Stigmattitude-h1

1.  We live in the information age.

2.  There are people at times who see life and even faith through some very dark glasses.

3.  In this state of mind we tend to make some bad observations and ask some bad questions.

Ø      Everything is meaningless - v. 2

Ø      What does man gain from all his labor - v. 3

Ø      I’m bored – v. 8

Ø      There’s nothing new. – v. 9b

Ø      Nothing is ever going to change – v. 9a

Ø      We’re gone and forgotten – v.11

4.  The net effect of a cynical pessimistic outlook is to render us powerless.  “15  What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.”  What does it truly mean to be powerless?

1.  We live in the information age.

2.  There are people at times who see life and even faith through some very dark glasses.

3.  In this state of mind we tend to make some bad observations and ask some bad questions.

Ø      Everything is meaningless - v. 2

Ø      What does man gain from all his labor - v. 3

Ø      I’m bored – v. 8

Ø      There’s nothing new. – v. 9b

Ø      Nothing is ever going to change – v. 9a

Ø      We’re gone and forgotten – v.11

4.  The net effect of a cynical pessimistic outlook is to render us powerless.  “15  What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.”  What does it truly mean to be powerless?

5.  Once we consciously or unconsciously, accept the notion that we cannot make a difference, we become people who no longer seek solutions to problems, merely the problems.

6.  This fatalistic attitude cripples many individuals and churches today.  We withdraw from society many times and cloister together not so much because we want to be pure as much as we are discouraged because we are ineffective.

7.  How do we adjust our vision in order to be redemptive agents in the world in which we live?

Ø      Life “under the sun” is not life as God originally created or intended it to be.  It is life infected by the consequences of a fallen nature.

Ø      Our knowledge of the injustices of life and the problems that plague this world are not meant to lead us to despair but to hope.

Ø      Our attitudes and our approach will be transformed as we see this world through the eyes of Christ.

5.  Once we consciously or unconsciously, accept the notion that we cannot make a difference, we become people who no longer seek solutions to problems, merely the problems..

6.  This fatalistic attitude cripples many individuals and churches today.  We withdraw from society many times and cloister together not so much because we want to be pure as much as we are discouraged because we are ineffective.

7.  How do we adjust our vision in order to be redemptive agents in the world in which we live?

Ø      Life “under the sun” is not life as God originally created or intended it to be.  It is life infected by the consequences of a fallen nature.

Ø      Our knowledge of the injustices of life and the problems that plague this world are not meant to lead us to despair but to hope.

Ø      Our attitudes and our approach will be transformed as we see this world through the eyes of Christ.