This section of Scripture remains wildly misunderstood. Singleness is not ideal, marriage should be honored by all. Practically, however, there are seasons and reasons that provide exceptions to the rule of marriage for some people.
This sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at Muldoon Community Assembly Church in Anchorage Alaska on September 6th 2015 at their evening service.
This Sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at James River Church in Ozark, MO, on June 7th 2015.
As the old adage goes, you save the best for last.
This is why at a concert the biggest hit is the song that closes the show and dessert is saved for the end of a meal. The same is true in Ecclesiastes. The entire book has thus far explored the meaning of our fleeting life, and now gives us the bottom line for how to keep life aligned with God’s will.
How motivated are you, honestly, by winning? Are you as zealous for wisdom as you are for winning?
Don’t let the mundane duties of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the pain of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the mystery of life rob you of the joy of life. Instead, understand that God has a bucket list for you to pursue. It would be sin to disobey his list, and the list might surprise you.
Even the godliest people need to occasionally pull over, ask some diagnostic questions, and make adjustments. In this section of Ecclesiastes we are going to pull over for a soul pit stop and have Solomon run diagnostics on our soul with nine questions to get us healed up, tuned up, and back to enjoying life with God.
In Western culture, the adults have invented a new game that I like to call “Climb the Ladder.” In Climb the Ladder you look at those people who are above you on the rungs of success. You spend so much time looking at life on their rung – such as the car they drive, house they live in, clothes they wear, food they eat, and social events they enjoy – that when you look down at your rung beneath them you find yourself unhappy.
Continuing in the Ecclesiastes series, Pastor Mark Driscoll is preaching out of Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 on the class conflict between the rich and the poor.
When was the last time you met with God? When is the last time you gathered with God’s people for corporate worship? What was the attitude in your heart and mind? Did you come prepared to meet with God, or just roll in and roll out to be entertained as if the point of a worship service was the same as a concert or movie – to put on a good performance for you?
he world is filled with people, and it is tough to figure out which ones you should befriend, allow access to, take advice from, and do life with.
If there is no good God who sees and knows all and judges justly in the end, then there is truly no hope for justice in this life. All we are left with is social Darwinism, might makes right, the fittest survive, and the rest of us just get to be the human shield here to stop the bullets from getting to the bourgeoisie.