Brick Lane Community Church - Audio Sermons

8/9/26 Sunday Service from Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, PA.

Worship Leader: Matt Carter

Speaker: Dave Royes

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 8

Title: The Shining Face of the Wise

Notes

Main Point: Wisdom from God lets us persevere in God in difficult situations

1. Introduction

A. A musical illustration

B. Main point

2. Power is in the hand of God

A. Wisdom lets us submit

B. Wisdom lets us wait for the proper time

3. Injustice is in the court of God

A. God defines morality

B. God perceives the heart

C. God will bring judgment

4. Joy is in the grace of God

A. A guard against cynicism

B. Where do you find your joy?

5. Applications

#power #injustice #joy #God #wisdom

To connect with Brick Lane, visit our website at: https://www.brick52.org/

For more biblical teaching, you can also listen to audio sermons at: https://www.brick52.org/audio-sermons

8/2/26 Sunday Service from Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, PA.

Worship Leader: Dawson Estes

Speaker: Dave Royes

Title: Wisdom for Talkative Sinners

Text: Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

Outline:

"Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.

Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.” Eccl. 7:21-22

1. The Mechanics of the Human Heart

2. The Speech of Sinful Hearts

3. The Preoccupation of a Godly Heart

ESV: Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

NIV: Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city. Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

Notes:

1. Introduction

A. The illustration of an engagement ring

B. The context of chapter 7

C. Examine your heart

2. The mechanics of the human heart

A. We think with our hearts

B. We dwell in our hearts

3. The speech of sinful hearts

A. 'Negative' words tend to stick

B. It brings an opportunity to extend grace

4. The preoccupation of a godly heart

A. God's plot twist

B. When we eavesdrop on Jesus

5. Applications

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

--Matthew 5:11-12

#heart #unkindwords

To connect with Brick Lane, visit our website at: https://www.brick52.org/

For more biblical teaching, you can also listen to audio sermons at: https://www.brick52.org/audio-sermons

7/26/26 Sunday Service from Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, PA.

Worship Leader: Randy Hepler

Speaker: Matt Carter

Title: Making Room for God's Providence

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

Notes:

Main Point: Thanksgiving awaits the person who humbly watches for the rolling out of God's providence.

1. Introduction

A. The grace to not hit the "send" button

B. Main point

2. Godly waiting bears the reward of thanksgiving

A. Measuring the beginning and the end

i. When you mistake the motive

ii. When you don't mistake the motive

B. Measuring the patient in spirit and the proud in spirit

i. How David deals with Saul

3. A warning to the provoked spirit.... The victim narrative is foolishness

A. A case of identities

B. The danger of an angry spirit

4. Application

"Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city."

--Acts 8:4-8

"Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly."

--1 Peter 2:18-23

Let the world despise and leave me,

They have left my Savior, too.

Human hearts and looks deceive me;

Thou art not, like them, untrue.

O while Thou dost smile upon me,

God of wisdom, love, and might,

Foes may hate and friends disown me,

Show Thy face and all is bright.

--Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, verse 2

#patience #anger #providence

To connect with Brick Lane, visit our website at: https://www.brick52.org/

For more biblical teaching, you can also listen to audio sermons at: https://www.brick52.org/audio-sermons

Ecclesiastes 7:13-18: Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Sermon Outline

1. God controls what is crooked

2. God decrees every day

3. God preserves his people

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6: It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity

Sermon Outline

1. The way that wisdom comes

2. The strategy of fools

3. Where wisdom leads

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4: It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Sermon Outline

1. Ecclesiastes = a commentary on Genesis 3

Description of life in broken world

Without a right view of God, life is vanity

Ecclesiastes = one big paradox

Seemingly negative message drives us to Christ

Chapter 7 = a pocketful of paradoxes

2. We learn a lot about life by thinking about death

“It will do us more good to go to a funeral than a festival.” — Matthew Henry

Doesn’t mean parties are bad

Banqueting table = picture of divine blessing

But having fun doesn’t have profound impact

In contrast, funerals force us to examine our lives

Our culture reacts to death with fear, resignation, and contempt

We avoid talking about it

Funerals help us consider

Brevity of life (Ps. 90)

Final evaluation of our lives (2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 5:36-37, Ecc. 12:14)

Mourners will be comforted (Matt. 4)

Suffering purifies us

Thus, sorrow is better than laughter (vs. 3)

3. Thinking about death helps us prepare to die

Too many people are not prepared to die

Thanatophobia (“death anxiety”)

Good way to prepare: grieve w/those who are grieving

These experiences change us

Only Christians can genuinely cry and smile at the same time

4. Ecclesiastes offers divine wisdom

Jesus took his own advice

Went to house of mourning (Jn. 11)

Why did Jesus weep?

Because grief paves the way for joy

Lazarus’ resurrection = an appetizer

Jesus stopped funerals, but not his own

Ultimate paradox = paradox of the cross

5. Applications

Go to funerals

Suffering Christians, stay faithful

Those who weep now will laugh (Lk. 6:21)

Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:29: Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?

I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things — which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.

Sermon Outline

1. Find a friend in sorrow

2. Be careful with your interpretations

3. Cherish God's providence more than your wisdom

4. Seek out forgiveness for sin

Ecclesiastes 6:1-9: There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good — do not all go to the one place?

All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

Thomas Watson on discontentment

Main point: Contentment is Christ is safety for our souls

2. The prevalence of discontentment observed

Contentment has more to do with God than our possessions

3. The pain of discontentment illustrated

The blessing of children

The blessing of age

The blessing of wisdom

4. The pleasure of being at peace today

A contrast

A higher joy

5. Application

Philippians 4:4-7, 12-13: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

"Satan takes great advantage of discontent; he loves to fish in these troubled waters. Discontent doth both eclipse reason and weaken faith; and it is Satan's policy; he doth usually break over the hedge where it is weakest; discontent makes a breach in the soul, and usually at this breath the devil enters by a temptation, and storms the soul. How easily can the devil by his logic dispute Christian into sin[.]"
— Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment

Ecclesiastes 5:8-20: If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil — this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Sermon Outline

1. Money is an oppressive god

2. Money cannot truly be gained

3. Money is a gift that points to true joy

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7: Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Sermon Outline

A call to a presence and posture in worship

A caution against being a church of fools

A contrast with a life of vanity