Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Moving forward - NEXT season of life for our church.

Personal - I started attending church while working seasonally at FC in 2002.

When I moved to Grapeland in 2003, I knew this was the local body of Christ that the Lord wanted me to join.

I have been very blessed to grow up under 2 very gifted and skilled Bible teachers in David Bradley and Todd Nivens.

What’s next?

WHO’s next - ?

PRAYER - We need to be praying.

We need to continue to labor earnestly in prayer for both Search Committee and the next Overseer/Shepherd/Pastor.

I can confidently tell you that it is the Lord’s will for the local bodies to have an Overseer - .

Consistency - We are in not sitting idle.

One of the main fuels of the church is the Preaching of the Word of God.

The Pastor Search Committee will first look to find an Interim Pastor, and then move on to find the next Senior Pastor.

In the meantime, we are going to do our best to have consistent Preachers when able.

I’m going to take the first leg of this and preach for a month or so on Sunday mornings.

Sunday evenings are going to be a continuation of the Sunday evening programming from this summer, but with a few changes.

We’ll talk more about that tonight.

I’m very excited about Sunday evenings and I hope to see you tonight.

Wednesdays will be like they have been for the past many fall seasons - Bible Study and Prayer Time in the Fellowship Hall and Hans will be leading a Bible study on the Doctrine of Salvation in the Seekers Class room - both will be from 7-8pm.

When it was decided that I’d take the first shift of preaching duties, I started praying and thinking about what book of the Bible to preach/teach through.

About a year ago, Todd was having some pretty serious health issues, and needed a Pinch Hitter a few Sundays.

Not knowing how many I’d need to cover, I started preaching through Philippians.

After a couple of weeks, he was ready to roll and that was the end of my time in Philippians.

So, I thought - man, this would be a great time to finish where I left off…so…if you would open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 1....just kidding.

Seriously, though, in praying about it - one of my favorite books kept coming to mind.

I’d push it to the side and keep praying about another.

But this book just kept coming back.

It is one of my favorites simply b/c it doesn’t shy away from telling it like it is.

I try to read through the Bible at least once a year.

I like to study and read through Song of Solomon at least twice a year, so that I can be reminded of how the Lord wants me to treat the most important relationship He’s given me here on earth.

I try to spend regular time in Psalms and Proverbs so I can try to understand God’s heart and also how He wants me to live.

And lastly, I absolutely love the book of Ecclesiastes.

It is some of the GLUE of Scripture that helps with day to day living for the Lord.

Recruiting people to Teen Missions - tell them about the Lord’s Boot Camp! KEEP IT SHORT

Stop and PRAY

James 4

Ecclesiastes

It asks and answers this question - What’s Going On Here?

What is the point of life?

It is some of the GLUE of Scripture that helps with day to day living for the Lord.

We are going to see Solomon pose a thesis/thought, a question with an initial answer.

Then he’s going to walk us through his process of discovering that answer.

Authorship is attributed to King Solomon.

In , the Lord grants him wisdom, riches, and honor.

And, if he will live obediently to the Lord, he will also be granted a long life.

We are going to see Solomon pose a thesis/thought, a question with an initial answer.

Then he’s going to walk us through his process of discovering that answer.

The Question

- Question: What’s the point of life?

Question: What’s the point of life?

Solomon poses a thesis, a question and answer, that everyone considers at some time in life.

- Solomon poses a thesis, a question and answer, that everyone considers at some time in life.

- Vanity - means emptiness, transitory, unsatisfactory - profitless.

- Advantage - profit, benefit, gain - the Message “What is there to show for a lifetime of work?”

Q: What’s the point of life on earth?

A: There is no benefit, no profit, no gain - there is no point to life on earth.

A: There is no benefit, no profit, no gain - there is no point to life on earth.

- Time Waits for No Man

Having Kids and Getting Advice: 2 main things repeated so far.

1. Get ready for the teenage years...

2. Pay attention to EVERYTHING because it goes SO FAST!!!

Life goes and goes and goes.

The sun rises and sets and keeps going.

The wind blows and blows and keeps going.

The water flows to the sea, evaporates, rains, and keeps going.

Man can’t stop to catch his breath and try to get a handle on life.

It’s like being stuck on a treadmill that you can’t stop.

- Answer: All things are wearisome.

Trying to figure out the point of life is wearisome, exhausting, tiring.

No one has figured it out yet, and no one will.

What anyone might try now has already been done, and it didn’t work.

But yet, we will still try.

Those after us won’t pay attention either, and they’ll try to figure it out for themselves, too.

The Experiment

Solomon is going to layout his attempt to find the answer.

If anyone in history would be able to find the meaning of life on earth, it would be him.

Solomon is going to try 3 things: WISDOM/KNOWLEDGE, PLEASURE/FUN, WORK/REWARD.

- Solomon tries WISDOM

- Grievous: of small worth, distressful, EVIL ( - The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil).

Solomon first chooses to explore knowledge, history, philosophy, and the deeper things of life.

His conclusion: “God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.”

(, NET)

Conclusion: In much wisdom there is much grief - why? Wisdom and knowledge can lead us to understanding that there is a problem with man on earth.

BUT man on his own CANNOT DISCOVER THE SOLUTION!

Rearranging the furniture - in my office.

Discovering a problem is one thing, but when you grasp that not only do you not know the solution, but you never will be able to know it, you end up where Solomon does in .

- Solomon tries PLEASURE

Solomon now turns to pleasure, happiness, gladness, and delight.

He explores laughter, wine, and foolish behavior.

Conclusion: This doesn’t work either - pleasure if fleeting.

Post-summer fun: Wakeboarding and Mexican Food.

Really enjoyed both.

- Solomon tries WORKS

When knowledge and self-indulgent pleasure don’t work, Solomon turns to hard work to find satisfaction.

Conclusion: Solomon did a lot of work for himself.

But in , he tells us that although it was pleasing for a moment, it didn’t fully satisfy.

Thus, we see how Solomon arrived at his initial answer in , - There is NO PROFIT for man in all his labor under the sun.

The Results

Solomon now analyzes the results of his experiment.

- Lessons Learned