Ecclesiastes

Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. These are the words of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. We are reminded that all the places in which the world seeks satisfaction are merely a breath. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Solomon takes us down every road the world travels to find the good life and shows how all lead to a dead end road. Then he gives us the true meaning of life: receive all as gift and stop viewing all as a means of personal gain.

God has put eternity into men's hearts and yet they will die also. How are we to live between time and eternity?

How do you feel about your lot in the life? The cards that have been dealt to you? Your spouse or lack thereof? Your job? Your skills/talents? Your family? Join us as we consider how to ensure we actually accept and enjoy our lives as gifts given us by a loving and good Heavenly Father.

Have you ever noticed how none of us are ever fully satisfied with the things of this world? We gratify one desire only for another to pop up demanding our attention. Here in Ecclesiastes 6, Solomon warns us against looking to God's gifts for what can only be found in God. Here we are reminded that only in Christ is true lasting satisfaction found.

It is possible to secure a nail in the wall with a spoon, but it is better to use a knife. Here in Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon teaches that wisdom is better than folly in life.

"Not my president" is a bumper sticker seen around town. People have a hard time living under the authority of their governing leaders, especially when they don't agree politically. Here in Ecclesiastes 8, Solomon teaches us how we can live under their authority wisely only as we remember we're living under God's authority.

You are going to die. We all are. Yet this fact seems so uncomfortable that we don't like to think about it. In fact, it would seem we are all working very hard as a society to pretend it won't happen to us. Yet here in Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon takes us to our own funeral and forces us to look into our casket and deal with this reality. He offers some negative and positive feedback for us related to living with this mortality.

What is the difference between wisdom and folly? We often can tell when someone else is walking in wisdom or folly or when we ourselves have done something wise or foolish. Here in this section of Ecclesiastes, Solomon gives some real life comparisons and contrasts with wisdom and folly.

If you could go back in time and give some advice to your younger self, what would it be? Solomon speaks to young people here and urges them to rejoice in all their days, remove causes of anxiety from their lives, and remember their Creator in their youth before old age sets in with all its challenges. 

In this final message from our Ecclesiastes series, we consider what it means to be human and why anything really matters after all.