And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and …
Continue reading Guarding Against Sexual Immorality | Proverbs 5:7-23
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If …
Author Proverbs 1:1 presents Solomon as the primary author of the book, but there are other writers as well, such as Agur and Lemuel. Theme Proverbs aims to teach us biblical wisdom, which is the skill of understanding and navigating the broken, sin-filled world around us by conforming ourselves to God’s pattern for creation. Background …
In almost every book or sermon to be found on Ecclesiastes, the emphasis of these verses is placed upon how we worship God, and while worship does form the bulk of the discourse here, the point of this passage is more interested in why we worship than how we worship. The Preacher is diving at …
In chapter one, Ecclesiastes’ author, the Preacher (most likely Solomon), wrote us a poem about the vanity of everything under the sun. He observed the endless repetitions of the sun, wind, and seas and realized that we are same. Like the sea never fills, so our ears never hear enough. Like the sun continues to …
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 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 …
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
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
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
B. C. Newton 