FBCC - Second Serving

Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 It Is An Unhappy Business Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 records the conclusion of a king who had spent his life looking at what men do under heaven. The speaker says that he had been king over Israel in Jerusalem and that he had applied his heart to seek and search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven (Ecclesiastes 1:12–13). That matters because this was not a man speaking from the outside. He had access to things most people believe would give them an advantage. He had authority, wealth, learning, opportunity, and the ability to pursue the things people spend their lives chasing. If there was a shortcut to finding what was worth holding onto, he had more ability than most to find it. But his conclusion is not comforting. He calls life under heaven an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man. He says that all is vanity and striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 1:13–14). There Are Good Things, But Nothing Can Be Kept The Preacher is not saying that...

What Does Man Gain? Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 I have made a mistake choosing this book to work through and preach from. It is not pretty, nor nice, nor clean, nor easy. Ecclesiastes is a work of wisdom and the conclusions of research that will smash any worldview that runs counter to it. In that way, it is a good thing to do and fitting for us. The repeated warnings given to Israel in the wilderness and the Promised Land concerning idols were not to clean them up, manage them, or place them somewhere less visible. They were to smash them. Most idols in our age are not physical statues established with worship at a central location. They are ideological. They are ideas about what makes a life worth living. They are the things we believe will finally make us content, fulfilled, secure, respected, or remembered. They are the things that shape the efforts we make and the lives we live. Ecclesiastes begins undressing those false beliefs wherever they may lie. It does not leav...

3 John 11-15 Do Not Imitate Evil Introduction As we come to the end of John’s letters, we come to one final command from the Apostle John: “Do not imitate evil but imitate good” (3 John 11). This command is not disconnected from the rest of the letter. John has already encouraged Gaius because of his faithfulness. He has already warned him about the evil actions of Diotrephes. Now he places before him Demetrius as a faithful example to follow (3 John 5-12). This means John’s final command is both simple and serious. The people of God must know the difference between good and evil. They must refuse to imitate evil. They must imitate what is good. They must also consider the examples they allow to shape them, because the people we admire, excuse, and follow can influence the way we live. As John closes this short letter, he is not writing to be right for right’s sake. He is writing to preserve, build, and maintain fellowship among the body. He wants the church to remain faithful in ...