Redemption Bible Church Sermon Audio

The Choice of Wisdom

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: The Choice of Wisdom

Passage: Ecclesiastes 8:1-15

Preacher: Ashley Herr

5x choices the wisdom of God leads us in making, knowing that “you always have a choice”, as my Mom would say:

1. Chose to Obey (8:2-5a)

2. Chose to Discern (8:5b-6)

3. Choose to Release Control (8:7-9)

4. Choose to Fear God (8:10-13)

5. Choose Joy (8:14-15)

As we enter what has the potential to be a very polarizing time in our nation during the upcoming election season, instead of choosing to get caught up in the hate and vitriol, choose joy

1. Instead of isolating yourself from everyone, waiting for the storm to pass: invite others over, enjoying a meal together, finding joy in each other’s presence.

2. Instead of worrying about everything that might happen tomorrow: be fully present in what God has before you today, recognizing where He is at work and joining Him in that work.

3. Instead of endlessly doom scrolling, allowing an algorithm to choose how you feel: put your phone down, go outside, touch grace, and enjoy the beauty of fall as God uses the lives to paint a masterpiece on His canvas of creation. Pick some apples, carve a pumpkin, rake a pile of leaves and jump in them like a five year old, and get to know your neighbors on Saturday.

4. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have: use this season of thanksgiving to practice gratitude, enjoy good gifts God already graciously given to you.

5. Instead of binging a show you’ve already seen a hundred times already: enjoy a good book - or better yet, spend time with God in the best book ever written.

Reflection

Think about a choice you are wrestling with, that you need to make, seeking the wisdom of God to lead you in making it. Maybe a choice you’re struggling to make, unsure of the best way forward. Maybe one you’re unsure of, feeling as though there isn’t a good choice. Maybe one you’re avoiding, afraid of making, because of what it might cost you. Or a situation where you feel as though you’ve been backed into a corner without a choice.

Know this: you always have a choice. So ask God for the wisdom needed in making that choice and the courage to carry out that choice and the joy that comes with living in obedience to God.

• Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Lord, lead me in choosing to obey You.

• Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. (Psalm 25:4–5) Lord, lead me in choosing to discern Your will.

• Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Lord, lead me in choosing to release control to You.

• The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) Lord, lead me in choosing to fear You.

• Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) Lord, lead me in choosing joy, joy that can only be found in You.

Small Group Guide

A Prayer for Wisdom

The Limits of Wisdom

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: The Limits of Wisdom

Passage: Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Preacher: Ashley Herr

The First Trap: Thinking you can manipulate God (7:15-20)

The truly wise person will

• Fear God (7:18)

• Acknowledge the limits of wisdom (7:19-20)

The Second Trap: Thinking you are better than others (7:21-22)

The Third Trap: Thinking you have arrived (7:23-24)

The Fourth Trap: Thinking you are strong enough to resist temptation (7:25-26)

Satan lures you into his trap by getting you to:

• Minimize sin (Genesis 3:4)

• Justify sin (Genesis 3:5)

• Redefine sin (Genesis 3:1)

We resist temptation by

• Fleeing sin, rather than flirting with it (Proverbs 6:27-28)

• Killing sin, rather than playing with it (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5-10)

We turn to and trust in Jesus who came to do what you never would or could:

• Forgiving you of your sin

• Incorporating you into his body

• Empowering you with his Spirit

Reflecting on Wisdom (7:27-29)

When you find yourself caught in a trap

• Confess your sin

• Confess your need for a savior

• Cry out for salvation

Reflection

LEADER: Almighty and merciful Father, we have rejected your way and gone our own

CONGREGATION: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - each and every one of us - and gone our own way (Isaiah 53:6)

LEADER: We have rejected your good gifts, and created our own

CONGREGATION: We have forsaken you, the fountain of living waters, and dug our own cisterns, to collect our own water rather than relying on You; broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13)

LEADER: “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD (Isaiah 30:1)

CONGREGATION: We carry out a plan, but not yours. We trust in others, but not in you. We set out on our own way, without asking for your direction (Isaiah 30:1-2)

LEADER: Rather than picking up our cross each and every day (Luke 9:23) and following Jesus through the narrow gate, down the difficult path, that leads to life (Matthew 7:14)

CONGREGATION: We continue to choose the easy way when it is available. We enter through the wide gate when it is open. And now we realize that it leads to destruction (Mat 7:13)

LEADER: For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon our guilt, for it is great (Psalm 25:11)

CONGREGATION: Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. (Psalm 25:16-18)

LEADER: Make us to know your ways, O LORD; teach us your paths (Psalm 25:4)

CONGREGATION: Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 25:5, 143:8,10)

ALL: Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Amen (Lamentations 5:21)

Small Group Guide

Examen

The Path of Wisdom

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: The Path of Wisdom

Passage: Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:14

Preacher: Ashley Herr

The Source of Wisdom (6:10-12)

God expresses His sovereignty over His creation, exercising authority over it by:

• Naming all He has created

• Knowing all He has created

The Path to Wisdom (7:1-10)

He begins at the end, with death (7:1-4)

Then looks back (7:5-10), showing four good steps to take on the path to wisdom

1. Wisdom is gained by receiving correction (7:5-6)

2. Wisdom is preserved by resisting corruption (7:7)

3. Wisdom is matured by remaining patient (7:8-9)

4. Wisdom is lived out by moving forward (7:10)

   What makes wanting to back to the ‘good ol days’ foolish is what we fail to recognize, as nostalgia lies to you

   • We fail to recognize people have been saying this for at least over 2,500 years

   • We fail to recognize that our selective memory over romanticizes aspects of the past while ignoring the horrific aspects of that same past

   • We fail to recognize God’s presence and all that is good in the present

   When were those former days for you? What made them better for you? Wold we all truly be better off if we went back to the way things were then?

   Why do you want to go back? What are you potentially trying to avoid, or escape from by returning to the past?

   Sometimes our longing for the past is simply a way to escape from today’s problems, trading them in for yesterday’s problems, because those are somebody else’s problems

The Value of Wisdom (7:11-12)

• It protects you

• It preserves you

Reflecting on Wisdom (7:13-14)

Read through Psalm 139 as a guide for the spiritual practice of Examen

Small Group Guide

Examen

If Only I Had More Money

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only I Had More Money

Passage: Ecclesiastes 5:10-6:9

Preacher: Ashley Herr

Small Group Guide

Four promises more money makes but fails to fulfill

1. More Contentment (5:10-12,17)

Instead, “it’s like the more money we come across, the more problems we see” - bringing:

• more costs (5:11)

• more demands (5:11)

• more worry and anxiety (5:12)

• more isolation and anger (5:17)

2. More Security (5:13-14)

3. More Time (5:15-16,6:6)

4. More Joy (6:1-6)

Another Perspective (5:18-20,6:7-9)

Reflection

What is Jesus inviting you to come and receive from him today?

• To those who are weary and heavy laden, come to him and find rest in his presence

• To those who have failed and fallen, come to the cross and receive his forgiveness

• To those who are thirsty, come to the well and drink of the living water

• To those who are hungry, come to the table and eat the bread of life

Read Isaiah 55:1-12

If Only We Revered God

Robin Philip

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only We Revered God

Passage: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Preacher: Robin Philip

Small Group Guide

1. Guard Your Step - Approach God Carefully (v. 1)

•  5:1 is not simply asking, “Do you worship?” It is asking, “How do you approach the God you worship?”

• Qoheleth gives us a reality check: religious activity can become foolishness when our hearts are not rightly aligned with God or have a proper view of God.

• Guard your steps, how? Not merely by your own instincts, by the Word of God (Ps 119:105).

2. Guard Your Mouth - Don’t Give God Lip Service (v. 2–6)

• Deut 23:21–23 says, “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not be slow to pay it... You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips.”

• God wants honest obedience, not lip service.

• Does my life back up what my lips say I believe?

3. Guard Your Heart — Fear God Truly (v. 7)

• Definition of Fear: Awe-filled reverence that yields humble submission, trusting obedience, and worship before a holy God.

• We guard our hearts by continually bringing our view of God back into alignment with reality, that is wisdom.

  • Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

  • Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

  • Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil...

  • Proverbs 14:26 - In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence.

  • Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

  • Matthew 10:28 - Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Reflection:

• Is God truly in His rightful place in your life today?

• What do you fear most—and does your life reveal that you fear the Lord above all else?

If Only We Lived for the Good of One Another

Ashley Her

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only We Lived for the Good of One Another

Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

Preacher: Ashley Herr

Small Group Guide

He Saw Oppression (4:1-3)

The first result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:

1. We use our power to pursue our own good at the expense of another

He Saw Envy (4:4-6)

The second result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:

2. We compare ourselves to others, competing w/ others

When we compare ourselves to others, competing with others:

• We view the relationships we have as rivalries

• We view the resources they have with resentment

Let’s not over-react, doing nothing, because:

• Laziness is self-destructive (v5)

• Complacency is self-deceptive

He Saw Hoarding (4:7-8,13-16)

The third result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:

3. We accumulate more to satisfy ourselves, rather than to share w/ others

Another Perspective (4:9-12)

Three results of living for the good of the ‘we’ over the ‘me’:

• Provision (v10)

• Presence (v11)

• Protection (v12)

Reflection

Ask yourself, “How have I been living for my own good, seeking the good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’? Think about:

• how you use the power and influence you have, using it for your own good at the expense of others

• why you are doing what you are doing, why you are working as hard as you are, what is motivating you

• who you are doing all of this for, who is benefiting from your work

Read Galatians 5:13-16,22-26; 6:2-3,9-10

If Only Justice Prevailed

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only Justice Prevailed

Passage: Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Preacher: Ashley Herr

Small Group Guide

What He Saw (3:16)

We see a system that:

• fails to prosecute those who harm others

• fails to protect those who have been harmed by others

“When pain and suffering are conjoined w/ the monstrous mystery of evil, we come to a crossroads from which there is no turning back.” - Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

What He Knows (3:17)

• He knows WHAT will happen

• He knows WHO will make it happen

• He knows HOW it will happen

• He has no idea WHEN it will happen

What He Thought (3:18-20)

The conclusion he came to (3:18)

The evidence he collected (3:19-20)

Being created in the image of God uniquely shapes:

• who we are, our identity

• what we do, our vocation

• how we relate to God and to others

Sin has

• distorted that image

• destined us to death

What He Hopes (3:21,22)

Another Perspective (3:22)

How will you respond to the brokenness and injustice?

• Will you take matters into your own hands?

• Will you give up and retreat?

• Will you trust God? Trusting that:

  • Jesus will return in glory

  • Jesus will resurrect our dead bodies

  • Jesus will judge both the righteous and the wicked

  • Jesus will restore all that is broken

Reflection

• What is your cry that you need God to hear, to know, to see - trusting that God hears your cries?

• Read Psalm 9:9-12,18

If Only I Knew When

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only I Knew When

Passage: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Preacher: Ashley Herr

Small Group Guide

A Poem on Time (3:1-8)

There are beginnings and ends to all things, a seasonality to them

• Some seasons only happen once - while others happen again and again

• Some seasons are within our control, they are something we choose - while others are outside of our control, they are chosen for us

• Some seasons we see coming - while others sneak up on us

There is an appropriate time for all things, a right time to do them

• That’s true of the emotions we feel, the decisions we make, and the actions we take

A Reflection on Time (3:9-11)

Rather than asking “When will Jesus return?”, we should be asking “How will I live until Jesus returns?”

Another Perspective on Time (3:12-15)

1. Find Joy (v12-13)

• in what you already have been given

• in Who has given you all you have

• in what you already do

• in where God already has you

2. Do Good (v12)

• Meeting the physical, relational, and spiritual needs of others

3. Trust God (v14-15)

Reflection

Ask yourself:

• How will I live until Jesus returns?

• How will I use the time I have been given?

• How will I find joy in what God has already given me, where He has already led me?

• How will I do good to those He has brought into my life and placed in my path?

• How will I trust Him regardless of the circumstances I’m facing and the emotions I’m feeling?

Read Ephesians 5:15-20

If Only I Had More

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only I Had More

Passage: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11,18-26

Preacher: Ashley Herr

The Quest (2:1a)

The Conclusion (2:1b)

1. If only I could enjoy life more (2:2-3)

2. If only I could accomplish more (2:4-6)

3. If only I could acquire more (2:7-8)

Reflection (2:9-11,18-23)

Another Perspective (2:24-26)

• Find enjoyment in what you already have

• Find enjoyment in what you already do

Reflection

If Only I Knew Why

Ashley Herr

Sermon Notes

Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind

Sermon Title: If Only I Knew Why

Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:12-18,2:12-17

Preacher: Ashley Herr

The Quest (1:12-13a)

The Conclusion (1:13b-14)

Three reasons why knowing the ‘why’ behind every ‘what’ won’t provide the contentment you’re chasing or the satisfaction you’re searching for:

1. You still cannot fix all that’s broken (1:15-17)

True of the brokenness that exists within the world, as all of creation. has been subjected to futility (Romans 8:20), as we seldom agree on:

• the severity of the problem

• the cause of the problem

• how to fix the problem

• who is responsible for fixing the problem

True of the brokenness that exists within you, as all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), as we fail to

• acknowledge the severity of our sin and the damage it has caused both to others and ourselves

• take responsibility for our sin

• understand the cause of our sin

• thinking you can atone for your sin

2. You become more aware of the brokenness that exists (1:18)

3. You cannot prevent your death (2:12-16)

Another Perspective

What do we do when we don't know the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’, when we don’t understand it, or agree with it? We trust the One who does!

• We trust that God sees all that is broken in our world

• We trust that God will fix all that’s broken in our world

• We trust that death will not be the end for those in Christ Jesus

Reflection

What will you do when you don’t know the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’? Weill you continue to trust God with your unanswered questions? Read Proverbs 3:5-8.