Back in 2012, I taught through the books of Ecclesiastes and Philippians together, attempting to show how they both present that true joy is only found in Christ. Since I am now preaching through them again (finishing Ecclesiastes this Sunday), I'm sharing the essay that I wrote in 2012 to explain the connection between these …
Continue reading Depressing Joy: a thousand year search for meaning
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given …
Continue reading Beware of Anything Beyond Scripture | Ecclesiastes 12:9-12
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart …
Continue reading Rejoice, Remove, Remember! | Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 11:1 | Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:4 | He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. OPENING THOUGHT No other book, inside or outside the Bible, is …
Continue reading The Vanity of Knowledge Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 10:1 | Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. Ecclesiastes 10:3 | Even when a fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. OPENING THOUGHT At its …
Continue reading The Vanity of Folly Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 10
I read from Stephen Nichols (in Heaven on Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edwards's Vision of Living in Between) that Jonathan Edwards was voted out of his church after moving the church to closed communion. The change backfired in part because Edwards failed to cultivate deep friendships within his congregation that would support him through such a …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 9:1 | But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. Ecclesiastes 9:7 | Go, eat your bread …
Continue reading The Vanity of Death Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 9
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 8:2 | I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. Ecclesiastes 8:12 | Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. (ESV) …
Continue reading The Vanity of Injustice Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 8
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 7:29 | See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. OPENING THOUGHT To many the book of Ecclesiastes appears to be quite depressing. Of course, the book’s repeated proclamation of everything being vanity does little to disprove such interpretations. …
Continue reading The Vanity of Understanding Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 7:25-29
B. C. Newton 