Better Ain’t Best
Wisdom is limited and can’t give you real meaning
Wisdom is vulnerable and can be ruined by a little folly
Wisdom is risky and doesn’t guarantee everything goes well
Wisdom is restricted and won’t stop fools from being fools
Living in the Light of Death
We avoid the one certainty of life
We cling to the uncertainties around us
There’s a good life waiting in between
Reconciling the Wisdom Gap
The gap with civil obedience
The gap with justice and retribution
The gap with experiencing God
Piecing Together the Paradox
Righteousness and wickedness don’t make the pieces fit
Human nature and reasoning won’t make the pieces fit
Jesus alone can pick up the paradox pieces
Leaning in to Life’s Limitations
Limitations of life give us depth
Limitations of escapes gives us wisdom
Limitations of wisdom gives us mystery
It’s Never Enough
• Wealth slips away (5:8-17)
• Life is a gift for the living (5:18-20)
• Wealth won’t fulfill your life (6:1-12)
• The giver of life gave his life to make you rich (2 Corinthians 8:9)
The Conclusion:
• Life is a gift, not gain. Jesus is the gift and the gain.
Silence is Golden
Worship life that pleases God is…
Less talking and more listening
Less promising and more obeying.
Alone in the Crowd
Times of trouble become unbearable
Accomplishments become rivalry
Sacrifice becomes waste
Friendship becomes vacant
Influence becomes vapor
O Say What You See
We see obvious injustice
We say what we believe about it
Limited seeing results in limited believing
Seeing further recalibrates our belief
What Time Is It?
We must reckon with this foundational reality
Our own efforts lead to frustration and frivolity
Freedom comes when we’re found by Jesus
Bubbles! Bubbles! My Bubbles!
Bubble #1: Getting all the smarts (1:12-18)
Bubble #2: Indulging in all the pleasures (2:1-11)
Bubble #3: A future with all the legacies (2:12-19)
Bubble #4: Having all the feels (but really just one) (2:20-23)
Bottom Line: Pleasing God is the way to wisdom and joy (2:24-26)
No Gain, No Gain
Humanity shares a haunting question
Satisfaction by achievement is a delusion
Significance by novelty is a delusion
Is This Even the Bible?
We need the most “non-Christiany” book of the bible
Our real life happens in the mist
We see ourselves in the Teacher
There is a deeper faith-life God wants for us
Two realities of God's Plan
1) Our time of exile cannot be abbreviated
2) Our glorious restoration cannot be delayed
Three non-negotiables
1) Seek Jesus with all your heart (12-13)
2) Give primacy to God’s word (8-9)
3) Just live (5-7)
Jesus Arrived to Be WITH Us
To save us from our sin
To secure us in right relationship with God
As a sign we never asked for
As fulfillment of his relentless pursuit
Awaiting our cheerful surrender
Jesus Arrived AS Us
His arrival as us was an eternal plan
His arrival is rooted in our human timeline
His arrival is undeterred by our sin and scandal
His arrival reveals the bigger story of redemption
His sharing our humanity is permanent
His dwelling among us was temporary
Jesus Arrived TO Us
The one to arrive to us is God himself (John 1:1-9)
God’s arrival to us is a pattern of grace (Genesis 3, 6, 12)
God’s arrival to us is final and ongoing in Jesus (Luke 1:26-33)
Inseparable
God has covered the timeline to make us inseparable with him through faith in Jesus Christ.
Past: God gave his Son in our place
Future: God will give us future glory
Today: God is giving us ongoing life
Incontestable Certainty
God’s love is beautifully specific
God’s love has proven strength
So we can worship and live in certainty