What would you do if you were asked to work in the Prime Minister's office? Would you take the job? If something shady or something that was against your values was being promoted at the highest levels, would you quit? This week from Ecclesiastes 8, we will be encouraged not to leave those in authority over us. Now most of us, if not any of us, will work in the PMO, but there are bosses and teachers we have that we disagree with. We may be tempted to leave them. What if instead of quitting, you stay and bring more of God’s light to the darkness? What if you display a joy in your work that is contagious and points others to God? God may have placed you in that role for such a time as this.

Sometimes our financial institutions will ask us about our net worth. Our net worth is based on the total costs of our assets (e.g. our investments, houses and vehicles) less the amount of debt we have. Our net worth may be important to our bank, but there are a lot of things more valuable in life. One of those things is our reputation. How much is your reputation worth to you? Losing money is not the end of the world. In fact, many can bounce back from such a loss. However, losing your reputation, now that is one of the hardest things in the world to gain back. This is what we will find out and more from Ecclesiastes 7

I recall hearing about a man being offered a position, but when he learned how meager the salary was, he cheekily replied, “After looking at the package, I just have this little problem … I have this nasty habit of eating to survive.” Though his response was not appropriate, it serves as a reminder that much of our work goes to purchasing food and other goods that are here today and gone tomorrow. I won’t get more visual than that. This is what we will be reminded of in Ecclesiastes 6 as Pastor Steve preaches.

How are you using the power God gave you? You may not feel very powerful, but God has given each of us a limited amount of influence, authority and power over others. We can use this either to harm or help others. This is what we discover as we study Ecclesiastes 4.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) What season are you in? And no, I am not talking about the beautiful autumn season we have had. I am talking about the stages and circumstances of life. Do you realize that God is sovereign over all your life and makes each season, especially the difficult ones, beautiful in its time? Maybe you are going through a hard time? God will make that beautiful in its time. This week we continue our series in Ecclesiastes and this time in Ecclesiastes 3. Remember our time is short!

Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful to God for? Your family? Your health? Your salvation through Christ? What about your work? Most of us do not see the blessing that work is until we aren’t able to work. Earlier this year, Lori and I met a newly retired airline pilot. He had been retired for only a few months, but you could tell he was not happy. He had lots of money but grumbled that the airline made him stop working due to his age. This week Pastor Kyle will show us from Ecclesiastes 2, how when we find our fulfillment in God, we can enjoy our work and a lot of other pursuits as gifts from Him.

This Sunday we begin a new series studying the Book of Ecclesiastes entitled “For Our Time is Short.” Ecclesiastes is an odd book, even depressing at first reading, but only if you don’t understand its meaning. Written by the wisest man (other than Jesus) to ever live, Solomon was so fully resourced that he was able to explore almost every possibility for happiness and found these pursuits lacking. He then reports on it and says that "everything under the sun is meaningless.” Is that how you feel when you pursue the things of this earth? Life is frustratingly difficult. At the end of the book, Solomon points us to God. He reminds us that since our life is but a vapour, the only hope is pursuing God. I am excited to see what God will do in our lives with this series.

When I was younger, I played a lot of sports. I loved sports, but one of the things I hated most was sitting on the bench. I couldn’t wait to get out there and play. It is a great feeling when your name or number gets called and you get to see action. Do you know that God is calling your name? Maybe you have been on the bench, sidelines or even in the stands watching others? It is time to get out there and use (or continue to use) your spiritual gifts. This Sunday we are going to unpack 1 Peter 4:10-11 as a call to action to use our spiritual gifts. Are you ready?

“Well done, good and faithful servant!” Are these the words you are hoping to hear when you see Jesus? If so, one of the ways to hear those words is to depend upon the Holy Spirit and use your serving spiritual gift. Most of us have at least one serving gift. Those serving gifts are the gifts of helps, administration, giving, mercy or faith. This Sunday we will unpack what those gifts are, but for those of you who have an understanding of these gifts, do you have one of them? If so, are you using them? If not, why not? It may help to see how they connect to others using their gifts to build up the church.