Christianity Still Makes Sense

Trying to Make Sense of Life Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:29

Trying to Make Sense of Life

Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:29

 

15 Realizations Worth Considering When Trying to Make Sense of Life:

1.      Realize that Chasing Money and Success for Money and Success’ Sake Will Never Fill our Void of Discontentment.

2.      Realize that Who You Are Is More Important than What You Have.

3.      Realize that It Is Better to Live Our Vanishing Life with Purpose, than to Waste It through the Pursuit of Pleasure.

 

4.     Realize that remaining teachable before a sage trumps being entertained by the blissful ignorance of fools.

5.      Realize that caving into the temptation of oppressing others leads the wise into moral compromise.

6.      Realize that painful patience is better than succumbing to the price of impatient shortcuts to achieve success.

7.      Realize that one easily offended inevitably plays the fool.

8.      Realize that now is all that we have, so don’t overly romanticize the past.

 

      “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

 

9.      Realize that wisdom tells us that we will either use wealth or wealth will use us.

10.   Realize that wisdom gives us the ability to trust God with mystery.

11.   Realize that we shouldn’t trust in our own righteousness or grandiose wisdom, nor should choose to be foolish.

12.   Realize that wisdom is more powerful than power, for wisdom is power. (19-20) “ten rulers in a city”

 

 

"The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple,

knowledge and discretion to the youth—

Let the wise hear and increase in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying,

the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:1-7).

 

 

13.   Realize that if you live for the words of others, you will become fragilized by them.

14.   Realize that gaining a dose of modest wisdom doesn’t arrive by accident, it comes through disciplined determination.

15.   Realize that it is better to reflect on the importance of wisdom over folly and to do so in advance.

Understanding the Times Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Understanding the Times

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

 

 

“Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Psalm 90:12

 

            

1.      Understand that time will present us with a variety of experiences.

2.      Understand that God makes everything beautiful, in its time.

 

“Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” Philip Yancey

 

3.      Understand that we are to live out our time on earth with an eternal perspective.

4.      Understand that God desires us to enjoy the time we’ve been given.

5.      Understand that God is sovereign over time and we’re accountable for how we us our it.

How To Approach God Ecclesiastes 5:1-20

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How To Approach God
Ecclesiastes 5:1-20
 
 
1. Approach God Reverently  
 
How Do We Approach God Reverently?
 
1. With a Teachable Heart 

2. With a Thoughtful Heart 

3. With a Humble Heart  

4. With a Focused Heart 

 “The dreams appear to be daydreams, reducing worship to verbal (or mental) doodling.” Derke Kidner

2. Approach God with the Resolve to Keep Your Commitments
 
Keys To Commitment:
 
·       Commit to What You Commit
 
“Commit to what you Commit “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in doing whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows. If you don’t, you will be guilty of sin. However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to do as you have said, for you have made a vow to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 23:21-23).
 
·       Contemplate Before You Commit
 
“It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows” (Proverbs 20:25).
            
·       Don’t Excuse Your Commitments Away
 
                                                            
Why Is It So Important to Keep Our Commitments
 
1.      So, We Don’t Experience God’s Displeasure.  
 
             2.    So, We Don’t Experience God’s Discipline. 
 
 
ACTION TIP: Cultivate a Healthy Respect for God!     

How Not to Chase Success Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

Watch the full message at: https://imagechurchlive.churchcenter.com/episodes/386650

How Not to Chase Success
Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

 

"I am not the richest, smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeed because I keep going and going and going." - Sylvester Stallone

1. Chasing Success by Oppressing others to Gain More Power 
2. Chasing Success by Never Learning the Secret to Contentment 
3. Chasing Success by Neglecting the Importance of Community 
4. Chasing Success by Exchanging Wisdom for Foolishness 

Today’s Takeaway. 
*Here’s something to chew on. Remember, success has a moral and a missional component. It’s not just about finding out what we’re “to do”, but who we’re “to be.” As followers of Christ, we are to be like Jesus and the more we are like in our being, the more we will impact others through our missional “doing.” 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-3). 

 

 

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction! Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

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I Can’t Get No Satisfaction!
Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

1. Trying to Find Satisfaction through Hedonistic Pleasure.

2. Trying to Find Satisfaction through Philosophical Wisdom.

3. Trying to Find Satisfaction through Hard Work.

Life Is Short! Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

Life Is Short!
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
 
Embrace the moment I have been given 

Engage my responsibilities with the right perspective 

Explore nature, but know it alone will not provide the ultimate meaning of life.

Expect nothing new to explain the purpose of life 

Enter a personal relationship with the Creator of all things!
 

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”
― Pascal

“For Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” Augustine

An Unstuck Faith 2 Peter 1:1-21

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1.      Resolve To Live in Harmony with God’s Moral Character

2.      Remember The Past from Which You Were Saved

3.      Rigorously Evaluate the Genuineness of Your Profession of Faith

4.      Repeatedly Reflect on the Warnings Enclosed in God’s Word

Keeping the Church Healthy 1 Peter 5:1-14

Watch the full episode here: https://imagechurchlive.churchcenter.com/channels/4149/series/44941

Keeping the Church Healthy

1 Peter 5:1-14

 

Five Marks of a Healthy Church!

 

1. Healthy Churches Are Led by Godly Leaders

2. Healthy Churches Honorably Relate to One Another

3. Healthy Churches Rely Deeply On God through Life’s Difficulties

4. Healthy Churches Guard Against Satan’s Tactics

5. Healthy Churches Trust God to Bring Good Out of Suffering

Showcasing Counter-Cultural Marriages 1 Peter 3:1-7

Showcasing Counter-Cultural Marriages

1 Peter 3:1-7

 

“The percentage of 23- to 38-year-old Americans who are married steadily decreases by generation: 81% for the Silent Generation, 61% for baby boomers, 53% for Generation X, and 44% for millennials. The percentage of unmarried Americans 15 years or older has risen from 23% in 1950 to 34% in 2022.” Pew Research Survey

 

“41% of Gen Z men and 52% of Gen Z women believe that marriage is an “outdated tradition.” Thriving Center of Psychology Survey

OutLive the World! 1 Peter 2:13-25

OutLive the World!

1 Peter 2:13-25

 

How Do We Outlive the World?

 

1. Readily and willingly serve as cooperative citizens of the state. 
2. Recognize the value of self-imposed limitations to our freedom.
3. Realize the importance of treating everyone honorably.
4. Refuse to return evil for evil.