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Meaninglessness of Work Without God

Last week we started into a series on relationships. And I warned that this series may feel very pointed. It may feel like I am telling the whole church about your problems, and dealing with them from the pulpit in a way that doesn’t feel very fair to you. So I want to explain myself before we get to…

The Question 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the…

But we are all as an unclean thing , And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, That stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: For thou hast hid thy face from us, And…

1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had…

God’s not dead… transforming people’s lives, healing hurting people and reconciling relationships. Today, He’s blessing people’s lives and families… Some families live expecting great blessings while others need to experience great blessings. A child asked his father, "Dad, How were people born?" So…

Wisdom and Unpredictability Intro Throughout our studies in Ecc. we have taken a look at God’s desire for his creation to live wisely. How God has created this world with certain rules and how it is better if we live within those rules. God is dedicated to helping his people. Those who are devoted to…

Life under the sun Ecclesiastes 1-2 Prayer Through your word we might know you. knowing you we might know wisdom for life. I pray that you might give us ears to hear, eyes to see, and a softened heart to see the reality of our lives and the wonderful truth of your Word. Introduction Ah… another day.…

Meaningful Wisdom

Wisdom and Limitations Have any of you heard of something called Decision paralysis? This is something that I witnessed when I worked in restaurants. Specifically, when I worked at The Cheesecake factory. If you don’t know, The Cheesecake Factory boasts a menu of more than 200 items and 30 cheesecakes.…

Wisdom and Joy When God created humanity he created us with the capacity to gain knowledge and to put that knowledge into action. That is wisdom. As we talked about a few weeks ago there are really two types of wisdom: General worldly wisdom, like knowing a tomato is a fruit but not putting it in a fruit…

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out…

We’ve been working our way through the book of Ecclesiastes, a book of 12 short chapters that sits in the midst of the books of wisdom within our Bibles. Ecclesiastes is one of the books we don’t know specifically who wrote it. We do know the author intended to sound like Solomon to whom much of Proverbs…

Can life have any meaning in a naturalistic universe? Physicist Steven Weinberg doesn’t think so. He writes: “The more comprehensible the universe becomes, the more it also seems pointless.” Similarly, Richard Dawkins says: In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic…

Introduction I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Warrior, Runner, Steward of the Faith The Good Fight Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many…

Philippians 3:7-14 Purpose is a very wonderful thing. Without purpose, a person life is without direction and ultimately without hope. When one loses hope then they lose reason for living. We live in a society today that is losing its purpose. There is a real problem, not only in America but in many…

1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the…

25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown . 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest,…

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that…

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care…

11 Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. 12 For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds…

2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” 3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? 8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is…

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon adopts an "under the sun" perspective on life. He recognises that life in this world is inherently unfair--rewards don't match effort. How can we handle this? Solomon suggests several responses, but none of them are satisfying. But what if we take an "above the sun" perspective? Does that make a difference?

You would think that we really don’t need to be taught anything about fairness because at least some of us were taught to be fair in kindegarten and Sunday school. share your toys… games… popcorn… when it comes to pie, everyone gets the same amount But as adults we kind of need to look at the issue of…

As Americans, we are very concerned about purity in some areas while in other areas we could not care less. For instance, when it comes to clean air and water, people are very concerned. Our culture is overly concerned to the point of forcing battery cars… trying to limit automobiles etc… to clean up…