Sermon Central
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When Life Doesn�t Make Sense (Ecclesiastes)
Contributed by Pat Damiani on Jan 11, 2009 (message contributor)
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1. Life Is Like A Sandcastle
Contributed on Jan 11, 2009
2nd in a series from Ecclesiastes. Even though life "under the sun" is fleeting, we can still enjoy the journey.
Over the years, many of people have come up with metaphors to try and describe what life is like. Perhaps you are familiar with a few of these. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. • Forrest Gump Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether ...read more
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2. The Simple Gifts Of Life
Contributed on Feb 9, 2009
6th in a series from Ecclesiastes. when viewed from God’s perpsective, even the simple gifts in life can give us joy.
I can still remember when we had a birthday party for Pam. Mary and I had bought her a small plastic slide, which we just knew that she and all her friends were going to love. So imagine our surprise when after we had taken the slide out of the box, all the kids had more fun playing with the empty ...read more
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3. Responding To The Seasons Of Life
Contributed on Feb 16, 2009
7th in a series from Ecclesiastes. We can’t change the seasons of life - we can only choose how we respond to them.
It has been said that there are four seasons to a man’s life: • There is the time when he believes in Santa Claus. • There is the time when he no longer believes in Santa Claus. • There is the time when he is Santa Claus. • There is the time when he looks like Santa Claus. I also found a ...read more
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4. More Than Meets The Eye
Contributed on Feb 23, 2009
8th in a series from Ecclesiastes. We need to base what we think about God on His Word, not on what we observe in this world.
In 1984, James Ealy was convicted in the 1982 brutal murders of 33 year old Christine Parker, her two children and one grandchild. Two years later, the Illinois Appellate Court overturned the conviction - even as justices acknowledged Ealy almost certainly was guilty. They said police had arrested ...read more
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5. One Is The Loneliest Number
Contributed on Mar 10, 2009
9th in a series from Ecclesiastes. God created man to live in community with God and with others.
In April 1969, the group Three Dog Night had their first top ten hit with a song titled “One”. That song included these lyrics: One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do Two can be as bad as one It’s the loneliest number since the number one No is the saddest experience you’ll ever ...read more
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6. Being Wise In Our Worship
Contributed on Mar 16, 2009
10th in a series from Ecclesiastes. Wise worship of God is focused on him, not on us.
In the last couple of weeks, I have run across a couple of news articles that reflect some disturbing trends in worship here in the United States. Earlier this week, many of you may have seen some of the results from a study performed by The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in ...read more
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7. A Real Economic Stimulus Package
Contributed on Mar 25, 2009
11th in a series from Ecclesiastes. Real contentment comes from enjoying what God has already given to us.
Over the past six months or so as the economy has retreated into recession, we have seen one economic stimulus package after another. And although we all hope that the economy will recover, regardless of how we feel about the methods being used, the fact is that no one really knows for sure if any ...read more
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8. How To Satisfy Our Souls
Contributed on Apr 2, 2009
12th in a series from Ecclesiastes. Our souls can only be satisfied when we live life in community with God and others.
At age 45, Howard Hughes was one of the most glamorous men in America. He dated actresses, piloted exotic test aircraft, and worked on top-secret CIA contracts. He owned a string of hotels around the world, and even an airline—TWA—to carry him on global jaunts. Twenty years later, at age 65, Howard ...read more
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9. Life In The Real World
Contributed on Apr 20, 2009
13th in a series from Ecclesiastes. Life in the real world requires us to choose things which are better, even though they may not be perfect.
Although it has been around in some form for quite some time, it is only in this century that so called “reality TV” has become a staple of television programming both here in the United States and around the world. Because of the popularity of shows like “Survivor” and “American Idol” as well as ...read more
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10. Don't Try To Manipulate God – Fear Him
Contributed on Apr 27, 2009
14th in a series from Ecclesiastes. We cannot manipulate God into giving us what we want through our own righteousness and wisdom.
If you go to any store or website that sells books, you will find a number of books by one of the best-selling “Christian” authors of our time. Among some of the things that you will read in these books are the following quotations. Although some of you may be familiar with these books and/or the ...read more
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11. A Bilbical Response To Authority
Contributed on May 11, 2009
15th in a series from Ecclesiastes. How Christ followers respond to earthly authority reveals what they really believe about God’s sovereignty.
In a February 2005 sermon, Pastor David Fairchild of Kaleo Church in San Diego spoke these words: Since political parties and governmental structures and systems are made up of people, and people are sinners, there is no ultimate comfort or hope that should be placed in them. We shouldn’t place ...read more
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12. Live Like You Were Dying
Contributed on May 11, 2009
16th in a series from Ecclesiastes. The fact that we are going to die ought ot impact the way that we live.
Last Saturday, a 50-1 long shot named Mine That Bird won the 135th Kentucky Derby, surging all the way from last place to first on the final turn and the home stretch. This was an improbable victory for a horse that was purchased last year for only $9,500, a real bargain compared to the millions ...read more
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13. The Power Of One
Contributed on May 21, 2009
17th in a series from Ecclesiastes. One person can make a difference - either positive or negative - depending on what they do with the wisdom of God.
[“Power of One” video] That video illustrates very well the overall theme of the passage that we’re going to look at this morning. Since we’re only covering six verses this morning, let’s go ahead and read this passage out loud together: 13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it ...read more
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14. It's Easier To Make A Stink Than To Create Sweetness
Contributed on Jun 22, 2009
18th in a series from Ecclesiastes. It often only takes something small to ruin something great.
When we were in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, we watched as a couple of kids worked diligently to build a sand castle on the beach. They meticulously used their buckets and shovels to craft quite a castle, complete with sticks around the perimeter to protect it from intruders. Unfortunately for ...read more
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15. How To Live In The Face Of Uncertainty
Contributed on Jun 30, 2009
19th in a series from Ecclesiastes. How Christians are to respond to uncertainty in the world.
There was once an elderly gentleman who loved playing golf. But he was almost eighty, and his vision was not very good anymore. He always had partners with him when he went out to play so they could watch his ball and tell him where it went. One day his buddies did not show up. It was a beautiful ...read more
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16. A Few Life Lessons
Contributed on Jul 6, 2009
19th in a series from Ecclesiastes. A few life lessons for us to apply in the face of the certainty of death.
Over the past two weeks, it seems like we’ve been barraged with a multitude of celebrity deaths – Farrah Fawcett, Karl Malden, Billy Mays, and, of course, Michael Jackson. In a sense, I’m really tired of all the coverage that has been given to the deaths of these people, just because they are well ...read more
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17. Making "Little Christs"
Contributed on Jul 13, 2009
20th and final message from a series on Ecclesiastes. Like Jesus, Qoheleth was committed to making disicples.
When we began our journey through Ecclesiastes back on January 4, I introduced our study with a quote from the “Author’s Note” in the book Blue Like Jazz, written by Donald Miller: I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one ...read more