Religion is Vanity

Introduction

Well, good morning! If you have a Bible and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 5…we’re gonna come back to chapter 4 when we talk about the idea of money next week.

But, if you’re there with me, in Ecclesiastes chapter 5, let’s stand together as we read God’s Word. It says this, starting in verse 1:

Ecclesiastes 5:1–7 ESV

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, we’ve been on a journey through the book of Ecclesiastes, right?…Its been a book that really confronts the illusions we tend to build our lives on.

So far, we’ve walked with the Preacher…King Solomon…we’ve walked through this book with him as he’s peeled back the layers of the human experience…and listen, we’ve seen him expose what so many of us try to ignore: that much of what we chase after, in this life, its all hebel (hevel)…its vanity, its all a vapor…a breath that slips through our fingers.

Again Ecclesiastes 1:2

Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

If you remember, in chapters 1 through 3, we wrestled with the illusion of control…how time, it just marches forward, indifferent to our striving. We saw the emptiness to things like wisdom, and pleasure, work…even the legacy we leave behind…we see the emptiness in that stuff when its pursued under the sun apart from God.

We asked the question: What happens when the American Dream comes true?…What happens when it comes true and yet it still doesn’t satisfy you?

And then, last week, in chapters 3, 4, and 5, Solomon opened our eyes to injustice and oppression…to the tears of the oppressed. He said, “There was no one there to comfort them.” We saw how power, how it can just crush the weak…He opened our eyes to the idea that something is deeply broken, not just in the world…but in us.

We saw the vanity of politics and other manmade systems…it was a warning to us that rulers and systems of justice, those things are often driven, not by righteousness, but by greed.

Whether it’s corruption at the top or injustice at the bottom, the Preacher said, “Don’t be amazed!…Don’t be surprised! Understand sin…understand that we live in a fallen world.”

And so, Ecclesiastes, its already deconstructed a lot of what modern society thinks, right? Especially as Americans…we tend to put our hope in things like time and productivity…in success…our systems.

But listen, as we move into chapter 5 this morning, Solomon turns his attention to something far more unsettling…not our culture…not the marketplace…not the government. He turns his attention to the place of worship…to the house of God. And listen, he asks this question:

What if even your religion…your worship, your prayers, your promises…what if those things are just vanity? What if it’s possible to be busy with spiritual things and yet still offend the very God you claim to honor? What if your worship…what if your religion, what if all of it, was vanity? What if it means nothing in the end?

Solomon, in our passage this morning, he gives three warnings about our worship…he challenges how we approach God…he challenges how we speak to God…he challenges how we commit ourselves to God. And listen, just like we’ve seen every week up to this point…he concludes with the same exact thing he does with everything else…Fear God!

And so, as we dig into this passage, we need to ask, not just “Do I go to church?” But…“Am I worshipping with awe? Not just out of routine.”…“Am I praying from a place of humility and reverence? Not just making religious noise?”…“Am I making promises to God I intend to keep? Or are my commitments vanity…a puff of smoke?”

And so, if you’re taking notes this morning…our three points as we walk through this passage together…number 1, True worship takes the right approach…number 2, it takes the right words…and then finally, number 3, it takes the right commitment.

And so, if you’re there with me, let’s dig into this first point together.

I. Right Approach (v. 1)

True worship, it takes the right approach.

Solomon, again, he shifts from examining the vanity of money and injustice, oppression (chapters 3 and 4) to a far more sacred space: the house of God.

And the warning couldn’t be more urgent.

He’s telling us: Don’t just worry about the brokenness “out there.”

You can escape corrupt systems. You can reject consumerism. But what happens when the emptiness is inside your religion?

What if your worship’s hollow? What if your sacrifices are foolish? What if your Sunday mornings are actually offensive to the God you claim to love?

Solomon isn’t critiquing atheists or pagans here—he’s confronting worshipers of the one true God. People like you and me, who come to the house of God with their mouths full but their hearts half-awake.

Look at verse 1 with me again. It says this:

Ecclesiastes 5:1 ESV

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

That phrase—“Guard your steps”— it’s actually a Hebrew idiom. It doesn’t mean “watch where you’re walking.” It means watch your heart as you approach God. It draws from Old Testament imagery of approaching holy ground.

Think about Exodus 3:5, when God says to Moses:

“Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Solomon’s echoing this same idea here…He pulls directly from Deuteronomy 23, verses 9 through 14, where God commanded Israel to stay ritually clean…even in warfare…they were to remain morally alert.

Again, even in battle, the Israelites, they were to prepare carefully before entering God’s presence. There was no such thing as casual worship.

And so when Solomon says, “Guard your steps,” he’s not talking about physical movement, he’s calling for a deliberate, humble, reverent approach to the Lord. Not performance. Not routine. Not assumption—We’re to come fully aware of who He is, and who we’re not. Worship, its not about showing up, its about showing reverence.

And here’s the terrifying part of verse 1:

“The sacrifice of fools…they don’t know they’re doing evil.”

The fools, in this passage, they show up…they bring their offerings…they sing the songs. “They don’t know that they’re doing evil.” That’s the most terrifying kind of sin, right?—the sin you don’t even know you’re committing.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said:

“There’s nothing more awful than to deceive yourself about your relationship to God. And it’s the easiest thing in the world to do.”

We need to be honest: Modern Christianity, especially in America, it’s trained us to approach God informally. “Come as you are. Be yourself. God’s your friend. No rules. No rituals. No reverence.”

But listen, while the gospel invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace, through Christ (Heb. 4:16), that boldness, it should never be confused with casualness.

Hebrews 12:28–29 reminds us:

“Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

But here’s the thing—we often care more about how worship feels to us rather than if it’s pleasing to God.

We choose churches like we choose our coffee shops: Do I like the music? Is the pastor engaging? Is he relatable? Funny? Do they have good programs for my kids? Do I feel comfortable here?

We want our worship to be on our terms…to our liking.

Guys, preference and comfort, thats not the goal of worship. Holiness is.

Church can’t be just some weekly activity that our family squeezes in between all the errands and sports and jobs. It shouldn’t be about routine or convenience…it shouldn’t be about what makes us feel good.

If we’ve turned worship into a performance, or a product, a therapy session—then we’re offering the sacrifice of fools. It may look spiritual on the outside. But God sees the heart…And guys, Solomon doesn’t sugarcoat it here…he says that kind of stuff, its evil!

And secondarily, worship, its not about what we think. You can’t just choose to worship the way you want. That’s not worship at all. God’s prescribed in His Word, exactly how we’re to worship.

John Calvin wrote:

“God’s not a passive spectator of worship; He’s the judge of it.”

That should shake us. It should humble us. Again, worship isn’t about how it makes us feel—it’s about whether or not its pleased God.

A.W. Tozer famously said:

“Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.”

Guys, we’ve replaced the fear of God with the fear of boredom. We want experiences without obedience. We want emotion without reverence. But Solomon says this isn’t just misguided—it’s evil. God’s not flattered by songs sung from hearts that are far from Him (cf. Isaiah 29:13).

And notice the contrast Solomon makes here:

“To draw near to listen is better…”

That’s surprising, isn’t it? In a world of religious action, Solomon values stillness. He says: Don’t just come to talk. Come to listen.

Why? Because true worship begins with humble submission to the Word of God.

Think about Mary at Jesus’ feet in Luke chapter 10. While Martha rushed around serving, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. And what did Jesus say? “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (v. 42) Mary’s action’s, it wasn’t vanity. Martha’s was!

Worship, its not about how much we do. It’s about how much we surrender.

Sinclair Ferguson said this:

“The essence of true worship is not performance, but surrender.”

Which doesn't mean worship is joyless. Far from it. Reverence is not fear that drives us away—it's fear that draws us in carefully, and gratefully, worshipfully.

Reverence grows in the soil of grace.

When you truly understand that God invites you near, not because you’re good, but because Jesus died in your place, then you stop rushing in. You take your shoes off. You start to listen.

The gospel doesn’t make God less holy—it just makes grace more amazing.

If we really believe that Jesus paid the price for our sin to bring us near to Him (1 Peter 3:18), then we should never treat that access to God as cheap.

Let me ask you, honestly:

Did you come this morning to listen?—or to just get through another service? To check off your box?

Are you alert to the presence of God, this morning?—or are you distracted by your preferences?…what you prefer.

Are you approaching worship with reverence?—or are you doing it this morning because its just what you do?…its your routine.

Listen guys, you may be doing all the right things—singing, and giving, serving—but if your heart is far from God, it’s all vanity.

Don’t mistake activity for intimacy, don’t mistake your attendance for reverence.

And listen, this isn’t a call to shame you. It’s a call to slow down, to listen…to return to the wonder of the gospel.

Jesus invites us into worship that’s real, worship that listens, worship that’s fueled by awe at the mercy of God.

So guard your steps. Draw near to listen.

Not to impress, not to perform, not to consume—but to tremble, to receive the gracious gifts of God. Don’t be like fools…hear the Word of God…respond with trust and obedience.

1 Samuel 15:22 CSB

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention (or to listen) is better than the fat of rams.

You don’t come to worship for you. You come to listen. The heart of worship, its submission to God’s voice.

You can come to every worship service… you can raise your hands high…But if you’re not listening to and if you’re not obeying God’s Word—you don’t have a “worship style” problem. You have a “worship heart” problem.

The Bible speaks into every part of our life—our time, our money, our family, our bodies, our relationships. You don’t get to edit it.

But many of us do exactly what Solomon warns against. We don’t come to listen—we come to filter. We put on our noise canceling headphones. We accept what we like. We dismiss what challenges us.

“That’s not really what that verse means.” “My situation’s different.” “I don’t interpret it that way.”

That’s the sacrifice of fools.

Remember last week? We’re limited. We’re not wise in ourselves. We’re like beasts without God’s Word. And anything we think apart from Him—it’s all vanity.

So come to worship with the right approach: Prepared. Humbled. In awe. Ready to listen. Ready to submit.

Because you’re not stepping into a show. You’re standing on holy ground, in the presence of a holy God.

Guard your steps…and approach God as He deserves…as He commands!

II. Right Words (vv. 2-3)

Point number 2…True worship, it takes the right words.

Ecclesiastes 5:2–3 ESV

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

Here’s the point Solomon’s making: religious words, they don’t impress God. Just like foolish sacrifices are vanity, foolish words are vanity as well.

He’s not just talking about empty promises (we’ll talk about that in the next point), he’s talking about the danger of religious speech. Rash prayers. Mindless singing. Christian clichés. Solomon’s warning us that we can offend God not just with what we do…but with what we say.

And here’s the really scary part of this…we often do this in the name of worship.

Solomon says, “Don’t be rash with your mouth.” It’s a command, a command to watch what we say in God’s presence. Its not that we shouldn’t pray or speak or sing…he’s saying, our words they have to reflect the weight of who we’re speaking to…who we’re speaking about.

“For God is in heaven and you are on earth.”

That’s the reason. That’s the theology behind Solomon’s command here. God’s holy…He’s transcendent, sovereign. You’re not! You’re the creature. He’s the Creator. When we forget that, when our prayers become careless or thoughtless…when it becomes irreverent, our worship becomes casual…we drift into religious vanity because we’ve lost the wonder of the gospel.

David Gibson, in his book, Living Life Backward, he says, “Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is a way to be religiously busy and yet spiritually barren. We can be doing all the right things with all the wrong assumptions…God’s not interested in us talking at Him. He wants us to fear Him.”

And listen, he’s right. We can be knee-deep in religious activity…singing loudly, praying passionately…and yet completely miss God. Because in our hearts, we’re not in awe…we’re just making noise.

And so, let’s just talk about things that we say in a worship service.

Singing for example…is it possible to sing the right songs with the wrong heart? Absolutely!

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Jesus actually quotes this same verse in Matthew 15 when He’s rebuking the Pharisees. And listen, it still applies to us today. You can have perfect pitch…you can memorize every lyric…you can raise your hands to the bridge because it makes you feel good…you can do all those things and yet your worship might still be empty.

You can sing “I Surrender All” and yet surrender nothing. You can sing “I Exalt Thee” and only exalt yourself.

Guys, we should tremble at the idea that we might be singing songs of worship to a God we’re not actually obeying…Because if you’re not walking in submission to God’s Word…you’re not worshiping…you’re just performing (for God and for everyone else around you).

Solomon says we shouldn’t be hasty with our words, right? We should really be prepared before we utter anything as an offering to the Lord.

Are our hearts right? Are we submissive to the Lord? Are we submissive to each other?

What about prayer?

Solomon says, “Let your words be few.”

Listen, he’s not condemning long prayers as much as he is thoughtless prayer. Prayer that’s full of religious filler. Hasty prayers. Prayers that are more about you rather than God. That’s what he’s talking about here.

Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:7:

Matthew 6:7 ESV

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Listen, you ever hear someone pray like they’re giving God a speech? Like God somehow needs the context or a preamble? Or better yet…like they’re trying to impress the people that’s listening?

Sometimes, we think the power of prayer, its in our words. We forget, the power of prayer…its in our God! We don’t need religious language…we just need real reverence!

Listen, I’ll never forget. Years ago, my home church, we sent a team into some pretty rough areas of Atlanta, GA. We were going around, knocking on doors, evangelizing, praying for people…I’ll never forget this one lady. See looked at me and she said, “You look like a man that can pray! Would you pray for me? Pray with power!”

I thought, “Sure!” And so, she wanted to pray first…and then I’d pray after her. Guys, she prayed…it was loud…it was a lot words…maybe some religious movement I didn’t know was a thing…I mean it felt like we were at a Pentecostal worship service.

And so, she finished and I started…And as I prayed, she looked at me…I could see the look of disappointment in her face because she thought powerful prayer only came with powerful performance, powerful words, a powerful tone. My prayer disappointed her because she put the weight of a powerful prayer on human effort…forgetting that what makes prayer powerful, its a powerful God we serve, not powerful people.

We don’t need religious language or performance to make prayer powerful…we just need a real reverence in the God we’re praying to.

But listen, prayer…its also not about us, about what we want or need. Prayer’s about the God we serve. It’s about His will, what He hopes to accomplish through us.

That’s why Jesus, when He gives His disciples a model concerning prayer. He says:

Matthew 6:9–10 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

David Gibson, he writes, “We speak too much and we listen too little. And it reveals what we really think of God…When we don’t fear God, we talk too much and think too little.”

If your prayers are all about you, your will, your needs, your plans—if there’s no sense of humility, no sense of surrender—then again you're not worshiping. You're vending. And God’s not a vending machine.

How else do we use words in worship?

What about the way we talk to each other, counsel each other? Isn’t our worship also meant to edify our brothers and sisters?…That’s where our encouragement comes from, right?

Sometimes the most reckless words we use are the ones we say about God. We give advice that God never gave. We offer promises God never made. We say, “God told me…” when He didn’t. We twist Scripture to excuse our sin or justify our opinions.

And Solomon says that’s the voice of a fool.

“A fool’s voice with many words…empty words”

The more religious noise we make apart from real surrender to God and His Word, the more danger we’re in, the more danger we put others in. That’s why preaching and teaching are such heavy burdens.

Charles Spurgeon said: “Some people would be the better for having their mouths padlocked.”

That’s a hard truth, right? Sometimes the most spiritually mature thing you can do is just be quiet. Sit under the Word. Let God speak. Let your words be few.

Listen, we’ve had people give advice to couples in this church, that are struggling…, “Just get a divorce! There’s no reason to feel the pain you’re feeling…to walk through the things you’re walking through. God wouldn’t want that for you!”

Guys, that’s not worship…that’s just religious language used to mask rebellion. It’s vanity. It’s the sacrifice of fools. It’s rash words before God…because you don’t understand His Word.

We’ve had people tell others, people who skip out on church because of someone else making them mad or saying something that hurt ‘em, something that they disagreed with, “You don’t need church…you just need Jesus!”

Or people that become bitter in the church, they say, “I’m just gonna pull away…I’m gonna stop serving because I just need some healthy boundaries…I need to focus on me and what’s best for me.”

Again, that’s religious language used to mask rebellion. It’s vanity…Again, the sacrifice of fools. And the only thing it proves, its that you actually don’t know God’s Word and you certainly don’t obey it.

God doesn’t care how spiritual or religious your words might sound if they’re not backed by a heart of fear and reverence.

And listen, again…I’m not trying to shame you. We’re literally just walking through the book of Ecclesiastes. I didn’t come up with the message this morning. We have to let this passage correct us as we approach the Lord…we have to stop talking long enough to listen. We have to slow down…choose our words carefully.

Solomon says, “Therefore, let your words be few.”

You don’t need to impress God with your spiritual vocabulary. You just need to honor Him with a surrendered heart.

Let your prayers be honest…humble…let ‘em praise God, seek His will.

Let your singing be reverent. Let it be worthy of the gospel message.

Let your speech be restrained…really concerned not with what you think, but ultimately what God’s laid out in His Word.

He ends with, “For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.”

It’s a metaphor…just as restless sleep produces confusing dreams, an overactive religious life without wisdom, produces babble.

Religion without reverence for God, its vanity. God’s not flattered by noise…He’s honored by awe.

III. Right Commitments (vv. 4-6)

Point number 3…true worship takes the right commitment.

Look at verses 4 and 5 with me again. These are the verses that really press deep into the hypocrisy of religion that talks big but obeys small.

Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 ESV

When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

Listen, this is a warning to anyone who treats worship as a stage. Anyone who says spiritual things, or makes promises in emotional moments…people who do those things but never intend to follow through…Solomon says, “God has no pleasure in fools.”

Let that sink in for just a moment. God’s not impressed by religious performance. He doesn’t delight in spiritual performance. Empty commitments, they’re not neutral…they’re offensive. Again, the word Solomon uses here is “fool.” And remember what we’ve seen in Ecclesiastes so far…fools, they’re not unintelligent…they’re just irreverent. They treat God lightly.

David Gibson, he wrote, “It’s possible to be deeply involved in religious life, making vows and offering prayers, and yet be totally disconnected from God Himself. Worship can be busy. Worship can be loud. Worship can even be emotional—and still be vanity.”

And listen, Solomon, he says something here that’s really sobering, “It’s better that you never vow at all.” In other words, silence is more pleasing than insincerity. He’s not telling us never to commit anything to God…he’s warning us to take our commitments seriously. He’s warning us from performative religion.

I mean think about it, how many of us have made promises to God in moments of desperation?

“God, if you get me through this, I’ll change,” right? Or, “If you heal this relationship, I’ll follow you more closely!” What about this? “If you bless this situation, I’ll serve more or I’ll give more!”

We’ll make those promises and then we’ll walk away, unchanged. Unmoved. We meant in the moment…just not enough to reorder our lives. Solomon says, “Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?” (v. 6)

That’s sounds pretty intense. But it’s meant to wake us up. Because the God we worship, again He’s not a vending machine we negotiate with. He’s not a consultant. He’s not a coach. He’s the holy God of the universe, and He takes our words very seriously…especially when they’re aimed at Him.

God takes false worship personally, and He acts in judgement.

R.C. Sproul said, “We are secure in Christ, not because God has overlooked His holiness, but because His justice has been fully satisfied in Jesus. But that doesn’t make God less holy—it makes grace more profound.”

So don’t play games with God. Don’t say you’ll serve or give, that you’ll forgive or repent—don’t say that unless you mean it. Because God doesn’t need your promises. He wants your obedience. He wants your heart.

And listen, this is important…don’t mishear Solomon…we’re not saved by our commitment. We’re saved by Christ’s commitment. We don’t vow our way into the kingdom. We’re welcomed because of His mercy. But hear this: real grace produces real surrender.

As John Owen put it: “We have communion with God not because of our promises to Him, but because of His promises to us in Christ. But that communion always leads to holiness.”

A gospel-changed heart isn’t afraid of commitment—it longs for it. Not as a way to earn God’s love, but as a response to having already received it.

But here’s what’s happening in the church today.

We live in a culture that avoids commitment at all costs:

Church members consume but they rarely serve outside of Sunday mornings.

We attend small groups, but we’ll never share what’s really going on…we never get past surface level relationships.

We sign up for ministries, but we’ll back out at the last minute.

We say we’ll pray for people—and then we never do.

We promise to forgive—and then we hold grudges instead.

We claim Jesus as Lord—and then we live like our schedule is God instead.

We’ve created a version of Christianity that costs us nothing—and then we sit back and wonder why it feels so empty.

Jesus told a parable about this in Matthew 21: A father tells two sons to go to work in the vineyard. One says, “I won’t,” but then he later obeys. The other says, “I’ll go” and then never does. Jesus asks, “Which one did the will of his father?”

The one who did the work—not the one who talked about it.

Closing

Let me close with verse 7:

Ecclesiastes 5:7 ESV

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Dreams. Words. Emotion. Promises. All of it, Solomon says—vanity, apart from the fear of God. Worship that doesn’t tremble…isn’t worship. Commitments that aren’t backed by obedience…they’re empty noise.

So what’s the takeaway?

This isn’t a call to do more or try harder. It’s is a call to stop pretending. To stop using worship as a way to polish your image. To stop making promises to God you have no intention of keeping.

Instead, start with fear. Start with awe. Start with repentance and surrender.

God doesn’t need your performance. But He does deserve your reverence. He invites you—not into a religion of appearances—but into a life-altering relationship where your words are few, your heart is full, your obedience is real.

As Jonathan Edwards said: “True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.”

You know what the holiest affection is? Fear of the Lord. That’s not fear that drives you away—but fear that draws you in to worship Him rightly.

So don’t just come to church.

Don’t just sing the songs. Don’t just say the prayers. Submit your life. Mean your words. Fear your God.

Because religion is vanity—unless it’s rooted in God Himself.

I’ll end with this old hymn:

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Would you bow your head and close your eyes?

So let me ask you…are you here this morning, truly worshiping?

Or listen, are you here just performing?

Are your songs, your prayers, your commitments…are they real?…Or guys, are they just religious vapor?—a mist that looks impressive but fades the moment you walk out the door?

Solomon’s warning us: Religion without reverence is vanity. Worship without obedience is empty. But God, in His mercy, He’s not calling you to try harder—He’s calling you to come closer. To draw near with listening ears, a humbled heart, a surrendered will.

Let the Spirit search your heart this morning: Return to the wonder of the gospel.

But listen, if you’re here and you’re not a believer…Maybe church, its always been a ritual to you. Maybe religion has always felt hollow—like it’s just going through the motions.

Solomon would agree with you. Without God, it’s hollow. It’s vanity. But the good news is this: the God you've ignored, the God you've maybe sung to but never surrendered to—He’s made a way for you to come near.

Jesus came—not to give you religion—but to bring you to God. He lived the life you couldn’t live, He died the death you deserved, and He rose again so that you could be forgiven, cleansed…brought into a real relationship with the God who made you.

So stop performing. Stop pretending. Repent. Believe in Christ. Worship—not with empty words, but with a heart made new.

Because at the end of the day, everything—your efforts, your promises, your religion—it’s all vanity… Unless it’s rooted in the fear of God and redeemed by the grace of Christ.

So come to Him today—with reverence, with honesty, with faith. Pauls says in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 ESV

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

And so listen, do that this morning.

Our praise team’s gonna come…they’re gonna lead us in worship. What do you need to lay at the feet of Jesus this morning?…What do you need to confess? Would you do that?

You take this time and I’ll close us in just a moment.

[Prayer]