ECCLESIASTES 10 This Sunday’s sermon opened with a surprising image: a million-dollar bottle of perfume—lavish, beautiful, and memorable. But as Ecclesiastes 10:1 warns, even the most exquisite fragrance can be ruined by a single fly. In the same way, a little foolishness can unravel much hard-earned wisdom. The message is clear: wisdom is fragile. As […]

ECCLESIASTES 9 The beginning of chapter establishes a truth that may seem depressing. All of us will die. Whether we are good or evil, wise or unwise, we are all faced with our own mortality. Every culture in history has wrestled with the question of what happens after we die. We tend to shy away

ECCLESIASTES 8 The chapter starts with the question, “Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter?” Wisdom is a subject of many of the Old Testament proverbs and books. A point is made that Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom. What is wisdom, in light of God? Godly wisdom

ECCLESIASTES 7:15-29 As we continue chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes, we run into some challenging ideas. In verse 15, the teacher says he has seen the righteous life cut short and the unrighteous live long, prosperous lives. It may not seem right, but we see it all the time. There is a reason that the phrase

  In yesterday’s sermon, we explored how pain often pushes us to escape, and how the “escape” routes we choose—whether productivity, entertainment, or nostalgia—can end up trapping us instead of freeing us. Where do you turn when life hurts?  Are your escapes actually giving you rest—or draining you further? “Better what the eyes see than

ECCLESIASTES 5 We were blessed to have Derrick Sekamalira, our partner from Kampala, Uganda, lead us in teaching Sunday. In Ecclesiastes 5 the teacher starts the chapter establishing the sovereignty and seriousness of God. He is the holy, powerful creator God, and our words before him should be careful and honest. If we vow something

ECCLESIASTES 4 To start chapter 4, the teacher begins with a passage about oppression and oppressors. The oppressed have no comfort, and the oppressor has all of the power. The teacher saw this imbalance of power. Do you see the oppression going on in the world today? In big and small ways, people find themselves

ECCLESIASTES 2 THE EXPERIMENT The Experiment. This Sunday, we looked straight into the mirror that Ecclesiastes holds up to us: a mirror that reflects not only our endless pursuit of happiness but also the emptiness we often find in the very things we chase. We saw the difference between theoretical knowledge and lived experience. The

ECCLESIASTES 1 IN THE END, WHY? Words from the Teacher. We will be studying Ecclesiastes over the summer. This wisdom book can appear to be extremely pessimistic and frankly, kind of a downer. However, the author gives us words of great wisdom and deep thoughts. This book is not meant to bash us over the

COMPASSION SUNDAY COMPASSION SUNDAY One day, we will see the Lord in all His glory. This is what theologians have called the beatific vision—the vision that makes happy. As Aquinas, Calvin, and Edwards each affirmed in their own way, the deepest longing of the human soul is to behold God Himself. Where are you looking