We Christians give a lot of time in our worship services to singing songs, don’t we? How many songs does your church sing each week? At Faith Church we typically sing four songs, which are a mixture of traditional hymns and modern praise songs. What are we doing when we sing those songs? It mightContinue reading “What’s really going on when you sing worship songs (and why it might be making God sad) – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 3”
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Are you praying the wrong way (especially during worship services)?- Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 2
Do you know how to pray? Have you ever thought about how God wants you to pray? What we are going to learn from the Teacher today is that there is a right way and a wrong way to pray, especially during worship services. In this week’s five-part series on Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, the central passageContinue reading “Are you praying the wrong way (especially during worship services)?- Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 2”
Should Christians practice rituals in worship? – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 1
How should we go to church? You might answer, “Isn’t it pretty obvious? You get in a car and you drive to the building, and you walk inside the building, and you sit down on a pew.” Maybe if you live nearby, you walk. You might take a bus. Maybe your church is in aContinue reading “Should Christians practice rituals in worship? – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 1”
How to have the right mindset during the difficult times of life – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 5
There was a period of consecutive months where eight people from Faith Church died, at least one per month. I listened to and counseled their eight grieving families, officiating each of the funerals. This weighed heavy on me, as I was thinking about death constantly. I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about death, andContinue reading “How to have the right mindset during the difficult times of life – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 5”
You can have joy in the midst of hard times – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 4
Do you ever struggle to find joy in life? I’m writing this in September 2020, and it feels difficult to have joy. We’ve been in a global pandemic, Covid-19, and nearing 200,000 deaths since March. Wildfires ravaged the west coast of the USA, while hurricanes flood the south. Partisan politics have made the presidential electionContinue reading “You can have joy in the midst of hard times – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 4”
Surfing, the Law of Undulation, and how to handle life’s extremes – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 3
I’ve never been surfing, but it looks really fun. Riding a wave must be thrilling. I imagine, though, that successful attempts only follow many failed ones. Ups and downs, like the waves. I suspect that surfing is a study in extremes, from the bliss of great ride, to the suffering of a rough crash. InContinue reading “Surfing, the Law of Undulation, and how to handle life’s extremes – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 3”
How our family pets taught us about the extremes in life – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 2
When she was about 7 years old, we got our daughter Meagan a floppy-eared rabbit named Bun Bun which we kept in a hutch outside on our side deck. Every day before school, Meg would go out there to peek on Bun Bun, say Hi, and see how her rabbit was doing. There really wasn’tContinue reading “How our family pets taught us about the extremes in life – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 2”
What song is the number one hit with the oldest lyrics in the history of the US Billboard charts? – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 1
How many of you have felt that life in 2020 is leaving you pulled in opposing directions? For example, we have the most advanced medical technology in history, and yet a global pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands. Or we could be considered the most relationally-connected society in history, especially considering internet and global communications,Continue reading “What song is the number one hit with the oldest lyrics in the history of the US Billboard charts? – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Part 1”
The answer to the meaning of life – Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, Part 5
At the beginning of this five-part blog series on Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, I showed you Ed Ames’ song, “Who Will Answer?”, a song that is really asking, who brings meaning to life? As we have seen all week long, while humanity tries to answer that question many way, it is only God who has the answer. Continue reading “The answer to the meaning of life – Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, Part 5”
The downfall of the Philanthropist – Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, Part 4
I recently listened to a podcast about Walt Disney (episode 204), and it was fascinating to hear the story of how he grew his company from a few cartoon drawings into what is today one of the top ten companies in the world. After Disney died, however, there was a massive court battled that ragedContinue reading “The downfall of the Philanthropist – Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, Part 4”
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