That the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting may seem counter intuitive. It is only at the end of a life that it is known what the person did with the potential that God invested in him. In the same way, a lumber yard is full of potential, but it is the finished piece that gives that potential its ultimate value.

The seasons of life - each of us goes through seasons in his life. The events and behaviors during one season are not possible or appropriate in another. The sequence and duration of those seasons varies from person to person. A good life 'under the sun' consists of getting the most from each season.

The book begins with a note about the futility of seeking life's meaning 'under the sun'. Solomon seeks satisfaction in life by employing all of the resources that wealth and power can provide. He discovers that that which is attainable using only the senses is ultimately unsatisfying.

The prophet speaks about divorce, robbing God of tithes and offerings and the Day of the Lord.

Introduction and historical background. The prophet's rebuke of Israel and its priests.

Laws do not exist in a vacuum. They represent a vision of what an ideal society should look like. That vision, in turn, comes from the stories and history of the people who make those laws. This is true for Israel and for the United States.

Reflecting on the Jewish holiday of Channukah and the American one of Thanksgiving, it becomes obvious that both are the same celebration. In both cases a large and powerful government had begun to treat God's people as chattel. In both cases the people threw off the government and established one more in line with God's word. The subsequent holidays were to remind their descendants of God's grace and aid in the struggle.

Titus was one of Paul's disciples who got dispatched to handle various ministry problems. He figured prominently in the early church debate over circumcision and whether gentile converts needed to obey rabbinic law. In this letter Paul cautions against following the advice of members of the Circumcision Party.

People naturally divide into tribes, either by birth or by culture. In America, we have both, but the most divisive is over culture. In trying to reach people for God, it is important that we speak to them in terms their culture regards as important. The speaker is Matt Behrens

There's more to the story of David and Bathsheba than you were probably told in Sunday school. The lady was quite the power player in Biblical Israel.