it, ask the Holy Spirit to enlarge your heart, reshape your vision, and lead you into deeper dependence on God.
3. As a family or with a small group of friends discuss whether your relationships and rhythms naturally make room for people outside your usual circles. What intentional changes could help create deeper belonging for those who may feel unfamiliar, overlooked, or different?

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