A Crash Course in People: Ecclesiastes 4:4-16
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.
Flip Flops in the Snow: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Do you think you’ve ever worked a day in vain? Do you think you’ve ever shed a tear in vain? Do you think you’ve ever read a Bible verse in vain? Do you think you’ve ever confessed a sin in vain? Do you think a bullet has ever been fired in vain? Do you think a meal has ever been eaten in vain? No. God makes everything beautiful in its time. When? In its time! In HIS time!Do you think you’ve ever worked a day in vain? Do you think you’ve ever shed a tear in vain? Do you think you’ve ever read a Bible verse in vain? Do you think you’ve ever confessed a sin in vain? Do you think a bullet has ever been fired in vain? Do you think a meal has ever been eaten in vain? No. God makes everything beautiful in its time. When? In its time! In HIS time!
Running To Your Funeral: Ecclesiastes 2:12-26
If you stop to think about your work, what it’s accomplishing, and why you should keep working, you will likely end up very discouraged, start wearing black, and listening to bands fronted by people whose dad did not hug them enough. But, this kind of reflection on “why we do what we do” is rare because we are so stressed out by our work that we lay awake at night, so overwhelmed by what we have to do that we don’t even have the time or energy to ask if we should be doing it.
Stuffing the Pita of Life: Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
Something has gone terribly wrong and no matter how many organizations we start, elections we hold, wars we fight, dollars we spend, attempts we make, protests we hold, medications we prescribe, bad guys we lock up, or tears we shed, the world is hopelessly crooked and cursed. This bothers us, so we want to straighten it out. The problem is that not only is everything on the earth crooked, so is everyone on the earth. We are all crooked. Every one of us.
Jesus’ Ownership, Your Stewardship
The ungodly rich have abandoned Jesus’ instructions, and now James has some strong words for them. This sermon examines how individuals become the type of people James rebukes and what happens to their understanding of stewardship and their view of God.
Jesus’ Ownership, Your Stewardship
The ungodly rich have abandoned Jesus’ instructions, and now James has some strong words for them. This sermon examines how individuals become the type of people James rebukes and what happens to their understanding of stewardship and their view of God.
Jesus’ Life, Your Life
What are you looking forward to, hoping for, dreaming about? Visions lead to plans. These can be God-willed; sometimes, however, they leave out God completely (“Godless”) or are so vague it’s hard to tell whether they involve God at all (“God-light”). James warns us that life is too uncertain, brief, and important to abandon our priorities.
Jesus’ Life, Your Life
What are you looking forward to, hoping for, dreaming about? Visions lead to plans. These can be God-willed; sometimes, however, they leave out God completely (“Godless”) or are so vague it’s hard to tell whether they involve God at all (“God-light”). James warns us that life is too uncertain, brief, and important to abandon our priorities.
V. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER
What comes to mind when you think of your father or mother? For some, the thought is uplifting. For others, it’s devastating. Yet the Bible says, “Honor your father and mother” and provides no exception clause for those of us who have had horrific experiences at the hands of our parents. So what does it means to honor them? How do we do this?
Empowered by the Spirit to be Generous
Jesus says that people are prone to worship God or money. Money, perhaps along with sex, is the most pernicious, pervasive idol in our culture today. Despite whatever the Bible has to say about it, it’s a topic that’s met with the greatest resistance. This sermon looks at what God’s word has to say about issues of stewardship, and greed versus generosity.
I Am Fathered
The most important person in your life is your father. He has more power than anyone to influence you—for good or for evil. Hearing the word “father,” does it conjure up amazing memories, or does it cause you to sense loss because he has abandoned, betrayed, failed you? What kind of father are or will you be? Strive to become like Father God and bless your children the way he has blessed you.
Jesus Is a Better Mordecai
As God’s people in Persia experience salvation, they respond with celebration, the Jewish festival of Purim. All the stories, deliverances, promises, foreshadowings, and types of the Bible—including those in the Old Testament and Esther—lead us to Jesus. When we see deliverance and salvation, we think of the greater deliverance and salvation that Jesus brings. The whole Bible is about Jesus.