First in the Family

Before you start

A famine drives Naomi's family from Bethlehem to Moab. Naomi's husband and both sons die. Her daughter-in-law Ruth, a Moabite, chooses to go with Naomi to a land and a people she has never known.

Read Ruth 1:1–18 aloud from any translation. Invite volunteers to read; never put anyone on the spot.

Icebreaker · 5 minutes

What was the hardest part of your first week on campus?

Observe · what does it say?

1. What has Naomi lost by verse 5?
2. What reasons does Naomi give her daughters-in-law to go home?
3. What exactly does Ruth promise in verses 16–17?

Interpret · what did it mean?

1. Ruth is a foreigner choosing a new people. What does that cost her, and what does it say about belonging?
2. How is Ruth's loyalty a picture of God's faithfulness?

Apply · what does it ask of us?

1. Many of us are the first in our families to do this. Who walks with you, and whom could you walk with?
2. What would it look like to make someone new feel "your people are my people" this week?

On your campus

Host a "First in the Family" night for first-generation students: food, three short stories from students, and this study. Partner with your campus TRIO or first-gen office if you have one.

Closing prayer

God, for every student who is the first, walk ahead of us. Give us people who stay, and make us people who stay for others. Amen.

Take home

Send a message to someone who helped you get to college and thank them.