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“Meaning in the Midst of Uncertainty.”
March 5, 2023
Scriptural Text: Ecclesiastes 9.1-18
Pastor Dave Hentschel
Intro: A recent article in The New Yorker magazine notes that we’re seeing a dramatic spike in the popularity of astrology.[1]
Question: What is your strategy for dealing with Uncertainty?
“He (Solomon) wrote his book to smash into tiny pieces our idea that we can be like God. We aspire to have it all, know it all, do it all, achieve it all, be happy forever, have all the answers, never be left scratching our head, and be remembered by all for all time.” (David Gibson, Live Life Backward, 107)
I. The One thing in life that is Certain (9:1-6)
“The preacher will argue that wisdom, pleasure, work, and possessions are very often the bubbles we live in to insulate ourselves from reality. And his needle, the sharp point he uses to burst the bubbles, is death. It is the great reality facing all human beings as they go about their business on earth. Death is the ultimate certainty that we erase from our minds and busy ourselves to avoid facing.” (David Gibson, Live Life Backward, 36)
“Left to our own devices, we tend to live life forward. We plan and hope and dream of where we will be. Ecclesiastes teaches us to live life backward.” (David Gibson, Live life Backward)
II. The Many things in life that are not Certain (9:11-18)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (Js 4:13-16, NIV)
Wisdom provides an edge but it does not provide immunity.
III. All the things in life that don’t require certainty to still enjoy them (9:7-10)
Seize the day before the day seizes you.
Life is a gift to be enjoyed, not a game to be mastered.
[1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/28/astrology-in-the-age-of-uncertainty
“The Fight Against Folly”
Ecclesiastes 9:17-10:20
3.12.2023
Pastor Bob Erbig
Introduction: A Reckless Buffalo Chase
| What is FOLLY? |
- The Stench of Dead FLIES (Ecc. 10:1-4).
How Do You Fight Folly?
- Watch Your Path
- Hold Your Ground
- The Venom of a SNAKE (Ecc. 10:5-11).
Four Circumstances We Encounter:
- The PIT
- The WALL
- The STONE
- The AXE
- The Tweet of a BIRD (Ecc. 10:12-15; 18-20).
We have to fight the culture of toxic REACTIVITY!
Conclusion: A Feast With The Prince
“A Biblical Perspective on Risk.”
March 19, 2023
Scriptural Text: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Pastor Dave Hentschel
I. The Reality of Risk.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
(Eccl 10:8-9, NIV)
- Invest with Liberality. (v 1)
- Invest with Diversity. (v 2)
II. The Aversion to Risk.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
(Eccl 11:4, ESV)
“PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS.”
III. The Danger of Risking Nothing at all.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
(C.S. Lewis)
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
(Eccl 11:6, ESV)
