Sermon #3 of Highrock's summer sermon series ("Dual Citizens: Living Between Two Kingdoms") from 2 Tim. 1:1-7 (NLT)

This flashback from May 19, 2022 was part of our series on the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. It should be no surprise that Jesus taught us to ask for forgiveness. What might be surprising is that he instructed us to ask God to forgive us only to as much as we forgive others!

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The Teacher makes a surprising assertion -- that hard work is better than wealth. Hard work leaves us satisfied while wealth often just increases our insecurities. In other words, good work is to be preferred to the wealth we imagine might free us from having to work at all! What brings you satisfaction? What draws you closer to the Lord and a sense of purpose?

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After speaking at length about wisdom, the Teacher turns to the idea of worship as the foundation of true wisdom. We are tempted to speak in ways that sway others to think better of us. With God, word and deed are the same, and so it should be for us. Let us be careful about making promises and let us honor each promise as we honor a God who does the same.

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The previous chapter ended with the idea that one of the greatest blessings in life is to enjoy one's work. Today's passage lists five ways that we can guarantee that we will not enjoy our work, five rotten rungs on the ladder to worldly success. Avoiding these pitfalls might just lead to true joy in the work that God gives us to do!

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Our wisdom is so limited without God's input. Without God's wisdom, we can hardly make sense of the diversity and complexity of God's world, with a season for everything. But as we receive each moment as a gift from God, we might come to enjoy each moment for what it is, without having to make it more than it is.

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Sermon #2 of Highrock's summer sermon series ("Dual Citizens: Living Between Two Kingdoms") from 1 Peter 2:9-12 NIV

Can wisdom and work provide meaning where pleasure and possesions fail? Despite their greater worth, wisdom and work still do not outlast death. But even simple pleasures like food and drink can be meaningful if they connect us in gratitude to the One who transcends the grave.

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What will bring happiness and satisfaction in life? The first part of the royal experiment is to test the most common pursuits. Maybe pleasure, projects, and possessions can deliver the happiness that they promise? But no, each is just another way to chase the wind. Even worse, placing our hopes in any of these things as an ultimate goal risks the loss of gratitude and even the possibility of love.

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The Teacher, presumably Solomon, asks us to consider the meaning of our lives. Is it found in the pursuit of pleasure, or power, or even the pursuit of wisdom? He calls these all meaningless "chasing the wind" -- they cannot satisfy and indeed can lead to even more pain. Then what are we to pursue? That question is the central question the Teacher invites us to ask!

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