Time and Toil: Freedom in the Fog | Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 | Sam Jones

Considering God's Work | Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 | Sam Jones

Ecclesiastes 7:1–14 Considering God's Work Ecclesiastes 7 teaches us how to live in the fog by considering the work of God, seeing the end, sitting in sorrow, and receiving both prosperous and painful days from the Father's hand in the light of the Son.This sermon opens with a familiar image of detours and rerouting, then shows that what feels crooked and frustrating in life is not outside of God’s hand. Solomon calls us not to grab the toolbox and try to straighten everything, but to stop and consider God's work. The big idea of the message is that when we live under the sun in the light of the Son, we see the end, sit in difficulty, and receive the now as God's work in both good and adverse days. The Movement of the Passage * Consider the end: Solomon says the house of mourning teaches us to live wisely because it helps us lay the end to heart. * Sit in the difficulty: Sorrow, rebuke, pressure, and honest grief become places where God does deep work in the soul. * Receive the now: Patience is better than pride, anger must not become home, and neither nostalgia nor future longing should replace trust in God's work today. * Consider God's sovereignty: We cannot make straight what God has made crooked, so wisdom learns to rejoice in prosperity and consider Him in adversity. The Cross Anchor The sermon does not leave Solomon’s words as a crushing list of things to perform. It turns to Jesus, who perfectly lived what Ecclesiastes describes by seeing the end, sitting in sorrow, receiving the day, and enduring the cross for the joy set before Him. * Jesus lived the wisdom we fail to live, walking faithfully through grief, correction, suffering, and obedience. * Jesus gives us His name, so we do not have to spend our lives managing our reputation or defending ourselves before God. * Jesus meets us in the crooked road, and Romans 8 reminds us that even the bent places of life are being woven for our good and conformity to Christ. Response The closing call of the sermon is simple: consider the work of God. When the day bends in ways we cannot fix, we are invited not to panic, resent, or force it straight, but to trust the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in the middle of the fog. The application question asks where the bend is in our lives this week, and whether we are trying to straighten it ourselves or learning to consider the work of God in it.

Seeing Clearly With Kingdom Clarity | Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 | Sam Jones

“Seeing Clearly with Kingdom Clarity” walks through Ecclesiastes 5:8–6:12 and shows how life “under the sun” is a vapor that only makes sense in the light of the Son—Jesus Christ. In a world of injustice, restless wealth, anxiety, and discontent, this message invites you to stop just reacting to the fog and instead receive your days, work, and resources as gifts from God’s hand as He keeps your heart “occupied with joy” through the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Transactional Worship Vs Listening Worship | Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 | Sam Jones

This sermon begins with a searching question: how do you view God? That question shapes how we worship, how we see ourselves, and how we respond when our own plans fall apart. In Ecclesiastes 5:1–7, Solomon warns that worship becomes distorted when we rush into God’s presence, full of words, vows, and self-made agendas, rather than coming humbly to listen. The central burden of the message is simple: treat God like a transaction, and worship goes crooked. What Ecclesiastes 5 Exposes * Guard your steps: God’s presence is not casual, and worship should be marked by reverence. * Listen before speaking: Solomon says drawing near to listen is better than offering the sacrifice of fools. * Beware of bargains: Vows can become attempts to manage God instead of trust Him. * Fear God: Many words, self-driven dreams, and religious performance only add to the vanity of life under the sun. From Transaction to Awe The sermon ultimately moves to the gospel. Our worship problem is a belief problem, and the answer is not better performance but the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. * Jesus welcomes us near so we no longer need to bargain for access to God. * Jesus has done what we could not do and opens the way for us to approach the throne of grace with confidence. * Jesus teaches us to listen so worship can come back into sync through awe, trust, and abiding in His presence. Response This message invites people to lay down transactional worship, bring their crumbled plans and anxious striving before God, and come with fewer words and more wonder. Instead of asking God to sign off on our story, we are called to listen for His heart, trust His grace, and build our lives on His holiness, love, and truth.

When Life Feels Meaningless… Who Is With You? | Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

Ecclesiastes 4 exposes the ache of life in a broken world—oppression, striving, loneliness, and fading recognition— while pointing to the gift of companionship and the greater hope found inJesus Christ.

When Justice Fails and Death Wins… What Now? | Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 | Derek Harm

When Justice Fails and Death Wins… What Now? | Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 | Derek Harm