This week we are continuing our series of Ecclesiastes called The Pursuit: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. Where do we go to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose? What is the point of all our accomplishments? Where is our hope when we life is met with failure or even simple toil and boredom? Is this all there is to life? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Last week we saw because of sin each of us will face death one day, but we are called to live all others. Chapter 7 was a day at the Smithsonian, but at least each one felt like a separate distinct place and theme. Chapter 10 is going to feel like a trip to chaotic a farmers market where different booths are all connected but sometimes in ways that don’t easily make sense. You’re going to expect to get a good deal on flowers and maybe an elephant ear but instead you’re talking too long to someone who is too political and you leave with homemade soap. We’re going to stroll through this chapter and try to come out the other side with some clarity and hope.

We are spending some time reminding ourselves who we are, dreaming about what we could be, and relying on God as we look to the season ahead. As we enter a new year can we all acknowledge….. We are all Runners… Hebrews 12:1-2 | Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This morning, we are talking about Jesus making all things new, and the big idea is this, we live in a world that is broken. Due to sin and man’s rebellion against God and not submitting to Him, this world is not what God had originally created, it is a fractured world. Bearing in it both beauty from what God has created but also chaos due to sin. And what God does, in His great grace and mercy, is that He doesn’t leave us on our own to figure it out. He doesn’t tell us to get our act together, but He comes at the right time and intervenes into human history.

Today we continue our Advent (Arrival) series called A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history.

Today we begin a series during Advent (Arrival) A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history. We need Hope for the World and Hope in the World because of the brokenness of the world. The world is not as it should be leading us to fear and despair. But the world also not how it will be which gives us hope, peace, endurance and assurance. God made the world and made it good. From the beginning there has been enemies of life with God and Peace of God (and Man’s flourishing) came into the garden sowing seeds of doubt about God’s goodness and the consequence of rejecting God leading to darkness. Humanity willingly exchanged the presence of peace for a war of independence rejecting God’s rule, but also the connection to the source of life and wholeness. This is sin. Sin separates. Sin takes peace and brings conflict. Sin, evil, brokenness, unnecessary division, lack of joy and wholeness all spring from this conflict. Sin is what robbed us of Shalom and introduced conflict. God comes and engages with this conflict bring both justice, holiness, as well as mercy and grace. God give Hope to the world quickly. He makes a promise. A Savior-King (Christ) will come who will bring both victory over evil and establish a real and enduring peace. A Savior King is needed because our souls and weary world needs to be made new. Generations come and go and each are born with the Hope salvation and peace will come. Later the promise is ratified and refined to a man name Abram that blessing and life will come from him.

Most of us are coming into the Christmas season feeling tired. Tired and worn out. Tired of all the things we are carrying. I wonder if we were to take off our heavy packs and looked at all the things that are weighing us down… how many sets of rollerblades are you carrying? Maybe it’s your finances. Maybe you hate your job. Maybe it’s your kids and being a good parent. Maybe it is your health. Maybe it is living up the expectation of others, maybe you are carrying a load of guilt, maybe tension in your marriage, with your parents, or your friends. So it’s Christmas time… and you should have hope. Today I’m going to give you some reason why we should have hope, but let’s be honest, me getting up here and telling you why you should have hope is not going to lift your burden, if anything it might pile on some guilt for you. I think as Christians we carry too much guilt. We know we should have more hope, have more joy, have more peace… but what about all the rollerblades we carry???

Today we begin a series during Advent (Arrival) A Thrill of Hope: A Weary World Rejoices. Besides being a lyric to “O Holy Night”, this is a relevant topic today. When past pain and present realties have us weak and weary, we need a real and living hope to endure in the present and persevere to a better future in and with Christ. Hope helps us understand part of what was/is/is being accomplished by the Arrival of Jesus into human history. Words have meaning, HOPE means:

This week we are continuing a sermon series walking though the book of Ecclesiastes called VAPOR: Finding Meaning Under the Sun. What’s the point? In life under the sun all seems to be vanity as we struggle to find our purpose and meaning apart from God. The message of this sermon of Ecclesiastes isn’t “all of life is meaningless and nothing matters”; it’s because of God as the source of all meaning, and goodness, as we live the life we are given EVERYTHING matters! Last week, we saw what it looks like when we put our hope in wealth alone, this week we’ll see what it looks like when we foolishly avoid engaging with adversity in life. When I was visiting Washington DC We only had one day to visit all the Smithsonian Museums. That meant we only had an hour or so in each. It wasn’t enough time to get to everything at a deep level but it did give us good idea of the layout of each one, it was profitable, and it gave me ideas of what I’d want to explore in depth later. The next few sermons are going to feel like some fast days at a bunch of different places.